Are there hopes for interesting finds from the NZ and Italian project?

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/12/12/1071125652972.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1009177.htm

Emps

Indeed there are; some 278 epibenthic sled/dredge, grab sample and fish trawl (commercial deep-sea fishing gear I understand) sampling stations are envisaged, with sampling effort split equally amongst the three. Probably the most exciting stuff (as far as we are concerned) will be caught in the trawl samples.

I don't know much more than that, other than the fact this is an enormous sampling undertaking. Having worked at NIWA for 7 years I do wonder where all of the samples will be stored/accessioned - the facilities there were stretched to capacity to begin with (it was hard to find an empty space on a shelf to stick a small bottle on).

Could be some sensational cephalopods caught during this expedition, including some of the first-known adults of some of these weird, wonderful and bizarre Antarctic forms (especially in the trawls). The epibenthic sled/dredge samples are likely to collect octopuses and benthic eggs, whilst the grab samples are likely to collect no cephalopods (but they might collect their remains, as in beaks and hooks in the sediments. Different gear types sample differently.
Good catch (I'd seen no press about this survey).
O

Good catch (I'd seen no press about this survey).

It came up here:

http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12176

and I thought this was one of the best places to get the expert view of what cephalopod-related goodies people were hoping for so I dug out some links and bingo ;)

Emps

Some great reports emerging (great headline fodder):

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3556328&thesection=news&thesubsection=world

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/australasia/story.jsp?story=504102

Some interesting stuff on the 'dumbo octopus'.

Emps

Hi Emps; the stories referred to here are based on material taken last year by the NORFANZ expedition; the Ross Sea expedition is something quite different.

It is rather strange for such belated press on the NORFANZ trip - there was a flurry last year when the vessel returned.

I'm not aware of any faunal breakdown for the Ross Sea expedition yet.
Cheers
O

Oooops - same research vessel which is where the confusion sneaked in.

Ahhhhhhhh well back to waiting then ;)

Emps

Although it is still off topic there is a good report on the finds with pictures here:

http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/21/1079823237850.html

Emps