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Polychaete Worm
Dive 08 of the 2026 American Samoa ROV + Mapping Exploration expedition featured this epic collection of a polychaete worm by skilled remotely operated vehicle pilots from the NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute. Unlike sampling on conventional research expeditions, the objective of exploration sampling during expeditions on Okeanos Explorer is to collect a limited number of biological, geological, and water samples for the sole purpose of broadly characterizing an area of interest. As very few samples of marine life have been collected from deep waters in this region, every biological sample can help to increase our understanding of this ecosystem.