News

Throughout the 2024 spring semester, students in Annette Spivy's senior capstone research class at the University of Maryland, College Park will work with Sarah Groves and Ango Hsu of NOAA Ocean Exploration's Science and Technology division to standardize and analyze nine years of North Atlantic marine debris data collected via NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer.

As part of our community-driven exploration model, NOAA Ocean Exploration invites you to submit exploration recommendations for mapping and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operations for mapping and remotely operated vehicle operations on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer.

NOAA Ocean Exploration’s Benthic Deepwater Animal Identification Guide has become a popular and trusted ocean science community resource and is used (and contributed to) by ocean scientists around the world to help identify animals seen during deep-ocean exploration.

Covering 6.4 million acres, an area larger than Vermont, an underwater seascape of cold-water coral mounds offshore the southeast United States coast has been deemed the largest deep-sea coral reef habitat discovered to date, according to a paper recently published in the scientific journal Geomatics.

Unidentified Golden Specimen Captures Public Imagination

For the United States and Japan, the waters around Midway Atoll are an important place in our shared history. It was in these waters where the two nations met in the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Nearly 3,400 sailors and airmen lost their lives during the battle between the United States and Japan, which also resulted in the loss of seven large ships and hundreds of aircraft. Much of the battle occurred at sea, where these ships and many of the aircraft remain to this day and serve as testaments to the men who made the ultimate sacrifice for their countries.

On September 17, 2023, the Alaska Sealife Center, Chugach Regional Resources Commission’s Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks Seward Marine Center, and NOAA Ocean Exploration will host the first annual 2023 Seward Marine Science Symposium.

NOAA Ocean Exploration selected nine projects for financial support through its Ocean Exploration Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) Funding Opportunity totaling over $5 million.

Dive 04 of Seascape Alaska 3: Aleutians Remotely Operated Vehicle Exploration and Mapping expedition took place on July 18, 2023. During the dive, we explored Aleutian arc cold seeps (Sanak seeps) that were discovered only two months earlier during the Seascape 1: Aleutians Deepwater Mapping expedition. The dive at 2,100 meters (6,900 feet) water depth was carried out using NOAA Ocean Exploration’s remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Deep Discoverer (D2). Exploration of the Sanak seeps resulted in the discovery of bubble plumes, gas hydrates, thousands of tubeworms, patches of chemosynthetic clams, and special rocks produced by microbial processes.

With its vast wilderness, diverse wildlife, stunning landscapes, and rich cultural heritage, Alaska is a place of beauty and wonder. But did you know that the deep waters of Alaska hold their own secrets – from fascinating geological features like mud volcanoes and gas seeps to diverse and plentiful marine life, such as corals, sponges, and fish? This summer, prepare to deepen your perspective and join us LIVE for an expedition to explore what lies below the ocean’s surface off Alaska.

In honor of World Ocean Day, rising leaders of the next generation of ocean stewards and explorers sat down to answer some questions and share some of their motivations, thoughts, and hopes for the ocean’s future.

Starting April 15, NOAA Ocean Exploration and partners will be diving within deep waters off the U.S. West Coast, from Oregon to Washington, and you are invited to join – LIVE!

On April 29, 2023, NOAA Ocean Exploration will spearhead a public port event in Seattle, Washington, in conjunction with regional NOAA entities. The port event will provide the public the chance to tour NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer and get a close-up look at the remotely operated vehicles used to explore the seafloor and water column, and to see deep-sea specimens, newly created bathymetric maps, and videos from past expeditions.

The Aleutians Uncrewed Ocean Exploration expedition has resulted in the mapping of more than 45,000 square kilometers (17,375 square miles) of seafloor in previously unexplored areas around Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and off the California coast.