When marine biologist Dr Paige Maroni boarded Secret Atlas's micro-cruise to the remote Arctic archipelago of Svalbard this summer, little did she expect what she'd find 100 metres under the sea...
In an effort to conserve our precious planet, we need to understand it better – and for a scientist wanting to access some of the most remote and ecologically-important spots of the world, getting there can be costly and time-consuming.
That’s where Yachts For Science comes in, an organisation which connects yacht owners with the scientific community in the name of ocean conservation. By allowing a scientist to travel with them for a week or two, owners can experience a slice of science in action – and play a small part in helping projects as varied as seagrass conservation, marine life studies, coral reef research, and more. Not only that, they could help pave the way for remarkable discoveries – like the fact that the icy and desolate wilds of Svalbard are incredibly biodiverse and teeming with ocean life.
This is one of the findings of marine biologist Dr Paige Maroni, who hitched a ride on a private cruise to Svalbard in July this year to carry out studies of this fascinating region. A postdoctoral research fellow from the University of Western Australia (UWA), Maroni’s work focuses on assessing benthic (seafloor) biodiversity around the world, in particular places where no one's ever looked at before, like the Arctic. "We found that the seafloor in Svalbard was jammed with life," she says.
Maroni spent 20 days on board 45-metre ice class-standard vessel MV Freya. Originally used as a lighthouse-building vessel, she is chartered by Secret Atlas, a micro-expedition company co-founded in 2019 by Michele D'Agostino and Andy Marsh, two adventurers with more than 15 years of experience in travels to remote areas of the world. Secret Atlas runs 10-day private expeditions exploring the shores of Svalbard and East Greenland (Scoresby Sund) for parties up to 12 and Maroni joined them for two consecutive trips.
Science knows very little about the Arctic seafloor, Maroni says. "And you assume these isolated, harsh environments would have less life, but it's not true. We need to change the narrative and let everyone know that these places are extremely important from a global biodiversity point of view."
"The seafloor is not only one of the ecosystems that's really hard to examine and assess, but it's also one of the most biodiverse on our planet," she says. In polar regions, you might only find a few fish species, but what you do get is huge plumes of invertebrates, such as crustaceans or jellyfish. "The Arctic seafloor is rich in life due to abundant nutrients from upwelling currents, seasonal phytoplankton blooms, and ice algae," she explains. "These provide food for diverse invertebrate communities." Cold, oxygen-rich waters and a variety of substrates further support this thriving ecosystem.
Maroni was in Svalbard to conduct baseline research and find out which areas were the most biodiverse or ecologically fragile; information that could help Svalbard leaders know where to direct conservation efforts. Their research will also inform them of where to concentrate future expeditions.
Finding out that she and colleague Tim MacDonald had a space on the trip came at the last-minute and with only ten days notice, they dropped everything and flew halfway round the world. After all, it was an opportunity not to be missed: whereas on official expeditions, scientists often have to queue up and slot in around up to 60 others, on private cruises they can benefit from being able to carry out a great body of work uninterrupted – indeed, the pair managed to pack in 22 dives in 20 days.
Because they were technically crew and not charter guests, they also had to rush to get certain seafaring certifications and be strategic about what experiments they could actually carry out there. "We had to pack fast, and we couldn't get collection permits in time to do things like eDNA (ocean DNA) research or collect physical specimens for molecular research, so we decided to bring an ROV instead," she explains. This remotely-operated underwater vehicle was sufficiently lightweight to get through customs, could help them view depths of up to 100 metres but was also mobile enough that they could deploy it at a moment's notice and work round the boat’s charter itinerary.
Right from day one, the expedition was a huge success: "I couldn't really believe it, to be honest – even on the first dive when we arrived on the seafloor, we landed on this red coral garden that was teeming with urchins and scallops. We just saw so many insane colours and so much life immediately: walls of anemones, like a beautiful flower garden; brittle stars (like a starfish but more predatory); red coral habitats; kelp forests; tube worm and sponge gardens."
Having Maroni on board was a decision that Secret Atlas’s head of operations, Mariano Curiel warmly welcomed. "We've known about Yachts For Science for some time; it’s a small industry and we’re always on the lookout for new and interesting projects and partners that stand out," he said. “And we are very glad we did it. Being able to contribute to ‘real’ scientific research makes everyone in Secret Atlas proud, and we hope this is the beginning of a long path of cooperation."
While guests were off on day trips, Maroni was able to stay behind to do her work – and show the more curious members of the group the fruits of her labours when they returned. "The guests were phenomenal. I was quite nervous to begin with. You know, they're on holiday, they may not want a scientist being there," she says. "But there were so many curious, like-minded people and it was such a pleasure to show them this amazing world that I was also discovering while they were discovering."
On some occasions the guests even joined them on the RIB to watch a ROV dive. "It was lovely seeing four or five heads crowd round around this tiny little screen, spotting things and asking me questions! And it was really satisfying to see these people leave the ship at the end of the 10 days and feel like they were now stewards who would go off and talk about the beautiful things they’d seen and share that message with their friends or family."
Martyn Tipping was one of those stewards. He and his son Ethan, who's studying natural resources conservation at University of British Columbia, have always been passionate about wildlife and wildlife exploration and have been slowly working their way through a travel bucket list, but even then, Tipping had second thoughts about Svalbard after booking it. "I was like, 'what the hell am I doing? I don't particularly like boats. I've never wanted to do a cruise. I don't like the cold. I like to get a good night's sleep. And, why am I going somewhere where it never gets dark? But I have to say, after the first couple of hours of being on the boat, all of those concerns and worries just disappeared, and I felt like it was the best decision I’ve ever made."
Having Maroni on board was inspiring, so much so Ethan is now considering going on to do a PHD. "You're so used to seeing a mountain, an island, a rock, but to actually have someone there to teach you the history of them, how they came about, brings a whole different dimension."
Learning what was underneath the sea gave them a whole different side to the expedition that they wouldn't otherwise have experienced too. "The ocean would look black, completely inhospitable, like there was no life there at all, but then they would drop the ROV into the water and suddenly you could see an abundance of life before you."
Everyone comes for the polar bears, Tipping says, but as he discovered, there was so much more to Svalbard than that. "We really did fall in love with the Arctic. The scale, the ice, the ethereal light, the colour of the water changing all the time… And because there is no noise pollution, to be able to hear the whales singing and the wings of a bird flying as it comes towards the boat – it really did feel like we were traveling to the edge of the world!"
The goal of Yachts For Science is to bring together yacht owners and crew with marine scientists, researchers and content creators and to provide access to the oceans. Click here to find out more about the current projects in need of support.