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A translucent jellyfish swims above a textured ocean floor covered in dark, round formations, set against a dark background.

2026 Cook Islands ROV Exploration

Dive 05: Sawtooth Abyss

July 25, 2026

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The plan for Dive 05 was to explore within a few kilometers of the border with American Samoa on an abyssal plain dubbed “Sawtooth Abyss” due to the sawtooth appearance of the feature in collected mapping data. Unfortunately, the remotely operated vehicles experienced a mechanical issue during the dive descent and the vehicles had to be recovered before reaching the seafloor.

 

A remotely operated vehicle on the deck of a ship.

Remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer on the deck of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer after being recovered early from Dive 05 of the 2026 Cook Islands ROV Exploration cruise due to mechanical issues. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2026 Cook Islands ROV Exploration. Download largest version (jpg, 639 KB).