Seamount Secrets

Species are disappearing. Somewhere in the ecosystem, something has changed. Your task is to follow the evidence and uncover what happened.

Welcome to Seamount Secrets.

Explore deep-sea areas, collect water samples and begin your investigation. These samples contain environmental DNA, or eDNA, the tiny traces of genetic material that living things leave behind.

Each sample reveals another clue. Which species are still here? Which have vanished? Where did the change begin?

Work together to assemble the evidence, eliminate possible explanations, and build a case for what happened to the ecosystem. When you think you've cracked it, make your deduction and watch the habitat replay its story, revealing how the clues connect. What surprised you?

Seamount Secrets turns real scientific thinking into a collaborative mystery, where every sample brings you closer to understanding a world you cannot always see.

Because in ocean science, the answers aren't always visible. Sometimes, you have to follow the traces life leaves behind.

Created through a partnership between the University of Bristol and OceanX Education, funded by Dalio Philanthropies, bringing together an interdisciplinary team of students, marine scientists, science communicators, and immersive storytellers, with mentorship from Studio Giggle and collaborators across ocean science and creative technology.