Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities Coral Propagation Technique Development (CPT) and Habitat Assessment and Evaluation (HAE) Projects during Expedition PS-22-08 cruise on R/V Point Sur in the Gulf of Mexico

This dataset contains raw: physical, navigational, biological, and both still and video imagery data files collected during the Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities (MDBC) Expedition PS-22-08 cruise between 2021-10-04 and 2021-10-08. Seven dives were conducted at 5 sites, including 3 CTD casts and 2 survey transects during the cruise. ROV operations were conducted to sample and survey sites with goals to acquire live corals for husbandry and genetics research. Coral snips were also collected for microbiology, population genetics, barcoding, and reproduction data. CTD rosette casts were conducted daily with water sampling for husbandry and eDNA. Highlight videos were collected for outreach and education purposes as well. Additional related data products may also be included in this collection as they are submitted to the NCEI archive. The data in this accession were funded by the Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities Restoration Coral Propagation Technique Development (CPT) and Habitat Assessment and Evaluation (HAE) projects. These projects are two of many selected by the Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group to restore natural resources injured by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill was an unprecedented event. Approximately 3.2 million barrels of oil were released into the deep ocean over nearly three months. The plume of oil moved throughout the water column, formed surface slicks that cumulatively covered an area the size of Virginia, and washed oil onto at least 1,300 miles of shoreline habitats. More than 770 square miles (2,000 square kilometers) of deep benthic habitat were injured by the oil spill, including areas surrounding the Deepwater Horizon wellhead and parts of the Pinnacles Trend mesophotic reef complex, located at the edge of the continental shelf.