Seamount Deep Dive #1 – Around Africa Expedition

Date and Time: May 29^th, 2025, 1:00 – 3:00 PM UTC

We are delighted to welcome you to the inaugural session of the Seamount Deep Dives Webinar Series, a new networking platform to explore and celebrate cutting-edge discoveries, technologies, and collaborations driving deep-sea science around the world.

Our first session will spotlight the groundbreaking Around Africa Expedition, a multi-leg, multinational mission led by OceanX and OceanQuest, in close partnership with NRF-SAEON, IMar, and POGO, which was endorsed as a contribution to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The expedition brought together leading scientists and Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOPs) from across Africa and beyond to explore some of the least-known deep-sea ecosystems surrounding the continent.

From Walters Shoal to the Nola Seamounts, this mission marked a turning point in Africa’s engagement with deep-ocean research. Among the most significant scientific achievements were 17 ROV dives, totaling 60 hours underwater aboard the OceanXplorer including the first-ever visual surveys of the flanks of Walters Shoal and a newly mapped seamount in the southern Madagascar Ridge. In addition, 12 submersible dives using Neptune and Nadir yielded 79 biological and geological samples across 69 hours of deep-sea exploration. The expedition also conducted extensive high-resolution seafloor mapping in the Madagascar Ridge, Agulhas Plateau, and Nola Seamounts.

In this webinar, you will hear directly from some of the key architects and participants of the expedition. Their stories will weave together scientific insight, operational experience, and personal reflections from a journey that blended discovery, education, diplomacy, and technology in equal measure.

Programme

01:00–01:05 PM – Welcome and Opening Remarks.

01:05–01:15 PM – Behind the Scenes: Planning and logistics of the Expedition, Roger Mayer, OceanX.

01:15–01:25 PM – Exploring the Southwest Indian Ocean: Walters Shoal and the Africana Seamount, Lara Atkinson, NRF-SAEON.

01:25–01:35 PM – The Nola Seamount Leg: Research, Youth Engagement & High-Level Visits in Cabo Verde, Yara Rodrigues, IMar.

01:35–01:45 PM – From Submersibles to Environmental DNA analysis: The Science and the Technologies Driving Discovery, Mattie Rodrigue, OceanX

Overview of advanced tools used during the expedition and how they supported scientific breakthroughs.

01:45–01:55 PM – Reading the Seafloor: Geology of the Madagascar Ridge and the Nola Seamounts, Nico Augustin, OceanQuest.

01:55–02:05 PM – Training Tomorrow’s Leaders: ECOP Training Legs and Capacity Sharing, Kailani Acosta, OceanX.

02:05–02:15 PM – An ECOP at Sea: Learning, Growing, and Networking, Sinothando Shibe, SANParks.

02:15–02:25 PM – Public Engagement on the Docks: Student Visits and VIP Outreach, Jose Luiz Moutinho, OceanQuest

02:25–02:35 PM – Capturing the Moment: Science Storytelling from the OceanXplorer, Eben Hall – OceanX Media

02:35–02:55 PM – Live Q&A with the Speakers

02:55–03:00 PM – Closing Remarks & Announcements

Relevant links

Around Africa Expedition: https://www.oqfoundation.org/en/expedition/

OceanQuest: https://www.oqfoundation.org/

OceanX: https://oceanx.org/

NRF-SAEON: https://www.saeon.ac.za/

IMar: https://imar.cv/

SANParks: https://www.sanparks.org/

UCT – MARiS: https://maris.uct.ac.za/

UN Ocean Decade: https://oceandecade.org/