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Using the Sonsub remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, called ‘Innovator’, with positioning by C&C Technologies, science and industry came together for two weeks this fall on board the NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown. Three discrete teams of scientists from NOAA’s FGBNMS, the Univ of Alabama, and Marine Conservation Biology Institute, worked collaboratively with Sonsub ROV pilots to determine the best survey and sampling techniques that would have minimal impact on the very special organisms that inhabit these difficult to access regions. Sustainable collections of precious corals, brightly colored sponges, and delicate algal species were accomplished with great success.

Gulf of Mexico 2003

Gulf of Mexico 2003: Mission Summary

NOAA Ocean Explorer Gallery