NOAA Okeanos Explorer Video Playlist

Gulf of Mexico 2012 | Mid-Cayman Rise 2011 | Galápagos Rift 2011 | INDEX-SATAL 2010

Okeanos Video Playlist

Select a video from the playlist by clicking on an icon featured along the right side of the player window. Get additional information or choose from various downloadable video formats at the bottom of this page. Share the video clips by email with your friends or embed them on your blog.

The videos on this page were collected from the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer during the Gulf of Mexico 2012 Expedition, the Mid-Cayman Rise 2011 Expedition, Galápagos Rift 2011 Expedition and INDEX-SATAL 2010 Exploration of the Sangihe Talaud Region of Indonesian waters.

Known as “America’s ship for ocean exploration,” the Okeanos Explorer, in partnership with NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration, travels the globe to map and explore largely unknown areas of the ocean. When the ship is underway on a mission, scientists on board Okeanos Explorer use tools such multibeam sonar mapping systems and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to explore at depths down to 4,000 meters. Images and high-definition video from ROVs are sent from the seafloor to the ship and to shore in real-time using a technology referred to as “telepresence.” Although Okeanos Explorer may be thousands of miles away, scientists at shore-side "exploration command centers" throughout the country can help guide the ship through its mission. And the same seafloor images and video seen by scientists are streamed live into classrooms, newsrooms, and living rooms through high-speed Internet.

The Okeanos Explorer is in port for the remainder of 2012, so live feeds from the ship are not currently active. The videos on this page represent highlights from past ship expeditions. Stay tuned for the 2013 field season to catch the action live once again.

Videos courtesy of NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program.

Click on the links below to see more content from the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer expeditions.

Gulf of Mexico 2012 Expedition [ Read More ]

Gulf of Mexico 2012 Expedition

(March - April) From March to April 2012, a team of scientists and technicians both at-sea and on shore will conduct exploratory investigations on the diversity and distribution of deep-sea habitats and marine life in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Okeanos Explorer Gulf of Mexico 2012 Video Playlist

March 20 Log Highlights from the March 20 ROV dive.	March 22 Log Highlights from the March 22 ROV dive.	March 22 Log Video of catshark encountered on dive.	March 22 Log Swimming sea cucumber discovered during ROV dive.


March 23 Log Highlights from the March 23 ROV dive.	March 24 Log Highlights from the March 24 ROV dive.	March 25 Log Highlights from the March 25 ROV dive.	March 26 Log Highlights from the March 26 ROV dive.


March 27 Log Highlights from the March 27 ROV dive.	March 28 Log Highlights from the March 28 ROV dive.	March 29 Log Highlights from the March 29 ROV dive.	March 30 Log Highlights from the March 30 ROV dive.


April 2 Log Highlights from the April 2 ROV dive.	April 3 Log Highlights from the April 3 ROV dive.	April 5 Log Highlights from the April 5 ROV dive.	April 6 Log Highlights from the April 6 ROV dive.


April 12 Log From pre-dive protocol to ROV launch, crew members follow detailed procedures.	April 12 Log Highlights from the April 12 ROV dive.	April 13 Log Highlights from the April 13 ROV dive.	April 14-17 ROV Highlights Video footage from NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer on April 14-17 during the Gulf of Mexico Expedition 2012.


Dolphin Video Dolphins pass beneath the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer on April 20, 2012, during the Gulf of Mexico Expedition 2012.	April 18 Log Highlights from the April 18 ROV dive.	April 19 Log Video footage from the wooden-hulled shipwreck seen on April 19.	April 20 ROV Highlights Video footage from NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer on April 20 at Green Canyon.


April 21 ROV Highlights Video footage from NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer on April 21 during the Gulf of Mexico Expedition 2012.	April 24 ROV Highlights Video footage from NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer on April 24 during the Gulf of Mexico Expedition 2012.	April 26 ROV Highlights Video footage from NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer on April 26 during the Gulf of Mexico Expedition 2012.

Mid-Cayman Rise 2011 Expedition [ Read More ]

Mid-Cayman Rise 2011 Expedition

(August) Join the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer as it travels to the deepest part of the Caribbean Sea, where a team of international scientists both at-sea and on shore will conduct interdisciplinary investigations of the Mid-Cayman Rise.



Dive 9 Highlights - Niua North hydrothermal vent plumes and marine life.	Dive 8 Highlights - Chimneys at Mata Fitu looked like Christmas trees.	Dive 7 Highlights - Stalked barnacles filter-feeding with their white "citti" at Mata Ua.	Dive 1 Highlights - The science team explores bacterial mats at Vai Lili.


NE Lau Basin Fly-through from the north to the south along the Northeast Lau basin.	NE Lau Basin Fly-through from the south toward the north along the Lau basin.	NE Lau Basin 3D images slideshow of the Submarine Ring of Fire 2012 proposed ROV dive sites.	Mission Summary ROV dive highlight image collection.


Dive Q333 Hot shimmering water vents from a black chimney as a fish swims by and narrowly avoids its scalding temperatures.	Dive Q333 'Beehive' chimneys seen at Niua South are covered with two species of snails and shrimp.


Dive Q332 Huge numbers of scaleworms were observed on the seafloor and (as seen here) free-swimming, at West Mata.	Dive Q332 Elongated pillow lava tubes that formed on the steep slope of West Mata are truncated along the rim of the new pit crater.	Dive Q332 Thousands of shrimp swim up off the bottom when the ROV bumps a rock at West Mata	Dive Q332 Close-up of pillow lava formations exposed in the wall of a new pit crater at West Mata.


Dive Q332 The ROV explores vertical cliffs where a landslide occurred between 2010-2011 at West Mata.


Dive Q331 Time-lapse views of densely packed crabs, shrimp, snails, eelpouts, and other vent animals at Mata Tolu.	Dive Q331 This small chimney is host to a diverse group of animals including snails, shrimp, hermit crabs, true crabs, and scaleworms.	Dive Q331 A large extinct chimney with spires towers over a smaller active chimney at Mata Tolu.	Dive Q331 A complex of hydrothermal chimneys and their associated biological communities, seen at Mata Tolu.


Dive Q331 At the base of this chimney at Mata Tolu colonies of white and blue snail are segregated, probably because of different temperature preferences.	Dive Q331 Close-up of a chimney spire covered in snails, shrimp, scaleworms, and crabs at Mata Tolu.


Dive Q330 Sulfur-rich plumes billow out of the pit at Niua North.	Dive Q330 The ROV finds the source of the sulfur-rich plume as it rises out of the pit crater at Niua North.	Dive Q330 At least two species of shrimp graze on microbial mats on deposits of sulfur in the crater at Niua North.	Dive Q330 A thick white sulfur-rich plume is emitted from the pit crater at Niua North.


Dive Q330 A shrimp with eggs visible beneath its translucent carapace.	Dive Q330 Close-up view of two different species of shrimp living at Niua North.	Dive Q330 A sediment sample is taken among a dense colony of live mussels at Niua North.	Dive Q330 The ROV uses a scoop net to collect mussels at Niua North, then shrimp swim out of the way during a transit, followed by a close view of a crab.


Dive Q329 Larger chimneys emitting smokey vent fluids at Mata Fitu are covered in stalked barnacles.	Dive Q329 Squat lobsters swim away as the ROV approaches a chimney with thin finger-like spires.	Dive Q329 Clusters of chimneys of different shapes, sizes and colors cover the slope at Mata Fitu.	Dive Q329 Pink scaleworms graze on the microbial mats living on the chimneys at Mata Fitu.


Dive Q329 Clear hot vent fluids are supporting a diverse ecosystem on the active chimneys at Mata Fitu.	Dive Q329 Active sulfide chimneys at Mata Fitu resemble christmas trees after a recent snowfall. In this case, the white areas are microbial mats.


Dive Q328 A group of chimneys, almost entirely covered in stalked barnacles, rises impressively above the seafloor at Mata Ua.	Dive Q328 Scientists discover black smoker chimneys on the second ROV dive at the Mata Ua volcano at a depth of 2,100 meters.	Dive Q328 Black smoker vents at Mata Ua emit a turbulent stream of super-heated water and mineral particles.	Dive Q328 At Mata Ua, a cluster of stalked barnacles filter feed by waving their fan-like cirri to capture microscopic organisms suspended in the warm vent water.


Dive Q327 An enormous number of Opaepele shrimp have colonized West Mata since it was last seen erupting in 2009.	Dive Q327 A bizarre looking, 'hairy' crab of the genus Paralomis crawls out of a crack that is venting warm fluids at West Mata.


Dive Q326 Hydrothermal fluid gushes from vents near the top of a chimney at Niua South.	Dive Q326 The Quest 4000 ROV surveys a cluster of 20+ active chimneys, named Adelaide Spires by the science team.	Dive Q326 Smokey hydrothermal fluid billows from atop a large chimney at Niua South.


Dive Q325 A lone squat lobster clings to a rock at Mata Ua, indicating that the ROV was getting near to hydrothermal vents.	Dive Q325 Serpentine pillow lava tubes were encountered on the flanks of Mata Ua volcano.


Dive Q324 The ROV climbs to the rim of the crater at the top of the central cone at Volcano O where hot shimmering water diffuses through the ash deposits.	Dive Q324 Microbially-produced gelatinous globules covered large areas of seafloor on the flanks of the cone of Volcano O.


Dive Q323 A crab and snail are collected for research by the ROVs suction sampler.	Dive Q323 A forest of active and inactive chimneys hosts active vents with clusters of snails (2 species), limpets, crabs and shrimp.	Dive Q323 Fields of dead mussel shells, coated with a black manganese-oxide, littered the seafloor near sulfide chimneys at Fonualei Rift.	Dive Q323 Smoky hot vent fluid rises relatively calmly from a chimney at Fonualei Rift.


Dive Q323 The ROV rises slowly to the top of one of the largest chimneys at Fonualei Rift.	Dive Q323 Some of the giant spires at Fonualei Rift reached 35-40 meters above the seafloor.	Dive Q323 A colorful array of chimney formations seen at 1,555m depth at Fonualei Rift.


Dive Q322 Microbial mats are sampled in a scoop by the ROV’s manipulator arm.	Dive Q322 The ROV measures the temperature of the vent fluids where microbial mats will be collected.	Dive Q322 The yellow areas are places where the underlying iron-oxide mat has extruded through the overlying black manganese-oxide mat.	Dive Q322 The ROV uses a scoop sampler to collect mats of both types for DNA analysis.


Dive Q322 The ROV’s manipulator arm probes the mat showing that the black mat is just a thin crust over the thicker fluffy yellow mat.	Dive Q322 Microbial mats of two types are found at this unusual vent site at Vai Lili. The black areas are a thin manganese-oxide mat over a thicker yellow iron-oxide mat.

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Galápagos Rift 2011 Expedition [ Read More ]

Galápagos Rift 2011 Expedition

(July) The NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer embarks on a unique expedition to one of the most fascinating areas of the world’s oceans, to explore the water column and unexplored benthic environments in the Galápagos region.

Okeanos Explorer Galapagos Rift 2011 Video Playlist

July 22 Log A deep-sea skate glides by as the science team searches for evidence of hydrothermal venting.	July 20 Log The ROV traverses the height of a 10+ meter tall extinct sulfide chimney.	July 18 Log Microbial mats and plumes of vent gases and 'flock' (floating white blobs of bacteria) at a diffuse venting site.	Updates - 7/23 Riftia tubeworms colonize diffuse vent habitats between broken pieces of lava.


Updates - 7/23 A bright pink Holothurian sea cucumber rests beneath large 'pillows' of cooled lava.	Updates - 7/22 These unique Polychaete worms, with long squid-like tentacles used for breathing, were seen undulating through the water column.	Updates - 7/21 This octopus and several like it were observed for lengthy periods between ship moves, on numerous ROV dives.	Updates - 7/15 This inquisitive sea turtle descended with and bumped the ROV several times.


Updates - 7/14 A black coral colony with unusually enlarged tentacles provides home to a squat lobster.	Updates - 7/14 View video of a hammerhead shark lurking around Seirios for a few moments during our first dive.	Updates - 7/14 View video of a toadfish captured during our ROV dive.	July 14 View some of the spectacular underwater footage captured by the Little Hercules ROV on July 14.


Seirios View video footage of the Seirios Camera Sled being launched from the ship.

INDEX-SATAL 2010 Exploration [ Read More ]

INDEX-SATAL 2010 Exploration

(June – August) An international team led by scientists from the United States and Indonesia will participate in a collaborative effort to explore the depths of Indonesian waters. The expedition, Indonesia-U.S. Deep-Sea Exploration of the Sangihe Talaud Region.

NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer 2008-2010 Video Playlist

Highlights View some of the spectacular underwater footage captured by the Little Hercules ROV on July 11.	Highlights View some of the spectacular underwater footage captured by the Little Hercules ROV on July 10.	Highlights View some of the spectacular underwater footage captured by the Little Hercules ROV on July 9.	Highlights View some of the spectacular underwater footage captured by the Little Hercules ROV on July 8.


Highlights View some of the spectacular underwater footage captured by the Little Hercules ROV on July 6.	Highlights View some of the spectacular underwater footage captured by the Little Hercules ROV on July 5.	Highlights View some of the spectacular underwater footage captured by the Little Hercules ROV on July 3.	Highlights View some of the spectacular underwater footage captured by the Little Hercules ROV on July 2.


Highlights View some of the spectacular underwater footage captured by the Little Hercules ROV on July 1.	View a video of the Little Hercules ROV during the vehicle's second dive down to Kawio Barat volcano on June 30	View a video of footage captured on June 29th during the first ROV dive of INDEX 2010 down to Kawio Barat volcano.	View a video of the arrival of the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer for its first port call in Bitung, Indonesia, during its maiden voyage.


Video footage of a scleractinian hard coral, which may be 1,000 to 6,000 years old.	Video footage of a deep-ocean sea spider measuring eight to 12 inches across.	Video footage of a purple sea cucumber with a high 'spike' protruding from its dorsal section.	Video footage of active vents at Kawio Barat submarine volcano.


Video footage of galatheid crabs feasting opportunistically on a pelagic catch.	Video footage of a jellyfish initially encountered drifting with its tentacles extended, waiting to encounter prey.	Video footage of a deep-sea chimaera captured by the Little Hercules ROV and Camera Platform.	Video footage of a benthopelagic sea cucumber swimming in the near freezing waters of the abyss, about 3200 meters deep.


View a video podcast of the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer and its multibeam mapping discovery on the Mendocino Ridge.	View an extraordinary highlight video of the marine life offshore Kona, Hawaii.	View a video of the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer commissioning at Pier 66 in Seattle, WA.	View a video of the Navy Stalwart class USNS Capable being converted into the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer at the Todd Pacific Shipyard.


A virtual tour of the INDEX 2010 operating area and findings, using Ocean in Google Earth, part of a collaboration between NOAA and Google.	24 minute highlight video focusing on spectacular benthic footage from Leg 2 of the INDEX 2010 Exploration.	32 minute highlight video showcasing some of the amazing seafloor imagery from Leg 3 of the INDEX 2010 Exploration.