ATLAS researchers Johanne Vad (UEDIN), Graham Tulloch (BGS) and photographer and videographer Alex Ingle have just set foot on dry land following their research expedition on board the CCGS Amundsen in the Davis Strait. We are excited to report that they have successfully recovered both the benthic landers deployed there a year ago.

ATLAS Coordinator Prof Murray Roberts reports: ‘the sediment trap seems to have worked and all instruments were in place. These year-long data sets from high and low sponge abundance areas combined with last year’s CTD and food quality work, in situ video and now physical samples of the sponges will give us an absolutely superb dataset to work on over the last year of ATLAS.’

At this stage, we would like to thank all those whose efforts enabled the team to reach this stage, both on the ship and on dry land. The project has involved ATLAS colleagues from the project office (UEDIN), Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), University of North Carolina Wilmington, University of Liverpool, and Aarhus University all working together with DFO Canada and the Arcticnet programme. There are too many individuals to name, but ATLAS is grateful to Alain Vezina and Karen Davison at DFO for providing considerable financial resources to Amundsen over the two years for the ATLAS ship time. Steve Ross and Barry MacDonald were instrumental in preparing and shipping the equipment, and Dan Hanes designed the landers used. We are grateful to the crew of the Amundsen for their assistance, too. None of this could have happened without Graham Tulloch and Johanne Vad, and we must not forget Sabena Blackbird (ULIV) who was on board last year.

As Margaret Rae of the Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance noted, ‘this research expedition is an incredible testament to the good will and true cooperation by each and every one of you all  - living proof that the Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance is working well’.