Issues: Oceans

South and east of Cape Cod lies a series of deep undersea canyons of mysterious geologic origin. One of the largest and best studied of these is Oceanographer Canyon. It was first surveyed in the 1930s, but wasn't fully explored until the advent of the submarine half a century later.

Oceanographer Canyon is carved 6,600 feet deep into the southern edge of Georges Bank, an oval-shaped underwater plateau and famed fishing grounds off the southern New England coast. A diverse animal population makes its home in the unique habitat the canyon provides. Rocky outcroppings shelter juvenile fish and crabs, and lend a hard surface to which anemones, corals and sponges can attach. Tilefish burrow into the canyon's clay walls, forming underwater "pueblo villages," and eels cruise through the cooler waters of the deep canyon floor. Lobsters, blackbelly rosefish and the eel-like ocean pout all take advantage of the canyon's steep and jagged sides, which have historically protected against harmful bottom-trawling and dredging.

Oceanographer Canyon is also home to the richest and most diverse colonies of deepwater corals on the east coast. To protect these colonies, fisheries managers are now considering proposals to put Oceanographer (as well as at least one other nearby canyon) off-limits to certain fishing. In the meantime, scientists continue to explore Oceanographer Canyon, and each dive reveals new secrets in its depths.

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Photos: National Undersea Research Center at the University of Connecticut - Avery Point