Dr Martin Hovland

Ambio Tech Team / Norske Shell, Stavanger

(Professor emeritus CGB, UiB)

SPONGES ASSOCIATED WITH LOPHELIA

REEFS OFF MID-NORWAY

- AND OTHER RARE BIOTOPES

Workshop on seabed habitats of Environmental Concern

Oslo, October, 2013

CONTENTS

• Brief history

• Imaging Lophelia reefs, 1982 - 2013

• Sponges on Lophelia-reefs

• NDP project: Compilation of images from Statoil and

Norske Shell

• Other relevant biotopes: ’Fauna’ reef and Nyegga

• Conclusions

F

H

Investigating anomalies

”ground truthing”

Integral part of infrastructure

development

Norwegian oil and gas transport sytems, 1980 - 2005

From Hovland & Mortensen, 1999

Industry Survey methodollgy

History of industrial (Statoil) documentation of biotopes

- Cold water corals, 1982 (Fugløyreef) – 2010 (Faunareef)

- Seep-related bioherms, 1983 (Tommeliten)

- Pockmark carbonates, 1985 (Gullfaks), 2005 (Troll)

- Fish pockmark cavern, 1985 (Gullfaks)

- Pockmark Lophelia / Acesta reefs, 2004 (Kristin, Morvin)

- Gas hydrate biotopes, 2004, Nyegga

-Unit pockmark relationship, 2010, Faunareef, Morvin

Main Q: who do we report to on such findings?

Easy A: - Nationally: Nobody seems interested –

- Internationally: Several institutions and groups

OFFSHORE MID-NORWAY

Modified from Hovland, 2008

Hovland et al., 2012.

LOPHELIA REEF IN HIGH-RESOLUTION

v.e. = 3, resolution = 0,5m x 0,5m.

W.d. 274-305 m Lctn. W of SR

ca20m

U-p density:

0 – 16 per 103m2

THE UNIT-PM ENVIRONMENT

The Flustra sp has also been seen

on wellheads at Sleipner – any link

with chemosynth?

From Hovland et al., 2012. Photos courtesy of Statoil

Haltenpipe reef cluster (HRC)

Hovland, 2008 Photo courtesy of Statoil

MARKER AT HRC REEF C (1991-1997)

From Hovland & Mortensen, 1999

A prolific

environment?

Photo courtesy of Statoil

NDP-PROJECT (COMPILATION OF IMAGES)

MAIN OBJECTIVES

To:

- Produce a catalogue (Atlas) over sponges associated with

Lophelia-reefs off Mid-Norway.

- Acquire data (stills and video) from Statoil and Norske

Shell A/S that can be used in a catalogue

(publically available via NOG?).

- Seek (hire) relevant professional expertise from

UiB/IMR/DnV or others to identify the sponge species

from acquired images.

THE ATLAS

Photos courtesy of Statoil Hovland, in prep. 2013

Photo courtesy of Statoil

Detail from Reef KA2

(Pockmark-Lophelia reef

At the Kristin field)

Photos and image courtesy of Statoil From Jensen et al., 2008

Ag Ae Anthotela grandiflora A. excavata

Morvin reference reef 08 (MRR08)

Photos and 3D-image, courtesy of Statoil

’Unit pockmarks’ and Lophelia-reefs at Morvin

Image courtesy of Statoil from Hovland et al., 2012

Dead portion

Live portion

Image from the Breisunddjupet, Langeled proj.

Photo courtesy of Statoil

SPONGES AT HYME, NEAR MORVIN AND DRAUGEN

Images, courtesy of Statoil, 2012

with available imagery

OTHER RELEVANT LOCATIONS

AND BIOTOPES

e.g., from

-Nyegga, at 750 m water depth, T= - 0.7 C

THE NYEGGA ZOO….

…relying on energy from below…?

Hovland et al. (2006) Photo courtesy of Statoil

Arrow points at hydrate pingo, inside cryptic caronate env.

PYCNOGONIDS: COLLOSSENDEIS SP.

Nyegga, G11 Photos courtesy of Statoil

CONCLUSIONS

- There are numerous sponges associated with

- Lophelia-reefs off mid-Norway

- There is prolific animal growth associated with

- Seep features like pockmarks and hydrates

- Seafloor biotopes are complex and can be

- Associated with the substratum

- However, much work is needed to find out more.