During their 15-day mission, Life on the Edge: Extreme Corals 2010, a team of researchers and educators will explore new features found on acoustic seafloor maps from the Gulf of Mexico to northern Florida east of Jacksonville. Mission scientists will map live coral and associated animals and strive to understand the importance of deep coral ecosystems as fisheries habitat, reservoirs of ocean biodiversity, and recorders of past changes in climate and ocean conditions.

Museum educator Mike Dunn (ncmuseummike) and science teacher Beverly Owens (owensscience) will be blogging from the ship during the mission. To follow along, go to Life on the Edge: Extreme Corals 2010.

Read the current Daily Log

Extreme Corals 2010 is supported by NOAA Deep Sea Coral Research & Technology Program.  Please go to NOAA’s expedition portal for more details and background on the mission.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences has been involved with Life on the Edge missions since 2002. You can review information collected during past missions by visiting the following archives:

• Daily Logs & Data
• Questions & Answers
• Multimedia Gallery
• Curriculum Materials