Buenos Aires, November 23 (NA) — A team of scientists from the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) will be part of the third and final expedition of the research vessel Falkor (too) in the Argentine Sea. According to the Argentine News Agency, the voyage will begin on December 14, departing from the port of Buenos Aires and ending on January 10, 2026, in the city of Puerto Madryn. The campaign, named 'Life at the Extremes,' aims to analyze the Malvinas and Salado Basins, where cold seeps have been found, as well as an unexplored sector where their suspected presence is suspected: the Colorado-Rawson Basins. The team of 25 specialists, led by biologist María Emilia Bravo, from the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences and a CONICET researcher, will study the methane gas leaks that emerge from the depths of the continental slope and give life to chemosynthetic ecosystems (microorganisms and animals that develop in inhospitable conditions). The explorations will be streamed live, where you will be able to see the scientists collecting different sediment, benthic fauna, water, and rock samples. At least 15 dives will be conducted with the SOI's ROV (remotely operated vehicle), through which more data on the importance and distribution of these ecosystems in the South Atlantic Ocean will be known. Working groups dedicated to marine chemistry, benthic invertebrate ecology and taxonomy, physical oceanography, and marine geology and geophysics will participate in the voyage.
