June 8, 2021: Anemone
Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2015 Hohonu Moana. Download larger version (jpg, 1.4 MB).
Happy World Ocean Day! Here’s to an increased understanding of our Blue Planet!
This close-up image of an unknown species of anemone was collected while exploring a seamount east of Necker Island during the first dive of the 2015 Hohonu Moana: Exploring Deep Waters off Hawaiʻi expedition. This expedition marked the beginning of the ‘Campaign to Address Pacific monument Science, Technology, and Ocean NEeds,’ also known as CAPSTONE. Running from 2015-2017, CAPSTONE was a major multi-year foundational science effort focused on deepwater areas of U.S. marine protected areas in the central and western Pacific.