Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument

On September 15, President Obama designated our newest National Monument: the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which is located more than 100 miles southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. The monument is home to undersea canyons and mountains, making up fragile and largely pristine deep marine ecosystems that provide a haven for rare and native species as well as important scientific research. The area’s rich biodiversity includes deep sea corals – some of which are found nowhere else on Earth – and endangered whales and sea turtles. Thanks to today’s action, New England’s unique seamounts will be protected for future generations. Photos by NOAA. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 9/15/16.

Throughout the expedition we have seen several octopus, but few have been as cute as this one!

Anthomastus coral in Oceanographer Canyon.

Corals were also diverse, but composition and abundance of corals differed between the north and south side of the seamount. We observed this colony of Jasonisis, a bamboo coral, with numerous crinoid associates.