A robotic arm pushes a clear sampling tube into a sandy ocean floor covered with small dark rocks.
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Sampling
At the beginning of Dive 08 of the 2026 American Samoa ROV + Mapping Exploration expedition, nodule abundance was patchy, ranging from low to medium abundance. Here, the scoop sample of remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer is poised to collect one of two scoops of relatively small nodules encountered.
Credit

NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2026 American Samoa ROV + Mapping Exploration