Exploring the Coral Canyons on Boston's Doorstep

Some of our greatest natural treasures lie just off our doorstep. Located only 130 miles from Boston, the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts have been known for their dizzying abundance of marine life for decades (they are even nicknamed "the Serengeti of the Atlantic") and yet very little of them have been explored. Because it's not just life at the surface that thrives: deep below, within chasms deeper and vaster than the Grand Canyon, are corals that are hundreds, even thousands, of years old. On the second anniversary of the Canyons' designation as a Marine National Monument, OceanX's research vessel the Alucia took a voyage to observe them up-close and in person for the very first time. Recording from OceanX's submersibles, what we saw were incredible deepwater corals, very different to the kinds that live in warm, shallow waters, and species specially acclimatized to living hundreds of meters under the water. This was the first mission from the partnership between OceanX and Bloomberg Philanthropies to dedicate 185 million to the protection and exploration of our oceans over the next four years. With thanks to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for their support.

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