Researchers Probe Marine Mysteries Off the Alaskan Coast

A summer voyage to investigate the causes of one of the most devastating tsunamis in United States history has uncovered new mysteries about biological and geological processes off the coast of Alaska.

Probing the depths below one of the world’s most important fisheries, scientists with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, as well as scientists at Indiana State University, conducted the first exploration of deep seafloor biological communities in a sector of the Alaskan margin. The research was focused off the Aleutian Islands, along the northern part of the Pacific Rim.

In addition to identifying previously undiscovered deep-sea habitats, the researchers have stirred debate about the causes and characteristics of a devastating 1946 tsunami. The Pacific Ocean- wide event led to more than 150 deaths and widespread destruction as it pounded shorelines from Alaska to Antarctica.

The July research cruise, aboard the Scripps research vessel Roger Revelle, was sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s West Coast National Undersea Research Program.

To achieve a complete picture of how the 1946 event impacted seafloor habitats, the researchers extensively mapped the area, collected sediment samples and probed the region with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Jason II remotely operated vehicle (ROV). They charted new canyons and features of this previously unexplored, remote region of the world. Using multi-beam mapping technology, the scientists produced previously unavailable details of the area, a snapshot that gave them new insight into the region’s history.

An earthquake may now emerge as the leading cause of the 1946 event, but the scientists say much more investigation is needed to pinpoint the cause due to the new findings.

Copyright Compass Publications, Inc. Jan 2005