Indonesian and US scientists have began joint deep-sea explorations in the Sangihe-Talaud Islands of North Sulawesi today to study submarine volcanoes and their surrounding environments.
An Indonesian Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry official and coordinator of the Indonesian scientists, Sugiarta Wirasantosa, on Wednesday said the explorations were necessary because Indonesian waters largely remained a mystery to scientists.
Deep sea studies had been conducted on between 10 and 15 percent of Indonesia’s waters, he said, which covered an area more than twice the size its land territories, and these studies were limited to several areas.
“This time we are going to explore the deep sea up to 5,000 meters below sea level and learn about predominantly submarine volcanoes, their environment and biota,” Sugiarta told The Jakarta Post.
“We still have sketchy idea about what goes on under the sea, for example volcanic activity, earthquakes and creatures living there. There are so many aspects to learn about,” he said.
The explorations, which will take a month, involve around 32 Indonesian scientists and 12 US scientists from different fields, including biology, chemistry, ocean geology, volcanology, oceanography, geodesy and fishery.
The Indonesian scientists come from the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) in Jakarta, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) in Jakarta, the Marine Geology Research and Development Center in West Java’s Bandung, the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and Sam Ratulangi University in North Sulawesi.
Sugiarta said the group would be using two vessels — the Okeanos Explorer of the US and the Baruna Jaya IV of Indonesia.
“Baruna Jaya will take the samples we need for research,” said Sugiarta.
“All samples collected will be reviewed here in Indonesia.”
Indonesia would benefit from not only technology, but also the latest developments in science from the Indonesia-US cooperation, Sugiarta said.
From Washington, Craig McLean, the official responsible for the execution of ocean exploration at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told the Associated Press that the explorations would allow scientists to better understand the formation and process of tsunamis through a high-resolution map of the ocean floor.
