General

From Data to Discovery: Unlocking Ocean Secrets With eDNA

May 5, 2026

Can we learn about life in the deep ocean even if we don’t see it? Yes we can. Thanks to environmental DNA (eDNA), we no longer need a visual sighting to know what’s been in the neighborhood.

NOAA Ocean Exploration, in partnership with the National Systematics Laboratory of NOAA Fisheries, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s Ocean DNA Program, the Northern Gulf Institute, and NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), has released the first eDNA data from expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. These biological data yield a wealth of information about the organisms that inhabit the hard to reach underwater world, and can provide critical insights for scientists, resource managers, and policymakers.

Translucent jellyfish with purple internal organs and many thin white tentacles radiating outward against a dark blue background.

NOAA Ocean Exploration’s recently released environmental DNA (eDNA) data help us better understand what lives in the deep ocean. Among these data is evidence of invertebrates, like Crossota millsae (the jellyfish seen here); fish; marine mammals; microbes; and more. While some of the organisms found in these data have been seen on previous expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, others, like Macropinna microstoma (barreleye fish), remain elusive. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2019 Southeastern U.S. Deep-sea Exploration. Download largest version (jpg, 893.9 KB).

What Is eDNA?

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is the genetic material left behind by organisms as they move through their environment (i.e., scales, tissue, mucus, waste, and other material) as well as whole microorganisms. Scientists collect this material from seawater and sediment samples and use it to detect and identify organisms such as bacteria, corals, fish, and marine mammals. This makes eDNA another powerful tool in the ocean exploration toolbox.

Beyond the ROV: Where eDNA Fits In

Large and remote, the deep ocean is difficult to explore. To learn about life in the deep, researchers have relied largely on physical samples captured in nets or by remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and ROV video footage. While invaluable, these physical and visual sampling methods may miss small and “shy” organisms. Nets can damage sensitive habitats, and video footage may not provide sufficient detail to distinguish between closely related organisms. As a result, much of the life in the deep ocean is unaccounted for or is only minimally understood.

A close-up of a vibrant, fan-like red tree coral with dense, branching orange-red polyps. On the left side of the coral is a large, bright red nudibranch with a frilled white border. On the right side is a small, slender pink fish with dark spots swimming among the coral branches. Near the bottom of the coral is a small white snail.

Deep-sea corals are important sources of biodiversity and habitat for a variety of economically and ecologically valuable species. However, they’re difficult to access and not well understood. Since environmental DNA (eDNA) can be used to detect and identify corals, without disturbing the organism or the habitat, it’s being used to study deep-sea corals, like the red tree coral (Primnoa pacifica) pictured here. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Seascape Alaska. Download largest version (jpg, 760 KB).

With eDNA, we can overcome some of these challenges: it’s more comprehensive and cost-effective, less invasive, and safer. It’s an increasingly popular tool for finding, mapping, monitoring, and managing life in the deep ocean. However, interpreting these data and making them accessible, reproducible, and transparent has proven challenging given the sheer volume of data now being collected.

From Seawater to Sequences: An eDNA Pipeline

To handle the deluge of eDNA data, AOML researchers developed a streamlined workflow to process and share it. This workflow was used with eDNA collected during expeditions on Okeanos Explorer between 2021 and 2023 at depths exceeding 200 meters (656 feet) in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

On a sunlit ship deck, two scientists in yellow hard hats and purple gloves carefully retrieve water samples from a remotely operated vehicle. The scientist on the left wears a dark sweatshirt and peach-colored pants, while the scientist on the right has a colorful floral tattoo sleeve and wears a grey t-shirt and teal pants. In the background, a crew member in a life vest works with ropes from the crane against a clear blue sky.

NOAA Ocean Exploration incorporated environmental DNA (eDNA) into regular operations on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer in 2021 after identifying it as a high-priority exploration variable. This added capability greatly expanded the scope of each expedition’s data haul. Here, members of the science team retrieve water samples containing eDNA that were collected using remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2025 Beyond the Blue. Download largest version (jpg 1 MB).

Inside a brightly lit shipboard wet lab, three researchers wearing blue nitrile gloves work together to process water samples. In the foreground, a scientist in a black jacket carefully holds a large clear bag of water over a row of filtering cylinders. To her right, two other researchers—one in a blue hoodie and another in a black jacket and orange baseball cap—assist with the equipment at a stainless steel workstation.

NOAA Ocean Exploration’s environmental DNA (eDNA) collection and processing methods on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer continue to evolve. In this image, members of the science team are filtering eDNA from water samples collected at depth in Okeanos Explorer’s wet lab. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2025 Beyond the Blue. Download largest version (jpg 1 MB).

The journey of an eDNA sample:

Sample collection: The shipboard science team collects water samples using ROV Deep Discoverer and a conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) rosette.
Sample filtration and preservation: The shipboard science team filters eDNA from the water samples and preserves it in the ship’s wet lab.
Data generation: The National Systematics Laboratory catalogs the sample extracts, amplifies, and sequences the DNA.
Identification: AOML analyzes and assigns taxonomic names to the sequence data, which are standardized for public release.

An infographic titled Environmental DNA (eDNA) Pipeline illustrates a five-step scientific process from water sample collection at sea to the sharing of taxonomically assigned sequence data.

From the sea to the cloud, NOAA Ocean Exploration’s environmental DNA (eDNA) goes on quite a journey before the data are made publicly available. By providing access to these foundational data, NOAA Ocean Exploration is helping address national priorities associated with assessing, monitoring, and managing marine ecosystems. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration. Download largest version (jpg 1 MB).

Open Access for Global Discovery

The final step, data sharing. In a win for open science, these data — and their metadata — are now freely available to the public:

Raw sequences: Available from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) (BioProject: 1284389), a national repository for biomedical and genomic data.
Organism identifications: Available from the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS), the world’s largest marine biodiversity database.

By sharing this information through globally accessible repositories, the partners are enabling further deep-ocean discoveries and understanding.

A bright reddish-orange yelloweye rockfish rests on a rocky, seafloor littered with white shell fragments. The fish has a bulky body with mottled yellow and darker red patterns along its side and large, spiny fins. Its prominent dark eye and heavy jaw are turned slightly toward the camera.

The deep ocean supports a variety of commercially and recreationally important fisheries, including the rockfish fishery, represented here by a yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus). Using the rockfish fisheries off Alaska, British Columbia, and Washington, scientists have shown that environmental DNA (eDNA) can be used to help us detect and identify individual species to better understand and manage these vital resources. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Seascape Alaska. Download largest version (jpg, 211 KB).

A New Way to Explore

With eDNA, we have a new way to explore. It complements — rather than replaces — conventional sampling methods, contributing to a comprehensive snapshot of an area’s biodiversity at a specific point in time. The level of detail afforded by eDNA analysis can lead to new discoveries and help unlock the potential of our still largely unknown ocean.

With eDNA from more recent expeditions in the pipeline and ongoing efforts to refine the process, NOAA Ocean Exploration is committed to collecting eDNA and making our eDNA data accessible, reproducible, and transparent. By filling gaps in the basic understanding of the deep-ocean environment, we are providing economically and scientifically critical data needed to address current and emerging science and management needs.

For More Information

NOAA Omics and the NOAA Library are hosting a webinar about these data as part of the NOAA Omics Seminar Series.

What: From Seawater to Sequences: Exploring NOAA’s New Deep-Sea Environmental DNA Dataset

When: Thursday, May 28, 2026, noon EDT

Registration is required.

Share Your Story

NOAA Omics and NOAA Ocean Exploration would like to know how these data are being used. Share your use case with us by emailing noaa.omics@noaa.gov.