The team from the British-led Nekton Mission plan to survey wildlife and gauge the effects of climate change in the unexplored area.

Working with the Seychelles and Maldives governments, the five-week expedition is targeting seamounts in the midnight zone – vast underwater mountains that rise thousands of metres from the seafloor.

The ocean’s midnight zone is between 1km and 4km deep, where no sunlight at all penetrates the frigid water. With no light, there is also no growth of plants or phytoplankton – all animals are thus either predators or scavengers.

While biomass peaks in surface waters, biodiversity peaks within the midnight zone. With high levels of biological endemism (the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location), seamounts are often described as “undersea Galapagoses” – a home to species found nowhere else on the planet.

To explore such inhospitable depths, the team will board what is claimed to be one of the world’s most advanced submersibles, named ‘Limiting Factor’.

“What we do know is that beneath 1,000m (3,280ft), there’s no light down there, but a lot of animals are bioluminescent. It’s life that grows,” said Oliver Steeds, Nekton mission director.

“The area that we’re going to be researching, it’s one of the most biodiverse parts of the world’s oceans,” he added. “What we’re going to find there is unknown.”

In August 2019, Limiting Factor completed the Five Deeps Expedition, diving to the deepest point in each of the world’s five oceans. The deepest the submersible reached was around 11,000m (36,000ft) down – deeper than Mount Everest is tall.

To withstand such crushing pressures in the deep blue sea, the sub’s two-person crew compartment is wrapped in a 9cm-thick (3.5-inch) titanium cocoon and carries up to 96 hours’ worth of emergency oxygen.

“There are only five vehicles in the world that can get below 6,000m (19,685ft) and only one that can get to the bottom half,” said Rob McCallum, expedition leader. “Everything we do is new. Everything we see is virtually a new discovery.”

Using the combination of sampling, sensor and mapping technology, the team at Nekton expects to identify new species and towering seamounts, as well as observe man-made impacts, such as plastic pollution and the effects of climate change.

In May 2019, when Limiting Factor descended to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench, the ocean’s deepest point, its pilot spotted a plastic bag.

“When we actually think of the living space on the planet for species, over 90 per cent of that living space is in the ocean and most of that ocean is unexplored,” said Dan Laffoley, a marine expert for the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

“It’s absolutely critical, at this time when we see such large changes occurring, that we get people down there,” he added. “We get eyes in the ocean and we see what’s happening.”

‘Midnight Zone’ is a 35-day mission to support the sustainable governance of the Seychelles and Maldivian Ocean. Here, a team of 50 international scientists, technicians, media and crew will be carrying out research to gather critical data to define conservation and management priorities and the designation of Marine Protected Areas.

The expedition starts in the Seychelles on March 16 2020. Scientists will combine their observations during this mission with those conducted last year during a seven-week Indian Ocean mission. They plan to present their findings in 2022.

The team from the British-led Nekton Mission plan to survey wildlife and gauge the effects of climate change in the unexplored area.

Working with the Seychelles and Maldives governments, the five-week expedition is targeting seamounts in the midnight zone – vast underwater mountains that rise thousands of metres from the seafloor.

The ocean’s midnight zone is between 1km and 4km deep, where no sunlight at all penetrates the frigid water. With no light, there is also no growth of plants or phytoplankton – all animals are thus either predators or scavengers.

While biomass peaks in surface waters, biodiversity peaks within the midnight zone. With high levels of biological endemism (the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location), seamounts are often described as “undersea Galapagoses” – a home to species found nowhere else on the planet.

To explore such inhospitable depths, the team will board what is claimed to be one of the world’s most advanced submersibles, named ‘Limiting Factor’.

“What we do know is that beneath 1,000m (3,280ft), there’s no light down there, but a lot of animals are bioluminescent. It’s life that grows,” said Oliver Steeds, Nekton mission director.

“The area that we’re going to be researching, it’s one of the most biodiverse parts of the world’s oceans,” he added. “What we’re going to find there is unknown.”

In August 2019, Limiting Factor completed the Five Deeps Expedition, diving to the deepest point in each of the world’s five oceans. The deepest the submersible reached was around 11,000m (36,000ft) down – deeper than Mount Everest is tall.

To withstand such crushing pressures in the deep blue sea, the sub’s two-person crew compartment is wrapped in a 9cm-thick (3.5-inch) titanium cocoon and carries up to 96 hours’ worth of emergency oxygen.

“There are only five vehicles in the world that can get below 6,000m (19,685ft) and only one that can get to the bottom half,” said Rob McCallum, expedition leader. “Everything we do is new. Everything we see is virtually a new discovery.”

Using the combination of sampling, sensor and mapping technology, the team at Nekton expects to identify new species and towering seamounts, as well as observe man-made impacts, such as plastic pollution and the effects of climate change.

In May 2019, when Limiting Factor descended to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench, the ocean’s deepest point, its pilot spotted a plastic bag.

“When we actually think of the living space on the planet for species, over 90 per cent of that living space is in the ocean and most of that ocean is unexplored,” said Dan Laffoley, a marine expert for the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

“It’s absolutely critical, at this time when we see such large changes occurring, that we get people down there,” he added. “We get eyes in the ocean and we see what’s happening.”

‘Midnight Zone’ is a 35-day mission to support the sustainable governance of the Seychelles and Maldivian Ocean. Here, a team of 50 international scientists, technicians, media and crew will be carrying out research to gather critical data to define conservation and management priorities and the designation of Marine Protected Areas.

The expedition starts in the Seychelles on March 16 2020. Scientists will combine their observations during this mission with those conducted last year during a seven-week Indian Ocean mission. They plan to present their findings in 2022.