Cape Town: The South African Environmental Observation Network (NRF-SAEON), a research facility under the National Research Foundation, is actively participating in the Around Africa Expedition, as announced by the National Research Foundation. This expedition is led by OceanX and Ocean Quest, renowned global ocean exploration non-profit organizations, and it is part of the United Nations Ocean Decade framework (2021-2030), focusing on capacity building and enhancing scientific understanding of the ocean.
According to South African Government News Agency, the expedition commenced on January 30, 2025, in Moroni, Comoros aboard OceanX’s advanced research and media vessel, OceanXplorer. The first leg, in collaboration with NRF-SAEON, aimed at mapping and conducting biodiversity surveys of Indian Ocean seamounts on the Madagascan Ridge and Agulhas Plateau. The scientific team consisted of researchers from various countries, including South Africa, Madagascar, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Comoros, Portugal, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia.
NRF stated that the exploration of physical features and biodiversity at seamounts will advance scientific knowledge and assist in informed conservation and restoration strategies for these remote ocean regions. Although these seamounts are distant from human populations, they play a crucial role as larval transport corridors, influencing population connectivity across vast ocean distances, supporting ecosystem resilience, and replenishing fisheries in deep-sea and coastal environments.
Dr. Lara Atkinson, a benthic ecologist from NRF-SAEON, is among the leaders of the seamount exploration, including Walters Shoal and Africana II seamount. Dr. Atkinson explained that seamounts, formed by volcanic activity, significantly impact ocean currents and create nutrient-rich upwelling, essential for marine life such as plankton, corals, sponges, fish, and marine mammals.
Meanwhile, Cape Town high school students from Luhlaza, Ocean View, Bulumko, Masiphumelele, and Usasazo High Schools participated in a live-streamed session from OceanXplorer as it approached Cape Town. They witnessed a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) dive on Walters Shoal seamount, prompting their curiosity and questions about the scientific endeavors of the expedition.
Thabo Mbuyazi, a technician from the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (NRF-SAIAB), highlighted the importance of maintaining scientific equipment to gather accurate data. He introduced the students and educators to the vessel’s submersibles, Neptune and Nadir, which facilitated research team deployments to 500 m depths during the expedition.