Bear Seamount, July 2002

A cruise was conducted in the vicinity of Bear Seamount (39o 55' N, 67o 25' W) during 16 July – 2 August 2002 with the NOAA Ship “ DELAWARE II” to explore the biodiversity and to collect marine mammal information.

Cruise description

The cruise objectives were twofold: (1) to explore the biodiversity in the vicinity of Bear Seamount and to collect nekton (especially fish and cephalopod) specimens in bottom and midwater samples from the maximum depths possible and (2) to collect information on the distributional relationship between cetaceans, particularly beaked whales and sperm whales, oceanographic features, and potential prey.

This cruise is a part of the “Joint Deepwater Systematics and Marine Mammal Survey”.

Cruise leader

Name: Mike Vecchione
Position: Cruise Leader
Specialty: Cephalopod taxonomist
Country: USA
Home institution: National Museum of Natural History