Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat
Past Expedition
Overview
From October 7 to November 7, 2019, scientists and engineers from NOAA, the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration, the U.S. Geological Survey, and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management conducted a 29-day expedition aboard NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker along the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts, exploring the deep sea, one of the largest, but least known environments on Earth.
Features
On November 7, 2019, the Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat expedition ended. This expedition was the latest in a series of multi-agency collaborations known as EXPRESS, short for EXpanding Pacific Research and Exploration of Submerged Systems.
February 18, 2020
When the Reuben Lasker arrived in San Francisco at the end of leg 1 our autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Popoki had already done seven dives and taken around 40,000 images.
October 28, 2019
One of the goals of this cruise, especially for the Deep-sea Coral Research and Technology Program’s West Coast Research Initiative, is to continue to characterize the biodiversity of deep-sea corals and sponges in various habitats along the West Coast.
October 28, 2019
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Just after breakfast each day on the Lasker, the AUV team heads up to the bridge for a safety meeting with Commanding Officer Chad Cary and officers and deck crew currently on watch.
October 16, 2019
What lies beneath ‘the ocean’ is the fundamental question this Reuben Lasker expedition is working to address.
October 14, 2019
Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey recently mapped an unusual seafloor mound feature – during this expedition, they had the opportunity to visually survey the feature.
October 12, 2019
One of the objectives of the EXPRESS cruise is to collect quantitative information about the seafloor communities in the areas we are studying. To characterize these communities as accurately as possible, our surveys must be standardized to avoid bias, and conducted multiple times to capture variation. This means that we need to measure the area we are surveying, and within that area, identify the animals that we see, count them, and estimate their size. We also need to identify and measure the types and amount of seafloor habitats within the survey area. How is this done with the remotely operated vehicle?
October 11, 2019
On October 3, the team on NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker located and recovered a buoy that had been drifting on its own for 26 days, about 50 nautical miles offshore Eureka, California, where it had been eavesdropping on the sounds of whales, dolphins, fish, and ships.
October 3, 2019
Offshore winds, which tend to be stronger and more consistent than on land, are an abundant energy resource that is located close to major coastal population centers.
October 2, 2019
EXPRESS, short for EXpanding Pacific Research and Exploration of Submerged Systems, is the latest evolution of the multi-year, multi-ship campaign concept. What started in 2017 as a simple one-day multibeam survey on NOAA Ship Rainier off central California quickly evolved into a major west coast field program engaging and exciting scientists and marine resource managers spanning numerous disciplines and organizations.
October 2, 2019
Autonomous underwater vehicles are unmanned, untethered vehicles used to conduct underwater research in ocean environments that are a challenge to study because they are difficult to get to.
October 2, 2019
A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is an unoccupied underwater robot that is connected to a ship by a series of cables. These cables transmit command and control signals between the operator and the ROV, allowing remote navigation of the vehicle and exploration of areas of the ocean that would otherwise be difficult to access.
October 2, 2019
From October 7 to November 7, 2019, scientists from NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will conduct a 29-day expedition aboard NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker along the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts.
October 2, 2019
Multimedia
Featured multimedia assets associated with this project.
Education
Our Learn & Discover page provides the best of what the NOAA Ocean Exploration website has to offer to support educators in the classroom during this expedition. Each theme page includes expedition features, lessons, multimedia, career information, and associated past expeditions. Below are related top education themes for this expedition.