Lost at sea: Ecological assessment around a sunken shipping container

Thousands of shipping containers are lost from cargo vessels each year. Many of these containers eventually sink to the deep seafloor. In 2004, researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) discovered a lost shipping container almost 1,300 meters (4,200 feet) below the surface of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. In the first ever survey of its kind, researchers from MBARI and the Sanctuary recently described how deep-sea animal communities on and around the container differed from those in surrounding areas.

The red dots seen in some of the underwater footage are lasers mounted on the remotely operated submersible. The lasers are 29 cm apart and allow the scientists to estimate animal size.

Video editor: Kyra Schlining
Script and narration: Josi Taylor
Production support: James Barry, Kim Fulton-Bennett, Linda Kuhnz, Lonny Lundsten, Nancy Jacobsen Stout, Susan vonThun

For more information visit:

MBARI press release:
http://www.mbari.org/news/news_releases/2014/container-animals/container-animals-release.html

Original publication:
Taylor, J.R., DeVogelaere, A.P., Burton, E.J., Frey, O., Lundsten, L., Kuhnz, L.A., Whaling, P.J., Lovera, C., Buck, K.R., Barry J.P. (2014) Deep-sea faunal communities associated with a lost intermodal shipping container in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, CA. Marine Pollution Bulletin
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.04.014

Special thanks to Yann Arthus-Bertrand and Michael Pitiot (PLANET OCEAN/HOPE PRODUCTION) for the beautiful aerial container footage.
http://www.homethemovie.org/en/informations-sur-yann-arthus-bertrand/planet-ocean

Видео Lost at sea: Ecological assessment around a sunken shipping container канала Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)