Seamount Deep Dive #3 – The Brazilian Deep-sea Endeavor

Date and Time: Nov 19, 2025 12:00 PM UTC | 15:00 KSA

Deep environments of the South and Tropical Atlantic Ocean cover approximately 80% of Brazilian EEZ (~3.5 million km2). These environments are largely unexplored, except for the economically important Espírito Santo, Campos and Santos sedimentary basins that concentrate currently exploited oil and gas reservoirs. In the past decade other geological features both within the Brazilian EEZ and on the adjacent SW Atlantic Basin have subject to scientific exploration, partly driven by the need to find valuable mineral resources, partly to discover and describe deep ecosystems in the South Atlantic.

This session will bring an overview of their occurrence and distribution off the Brazilian continental margin (SW Atlantic), and the scientific efforts of Brazilian researchers and international collaborations to characterize their habitats and biodiversity. These efforts have stimulated Brazilian academy and inspired a Brazilian Deep-Sea Program under the auspices of the National Institute of Ocean Research (INPO).

Programme

12:00 PM – Welcome Remarks, Janice Trotte-Duhá (INPO)

12:05 PM – Introduction: Exploring Seamounts for the Benefit of Humanity, Paula Zapata Ramirez (OceanQuest)

12:15 PM – A Journey to the Geodiversity of Western South Atlantic and Equatorial Atlantic Seamounts, Alex Bastos (UFES)

12:35 PM – Fish biodiversity and conservation on mesophotic habitats of the Vitória-Trindade Seamount Chain, Hudson Pinheiro (USP)

12:55 PM – Deep-sea habitats and megafauna on the slopes of the São Paulo Ridge, Angel Perez (UNIVALI)

13:15 PM – Megafaunal community structure on ferromanganese crusts and surrounding areas at Rio Grande Rise, SW Atlantic, Paulo Vinícius F. Corrêa (IOUSP)

13:35 PM – Q & A, moderated by Janice Trotte-Duhá

14:00 PM – Closing, Janice Trotte-Duhá