News

On August 29-30, teachers in American Samoa held a first-of-its kind professional development workshop to enhance local ocean education with support from NOAA Ocean Exploration, Ocean Exploration Trust (OET), National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, and the American Samoa Department of Education.

The cooperative institute will continue its mission to explore the unknown ocean.

During the event, students will hear from experts at NOAA Ocean Exploration, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and Ocean Exploration Trust as they share their stories about the greatest challenges they have faced while exploring the ocean and the technologies or strategies they are using to overcome them.

NOAA Ocean Exploration selected four projects for financial support through its Ocean Exploration Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Funding Opportunity.

Throughout Fall 2024, NOAA Ocean Exploration will co-host a NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute (OECI) series of NOAA Science Seminars to highlight OECI’s strengths and key projects over the past five years.

On September 10-11, the Mokupāpapa Discovery Center and NOAA Ocean Exploration will host Pilina Kai Lipo: Connecting to the Deep Ocean, an ocean-themed event at the center designed to engage the local community with the deep ocean by highlighting efforts to further our understanding of the waters of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

Scientists Nicholas Bezio and Allen G. Collins have published new evidence to help solve a deep-sea mystery that began over a hundred years ago. Their research, which relies on cutting-edge scientific tools and samples from NOAA Ocean Exploration-led expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, expands our understanding of a fascinating animal and serves as a valuable reminder that good science often takes both teamwork and time.

Please join NOAA Ocean Exploration in thanking and bidding farewell to outgoing Commanding Officer, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer Captain Colin Little, and welcoming the ship’s new Commanding Officer, Commander Tony Perry III!

At NOAA Ocean Exploration, a core part of our mission is engaging the next generation of ocean explorers through internships. Each cohort of interns brings unique perspectives and new ideas that advance our office’s operations in meaningful ways. These students come from diverse backgrounds such as communications, marine biology, engineering, geology, mapping, and more, but they share an enthusiasm for learning about our ocean world. As we celebrate National Intern Day this July 25, get to know some of our 2024 interns below!

The upcoming expedition is part of a multi-year collaborative effort to restore deep-sea habitats in the Gulf of Mexico that were injured by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

A major new study on the distribution and origin of methane seeps on the U.S. Atlantic margin — the seafloor between the coast and the deep ocean — expands the inventory of methane seeps (also called cold seeps) between the South Atlantic Bight and Georges Bank and explores the processes that contribute to their formation.

In a new journal article, Christopher L. Mah describes two species and a genus of sea star previously unknown to science. Mah, a research associate with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and frequent participant in NOAA Ocean Exploration’s live-streamed remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives, named the sea stars in honor of two women in the ocean exploration field: marine biologist Rhian Waller and NOAA Ocean Exploration’s own Kelley Suhre.

On April 2, NOAA Ocean Exploration announced the Ocean Exploration Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) Funding Opportunity to fund interdisciplinary and innovative ocean exploration-related projects. An estimated $3 million will be awarded under the themes of Ocean Exploration and Maritime Heritage.

Amanda Finn, a physical scientist with NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey, is sailing on an 11-day voyage on Research Vessel Investigator, operated by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency. Her participation in the expedition is part of a partnership between NOAA, CSIRO, and Geoscience Australia to cooperate in ocean exploration and mapping, formalized by the signing of Memorandum of Understanding in 2022.