The Esperanza set sail with the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) to explore one of the oldest and least understood habitats on Earth.
The expedition to the Mingulay reef, located in around 150m of water off the west coast of Scotland, will provide vital scientific data on one of the biggest cold-water coral reef complexes so far discovered in UK waters.
The Esperanza set sail with the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) to explore one of the oldest and least understood habitats on Earth.
The expedition to the Mingulay reef, located in around 150m of water off the west coast of Scotland, will provide vital scientific data on one of the biggest cold-water coral reef complexes so far discovered in UK waters.
A research consortium led by SAMS carried out surveys on the reef in July 2003 and found that parts of the Lophelia coral formation are 3,800 years old - the base may be over 10,000 years old.
Using remotely operated vehicles - essentially small, unmanned submarines - scientists onboard the Greenpeace ship Esperanza will study, sample and document the reef and the numerous species it is thought to host.
An onboard aquarium will allow scientists to closely examine small samples taken from the ocean floor.
During the expedition, which sets off from Greenock, near Glasgow, on 12 May, scientists will also be looking for any evidence of damage to the reef. Although the extent of any damage to the Mingulay reef is currently unknown, coral habitats around the world face many threats - particularly from destructive fishing practices such as bottom trawling.
Bottom trawlers drag heavily weighted fishing nets across the seabed - effectively steamrolling the ocean floor and smashing everything in the way. They are the number one threat to fragile cold-water coral structures, which provide habitats for a diverse range of species including fish, sponges, starfish, sea urchins and crustaceans. Lophelia reefs also serve as important fish spawning and nursery grounds.
It takes one year for Lophelia to grow 2.5cm. It takes just one typical fishing trip for a bottom trawler to sweep approximately 33 square kilometres of the seabed.
Greenpeace is calling for a moratorium on high seas bottom trawling to protect ocean life.
Visit the Esperanza's ship's weblog to read daily reports from the crew.
* Animation based on data from British Geological Survey, SAMS and the MINCH Project
