For the marine part, the team will ne exploring the underwater karst slopes in 4 locations:

1. Kumawa, opposite the village of Nusa Ulan and the Karang Derdi cape,
2. Southern part of the Pulau Adi island along the drop-off of the Tumbu Tumbu island,
3. South-eastern area of the Triton bay along the drop-off of the Pulau Buasai,
4. South-eastern area of the Etna bay along the drop-off of the Tanjung Boi Cape.

The sampling method will consist of manually collecting corals, algae, gorgonians, invertebrates along vertical transects, from -100m (-330 ft.) to the surface. This approach will, in particular, allow the study of the specific richness and the connectivity of communities depending on the depth, currents and turbidity.

For the continental part, the team will explore the immersed underground networks of the Seraran anticline (Jabuenggara Cave), and also the floor of Lake Kamaka. In the Jabuenggara Cave, where, in 2010, was discovered the first cavefish species of Indonesian Papua, the team is planning to explore the deepest area of the network and search for potential new cavefish and crustaceans species. In Lake Kamaka, where the bathymetry will be carried out beforehand by the karstology-hydrology team, the focus will be on the deepest areas, which are suspected to have an underground connection with the Triton Bay. All organisms consistent with anchialine environments, darkness and greatest depths will be sampled.

All collected samples will be photographed, and their habitats mapped and recorded in detail (GPS coordinates, depth, salinity, water conductivity and hardness, temperature, turbidity, etc.).

Rebreather diving
© Eric Bahuet

Team members