A video-survey using a Super Mohawk remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was conducted in October 2015 at Inner Frobisher Bay, Nunavut. The benthic environment was video-recorded and opportunistically photographed using a high-definition camera (1Cam Alpha, Sub C Imaging, 24.1 megapixels), at a depth of ~59-139 m along a transect line 1.2 km long.

Sample collections were made aboard the CCGS Amundsen during the ArcticNet field campaigns in August 2013 (Leg 1), July, August and October 2014 (Leg 1 & 3) and October 2015 (Leg 4). Sediment samples retrieved from box cores were sliced into 0.5 cm increments and frozen separately, while benthic invertebrates were collected using a benthic trawl. Individual species including Gorgoncephelus arcticus, Psilaster andromeda, Ophiopleura borealis and Ctenodiscus crispatus were identified, sorted, packed and stored at -30C and shipped to Winnipeg. At the University of Manitoba samples were freeze-dried and homogenized. Samples were then extracted and analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and n-alkanes using a LECO Pegasus gas chromatographer with a high resolution time of flight mass spectrometer (GC-HR TOFMS). Supplementary data was also generated, including stable isotope ratios of nitrogen and carbon, as well as lipid (inverts) and total organic carbon (sediment) to calculate biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs). Statistical analysis is currently ongoing.

A video-survey using a Super Mohawk remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was conducted in October 2015 near Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut. The benthic environment was video-recorded and opportunistically photographed using a high-definition camera (1Cam Alpha, Sub C Imaging, 24.1 megapixels), at a depth of ~620-680 m along a transect line 954m long.

In July 2014 and October 2015 a Super Mohawk (SuMo) remotely operated vehicle (ROV) aboard the CCGS Amundsen was used to video-survey a deep-water environment at Scott Inlet. In 2014, a video-transect ~2.7 km long was followed across depths of 475-650 m. Videos and photographs were obtained using a high-definition camera, and specimens of invertebrates (sponges) were collected using the ROV. In 2015, no transect was followed and the main objective was to sample carnivorous sponges using a sampling platform.

A benthic survey using a Super Mohawk remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was conducted in July 2017 at Disko Fan, SE Baffin Bay. The benthic environment was video-recorded and opportunistically photographed using a high-definition camera (1Cam Alpha, Sub C Imaging, 24.1 megapixels), at a water depth of ~930 m. An experimental frame deployed in 2016 was recovered during this ROV dive, but no other collections took place at this site during this dive.

A video-survey using a Super Mohawk remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was conducted in October 2015 in a site near Cape Dyer, Nunavut. The benthic environment was video-recorded and opportunistically photographed using a high-definition camera (1Cam Alpha, Sub C Imaging, 24.1 megapixels), at a depth of ~750 m along a transect line 935 m long.

Samples were collected at 5 sites ranging in water depth from 100 to 595 m at least once in each season (ice-covered and open-water condition) between March and August 2008 onboard the icebreaker CCGS Amundsen. At each sampling station, an USNEL box corer was deployed for collecting seafloor sediments. From each box core, 5 sub-cores of 11 cm diameter and 20 cm sediment depth were taken for assessing benthic carbon remineralisation in microcosm incubations and 3 additional subcores of 5 cm diameter and 10 cm length were taken for determining sediment properties. Incubations of sediment microcosms were run in a dark, temperature-controlled room (2-4 °C) for 24-48 h. Each sediment microcosm was sieved through a 0.5 mm mesh under running sea water at the end of incubations to determine biomass of macrofaunal communities. The sieve residue was preserved in a buffered 4% seawater-formaldehyde solution and analysed for species composition and abundance under a stereomicroscope in the lab.

A first survey was conducted in and around EL446 onboard the CCGS Amundsen from 16 July to 30 July, 2009. A total of 21 biophysical stations were sampled, involving 25 box core deployments and 18 Agassiz trawl tows. In addition, the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) was deployed once (station 10) for epibenthos observation. A second survey was conducted in EL449 and EL451 onboard the CCGS Amundsen from 12 August to 26 August, 2010. A total of 18 biophysical stations were sampled, comprising 25 box core deployments and 18 Agassiz trawl tows. A third survey was conducted in EL451 and EL453 onboard the CCGS Amundsen from 7 September to 22 September 2011. A total of 13 biophysical stations were sampled, comprising 18 box core deployments and 13 Agassiz trawl tows. The box core was deployed to quantitatively sample diversity and abundance of endobenthic organisms. After retrieval of the box core, a subsample of about 0.125 m2 area and 12-15 cm depth was collected and passed through a 0.5 mm mesh sieve to separate sediment from endofauna. Organisms were immediately preserved in a 4% buffered formaldehyde solution for further taxonomical identification in the laboratory. The volume of sediments sieved from each box core was measured (depth × width × length) to the nearest 1 cm to estimate endobenthic fauna density in each sample. An Agassiz trawl (1.5 m width × 0.7 m height, cod end of 0.5 cm mesh size) was towed on the seabed at a speed of 1.5 - 2 knots for about 3 to 5 minutes to survey epibenthic species diversity and abundance. Retrieved samples were washed with seawater in a sieve (0.5 mm mesh), and organisms were counted and identified to the lowest taxonomical level possible.

Here, we sampled five specimens of Chondrocladia and Cladorhiza as part of the Hidden Biodiversity project, using the SuperMohawk ROV on board the CCGS Amundsen. In October 2015, samples were collected from Scott Inlet and off Qikiqtarjuaq, and retrieved using a custom-built sample elevator. Samples were immediately dissected and processed for DNA and histological analyses. The analysis of these samples is currently in progress.

A video-survey using a Super Mohawk remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was conducted in October 2015 in Navy Board Inlet, Nunavut. The benthic environment was video-recorded and opportunistically photographed using a high-definition camera (1Cam Alpha, Sub C Imaging, 24.1 megapixels), at a depth of ~450 m along a transect line 480 m long.