Deep sea exploration by Singapore scientists!

Singapore marine scientists embarked on a deep sea expedition in Mar 2018.  The first deep-sea biodiversity expedition organised by Singapore and Indonesia, the 14-day trip will explore up to 2km deep!

Photo by NUS.

Is there anything down there? And how can we keep up with the expedition's findings?


The expedition is led by Professor Peter Ng, head of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum at the National University of Singapore (NUS), and Dr Dwi Listyo Rahayu, senior research scientist at the Research Centre for Oceanography of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.

Members of the South Java Deep-Sea Biodiversity Expedition 2018
 include (from left) Ms Iffah Binte Iesa,
expedition consultant Dr Bertrand Richer de Forges,
the Singapore team's chief scientist Prof Peter Ng, expedition consultant
Prof Chan Tin-Yam from National Taiwan Ocean University,
and Dr. Jose Christopher Escaño Mendoza.
Photo by NUS.

Is there anything down there?

According to Today Online: "Prof Peter Ng rubbished the notion that there is no life to be found in the deep sea, which has been called no man’s land.

'Darth Vader Roach'
Photo by Prof Peter Ng.

Past expeditions elsewhere have unearthed sea cockroaches resembling Darth Vader, bloated oil-filled fishes with poorly developed eyes as well as spectacularly coloured lobsters, he said.

Some of the awesome deep sea critters seen in the past.
Photos by Prof Peter Ng

During a deep-sea expedition in central Philippines organised by the Philippines, France, Taiwan and Singapore in 2005, for instance, researchers found more than 1,500 species of crabs, shrimps and lobsters, and more than 150 of these were new to science, Prof Ng said.

“Deep-sea animals generally have a long life because of the high pressure and cold temperatures. Most of the animals generally live five to 10 times longer than things in shallow waters,” he said.

How can we keep up with the expedition's findings?

There will be daily updates (Wifi be willing) throughout the expedition!

Photo by NUS

Follow and like these  Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum resources...

• facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lkcnhm/
• instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lkcnhm/
• microsite: https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/research/sjades2018/

Media articles on the trip compiled on wildsingapore news.

This article is written for Celebrating Singapore Shores as part of International Year of the Reef 2018.