A Look Back
While Pacific Quest is a new endeavor as of 2026, NOAA, the Marine Minerals Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey, and partners have been working to map, explore, and characterize deep waters of the Pacific for many years. Pacific Quest builds off this previous work, which includes the expeditions and projects highlighted on this page.
Expeditions and fieldwork led or supported by Pacific Quest partners are described below; click on a title to expand the text and learn more.
2025
July 22-August 11, 2025, August 18-September 11, 2025, September 19-October 3, 2025
Operations on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to increase mapping coverage in unexplored areas of Palau National Marine Sanctuary, with a focus on waters deeper than 200 meters (656 feet).
Learn more about these expeditions.
April 8-May 5, 2025
Operations on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to map, explore, and characterize ecologically and economically important unexplored deepwater regions of Papahānaumokuākea.
Learn more about this expedition.2024
August 19-September 7, 2024, September 14-October 10, 2024
Operations on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to Increase mapping coverage in unexplored areas near Johnston Atoll within Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument.
June 21-July 9, 2024, July 18-August 12, 2024, October 19-November 12, 2024
Mapping operations on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer focused on waters generally deeper than 200 meters (656 feet) in and around Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
May 14-June 9, 2024
Mapping expedition on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer in Hawaiian waters, south of the island of Hawaiʻi.
2017
August 8-31, 2017, September 6-30, 2017
Mapping and remotely operated vehicle operations on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to collect critical baseline information about unknown and poorly known deepwater areas of the Musicians Seamounts that lie just outside the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone.
August 8-31, 2017
Focused mapping and strategic mapping transits on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer within the waters of Hawaii and in international waters at the Musician Seamounts chain.
July 7-August 2, 2017
Mapping and remotely operated vehicle operations on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to collect critical baseline information about unknown and poorly known deepwater areas in the Johnston Atoll Unit of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, now known as Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument.
April 27-May 19, 2017
Mapping and remotely operated vehicle operations on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to explore deepwater areas of the Jarvis Island Unit and the Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll Unit of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, now known as Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument; around Marae Moana (Cook Islands Marine Park); and the high seas.
April 4-21, 2017
Mapping operations on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to explore waters of American Samoa, Samoa, and the Cook Islands.
March 7-29, 2017
Mapping and remotely operated vehicle operations on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer in deepwater areas in the Howland and Baker Unit of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, now known as Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument and the Phoenix Islands Protected Area.
2016
August 25-September 11, 2016
Mapping operations on Okeanos Explorer to explore several unnamed, previously unexplored seamounts near Wake Island.
July 27-August 19, 2016
Mapping and remotely operated vehicle operations on Okeanos Explorer to collect critical baseline information in and around the Wake Island Unit of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, now known as Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument.
April 20-July 10, 2016
Mapping and remotely operated vehicle operations on Okeanos Explorer to explore unknown and poorly known areas in and around the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
March 23-April 18, 2016
Mapping operations on Okeanos Explorer to explore the largely unknown region surrounding the Wake Island Unit of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, now known as Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument.
February 25-March 18, 2016
Mapping and remotely operated vehicle operations on Okeanos Explorer in deepwater habitats in and around Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument as well as seamounts in the Mid-Pacific Mountains while en route to port in Kwajalein.
2015
July 10-September 30, 2015
Mapping and remotely operated vehicle operations on Okeanos Explorer in the deep waters of the Hawaiian Archipelago, including the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and Johnston Atoll.
Published August 19, 2026