Oceanographic Data collected during the Lophelia II 2009: Deepwater Program: Exploration and Research of Northern Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Natural and Artificial Hard Bottom Habitats with Emphasis on Coral Communities: Reefs, Rigs and Wrecks on NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown between August 19, 2009 - Se

This cruise used the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Jason II to: explore 4-6 new sites for the occurrence of deep water coral reefs; made collections of Lophelia and other corals for genetic and physiological studies, made collections of communities associated with Lophelia and other corals for ecological studies; collected quantitative digital imagery for characterization of sites and coral communities; collect spatially explicit physical near bottom oceanographic data; deploy cameras and microbial arrays; reposition larval traps and current meters; collected push cores; and conducted a series of linked archeological/ biological investigations on deep water shipwrecks.