Mona Canyon: November 12, 2018

 

Mona Canyon is a submarine canyon, approximately 140 kilometers (87 miles) long, 30 kilometers (19 miles) wide, and 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) high, located off the northwest coast of Puerto Rico. Geologists have been studying this canyon using mapping data for quite some time, but it was not until 2013 when the first visual surveys of Mona Canyon were conducted by the Exploration Vessel Nautilus using remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Hercules. At the time, two dives took place to maximum depths of 1,975 meters (6,480 feet) and 2,832 meters (9,291 feet), respectively, to conduct the first visual characterization of the geology of the canyon. Given the enormous size of the canyon, and the broad interest by the scientific community to further explore this feature, NOAA Ocean Exploration conducted two additional ROV dives in Mona Canyon in 2015, to maximum depths of 3,928 meters (12,887 feet) and 4,025 meters (13,205 feet), respectively. These dives built on the previous dives from 2013, and added important biological observations within the canyon.

When NOAA Ocean Exploration returned to this region in 2018, there was once again interest from both biologists and geologists alike to further explore, sample, and survey Mona Canyon. Dive 12 of the Océano Profundo 2018 expedition, highlighted in this video, involved exploration of the eastern wall of Mona Canyon, a very steep feature that had not been previously explored.

 

Download SD version (mp4, 10.0 MB).

Download HD version (mp4, 52.0 MB).

Video courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Exploring Deep-sea Habitats off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

 


 

For More Information

Dive 12: Mona Canyon East Wall

2015 Dive 4: Mona Canyon – West Wall

2015 Dive 5: Mona Canyon – East Wall

Education Theme: Deep-Sea Canyons