A Holistic Look | Deep Wonders of Trinidad and Tobago

[00:00:06]We are here in Trinidad and Tobago doing scientific exploration. We're trying [music] to understand what exists in Trinidad and Tobago's deep waters.

[00:00:17]>> [music] >> About 93% of Trinidad and Tobago's waters is below scuba depths. So, that means it's [music] largely inaccessible.

[00:00:25]So, this expedition on research vessel Falkor 2 with [music] Schmidt Ocean Institute is really a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

[00:00:40]This is really [music] about a holistic look of the ocean.

[00:00:45]>> [music] >> We are using a suite of tools.

[00:00:50]And then on top of that, we're also trialing some new technologies.

[00:00:56]>> We're using a low-cost deep-sea drop camera called Dory. It has a baited arm, so it attracts fish and other creatures in the deep sea.

[00:01:04]So, we get to capture footage of these creatures. [music] The low-cost aspect of it means that NGOs or other small organizations across the world can have [music] this accessible to them.

[00:01:22]This represents a very historic moment.

[00:01:28]>> Deepest [music] ever video footage of Trinidad's deep waters.

[00:01:36]>> [music] >> A lot of people do wonder why why even go out there? Who cares?

[00:01:42]>> [music] >> Because the deep ocean makes up so much of our planet as a whole, it helps regulate our climates, it helps cycle nutrients, it absorbs a lot of carbon dioxide, it's a home to many animals, it's important for tourism. And so, even though we don't [music] see it ourselves, the impact that we have down there do cascade upwards to the surface where we can see the impacts.

[00:02:07]>> So, on this expedition, we are studying eDNA. You can actually sequence this eDNA, and by sequencing it, you can get an an idea of all of the total diversity of life in the water [music] in the area that you're sampling.

[00:02:19]Right now, we're sampling two types of eDNA. One is from seawater. The other method that we're using [music] sampling tissue directly from sea sponges.

[00:02:27]Because sea sponges filter so much water naturally, they're actually much more efficient and much more effective uh filter than we can get just from seawater.

[00:02:36]This is not only a good chance to explore [music] the biodiversity of Trinidad and Tobago, but also to test how well different types of sea sponges work as filters in the deep sea.

[00:02:48]>> [music] >> This expedition has been such a long time coming. So, that means I have a long list of things [music] I'd like to accomplish. The first is robust environmental [music] baseline data.

[00:03:01]It's also about legacy. We want to [music] be able to have strengthened capacity so that we can continue to do this science on our own and lead it.

[00:03:13]We want increased technology. We are testing new technology, which we are going to bring back in country and will be there >> [music] >> forever so that we can use it anytime we want.

[00:03:24]And then, this is also about stewardship. We want more protected areas.

[00:03:29]>> And so, it's really crucial that we gather this data so that we can then give [music] this data to the government so that they can best manage how we use the ocean.

[00:03:42]>> Touchdown.

[00:03:42]>> Landed in water. All right.

[00:03:48]>> There's no other way to say it other than this expedition is literally a dream come true.

[00:03:55]I coincidentally had my first deep-sea expedition when I just finished my masters, and it was purely by chance.

[00:04:03]Now, more than 15 [music] years later, here we are back in Trinidad and Tobago, except [music] instead of leaving from the very same dock as a student, a wide-eyed student, >> [music] >> I am now in a leadership position, chief scientist leading this expedition. And we have this team that [music] is is primarily local researchers, which is so, so special. Being from a small island developing state, [music] I'm acutely aware of how problematic parachute science [music] can be. External researchers coming in, doing the science, and leaving with that data and those samples, and it's been a goal for a long time to change that.

[00:04:44]It's It's really, really a dream come true.