2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas

Mission Summary

The 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas expedition was a 59-day, three leg telepresence-enabled expedition including remotely operated vehicle, CTD rosette, and mapping operations to explore unknown and poorly known areas in and around the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

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Video Highlights

Hotspots of Biodiversity

Deep-sea corals and sponges provide habitat for other organisms to live on, creating oases of life.

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Managing a National Monument

Information from the expedition will complement the management plans for the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument.

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Bottom Fish

One of the goals of the expedition was to explore and document the diversity and distribution of bottomfish habitats.

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