Marine expeditions exploring extreme habitats in the seas of Turkey and the world continue as part of the “DeepTrace” project, led by Prof. Mustafa Yücel from the Institute of Marine Sciences at METU and funded by the European Research Council (ERC). Following their Black Sea expedition in 2024, Dr. Yücel and his team have shifted their focus to the Pacific Ocean for 2025. In partnership with the University of Delaware and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the United States, the expedition will take place between April 4 and May 8 aboard the R/V Atlantis research vessel, with their research centered on the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Costa Rica. The expedition aims to contribute to the search for life on newly discovered ocean worlds in the Solar System by investigating deep-sea habitats, such as hydrothermal vents, where the earliest stages of life can be observed in their natural environment. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the research will incorporate oceanography, nanotechnology, and astrobiology. Considering the similarities between the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean, the Marmara Sea, and the Black Sea, and the subsurface oceans on the moons of Saturn and Jupiter, researchers anticipate that if extraterrestrial life is ever discovered, insights gained from the deep sea will play a crucial role in the process of its identification. Another key objective of the expedition is to contribute to uncovering the unknown roles of hydrothermal vents in the global carbon cycle.
As part of the Eastern Pacific Ocean expedition, a total of 22 dives will be conducted over the course of a month to explore hydrothermal vents using the Alvin research submersible. METU scientists will also take part in these dives. In addition to Prof. Mustafa Yücel, the METU DeepTrace Team will include postdoctoral researcher Dr. Suna Tüzün and doctoral students Nimet Alımlı, Hilal Cura, and Naim Yağız Demir. The team will depart for Costa Rica on March 29 to join the research vessel.
Having previously conducted five deep-sea dives, Prof. Mustafa Yücel achieved the distinction of being the deepest-diving Turkish citizen when he made his first dive in 2007. In 2017, Dr. Yücel participated in dives alongside another METU student, Batuhan Çağrı Yapan, during which they placed the METU logo on the deep seabed. During the upcoming dives in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, three female researchers from the METU team will set a new record as the deepest-diving Turkish women. This achievement will serve as another example of the many contributions made by the METU Institute of Marine Sciences, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, not only in advancing scientific knowledge but also in breaking records across various fields.
