Probing the Deep | Life at the Romanche Fracture Zone

At the equator, between Brazil in South America and West Africa, an active transform fault — the Romanche Fracture Zone — cuts across a massive underwater mountain system, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The fault creates rough bathymetry and sediment-covered slopes that are fed by powerful equatorial currents and seasonal upwelling. Scientists suspected the region would be home to biodiversity hotspots and Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems, and they were not wrong. Dr. Jose Angel A. Perez of the University of the Itajaí Valley, Brazil, and Prof. Kerry Howell of Plymouth Marine Laboratory, U.K., are leading an international team to explore and describe ecological patterns in deep-sea benthic species and communities in this dynamic environment.