Antara News, Friday, January 7, 2011
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian and US officials met in Washington DC Thursday evening to discuss the results of the two countries' joint oceanic expedition conducted in Indonesian waters not long ago.
Speakers at the discussion included Indonesian Ambassador to the US Dino Patti Djalal, US Ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel, Indonesian Maritime and Fishery Affairs Minister Fadel Muhammad, Dr. Bruce Alberts, White House Science Envoy, and Dr. Jane Lubchenco, US Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, according to information from the Indonesian embassy in the US capital on Thursday.
The discussion was broadcast live on the Internet (https://statedept.connectsolutions.com/science) to enable the public to interact with the speakers and experts at the discussion.
The US-Indonesian oceanic expedition called INDEX-SATAL 2010 was conducted to explore the ocean, and helping advance knowledge, use and protection of the ocean and its resources.
The 2010 joint expedition was staged from two ships: the NOAA's Okeanos Explorer and the Indonesian research vessel Baruna Jaya IV.
From June to August 2010, an international team of scientists and technicians both on ships and on shore conducted exploratory investigations on the diversity and distribution of deep sea habitats and marine life in Indonesian waters.
They focused on the water column and benthic environments in unknown ocean areas in SATAL - a contraction of Sangihe and Talaud - two island chains stretching northeast of North Sulawesi.
During the expedition US and Indonesian scientists worked side-by-side on two ships, the Okeanos Explorer and the Baruna Jaya IV, and at Exploration Command Centers (ECCs) ashore.
The joint expedition discovered interesting things such as previously unknown submarine volcanoes, a large hydrothermal field with a thriving exotic animal ecosystem and areas rich in deep-sea ocean animals.
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