The Schmidt Ocean Institute is one of the most important non -profit research bodies in the world when it comes to submarine explorations: their research ship, R/V Falkor (Too)has mapped thousands of square kilometers of ocean seabed over the years, often discovering real unknown worlds in ocean abysses. It also happened during his last mission, when R/V Falkor (Too) explored The seabed off Chile, discovering a very rich ecosystem that hosts about sixty species never observed before.
Hunting in the canyons. First of all, a curiosity: the Schmidt Ocean Institute ship is called Falkor (Too) because it is the “heir” of the previous one Falkorretired in 2021. Active since 2023, On board hosts eight different workshops And a ROV, a remote control used to safely explore the marine depths called Subastian. The last mission of Falkor (Too) took place in the waters of southern Chile in December 2024.
The expedition was intended to Map four underwater canyons And, above all, 20 different local ecosystems that arose around methane “escapes” that come out of the seabed and create an ideal environment for ocean life, even the one forced to live where the sunlight does not arrive: the deepest canyon among those mapped covers covers 2,000 km2 and reaches depth of over 3,000 meters.
Dozens of new species. In this environment hostile to life as we understand it, we actually thrive very rich biological communities, which include animals of all kinds, from sponges to the coralsfrom starfish to octopus. It is not the first time that we directly observe one of these communities, but those discovered in Chile, say the experts of the crew of the Falkorthey are very different from those that the same ship had already studied in North America.
In total, the expedition observed and cataloged about sixty different species, still unknown and therefore without an official scientific name. On this page you see some of the photos taken in this submerged world, yet another demonstration that the biodiversity of the seabed is much richer than what such a hostile environment could make you think.
