Norway 2023

The coastline of Norway is pocketed with fjords. Fjords are narrow and deep waterways carved by the movement of glaciers from thousands of years ago. These scars within the land and sea can reach as deep as 4,000 meters and are home to a variety of bizarre and fascinating creatures. Life at these depths have evolved fascinating methods of bioluminescence to not only illuminate their dark world but also communicate with each other as well. OceanX embarks on a mission to send the first submersibles to explore the waters of Masfjorden and the King of the Fjords, Sognefjorden

Science Objectives

OceanX partnered with researchers from the University in Bergen and curators from the University Museum in Bergen to explore the fjords of Masfjorden and Sognefjorden. In this mission, researchers aimed to document hard bottom communities to increase our understanding of fundamental marine ecological processes like carbon flux and sequestration, animal behavior, and biodiversity change over time. Researchers also worked to further our understanding of carbon transport and sequestration by sampling kelp and macroalgae. Finally, researchers aimed to document bioluminescence in several deep-sea organisms such as starfish and lantern sharks.

Science Accomplishments

• New species of Brisingid starfish observed and collected
• New species of benthic jellyfish discovered
• Over 6,000 organisms sampled from the vertical towed net representing 60 species and multiple unknown species.
• Photomosaic of coastal kelp coverage created using drone flights
• First time subs and ROV deployed into Masfjorden and Sognefjorden
• Multiple kelp samples collected from 11 scuba collection dives
• 9 ROV dives
• 10 submersible dives
• 6 CTD casts