PROTEKER: Implementation of a submarine observatory at the Kerguelen Islands (southern ocean)

Abstract

© 2016, Society for Underwater Technology. All rights reserved. In the context of global climate change, variations in sea surface temperature, sea level change and latitudinal shifts of oceanographic currents are expected to affect marine biodiversity of the sub-Antarctic islands located near the polar front, such as the Kerguelen Islands, particularly in coastal waters. Sampling sites of previous oceanographic programmes focused on the Kerguelen Islands were revisited during three scientific summer cruises aboard the trawler La Curieuse (2011-2014). Among 18 coastal sites explored using scuba diving, 8 were selected for monitoring, as representative of the Kerguelen sub-Antarctic marine habitats, to be progressively equipped with sensors and settlement plots. Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) observations and beam trawling (at 50 m and 100 m) have also been used to contextualise them. Eight sites - in the Morbihan Bay (4), and in the north (2) and south (2) of the Kerguelen Islands - a