We're diving in a very special place, named after a very special scientist, Dr. Brian Kinlan.
Who this canyon is named after.
There were two previous dives inside the canyon.
One in 2013 by the Okeanos Explorer and a second one in 2017 off the Henry Bigelow with the ROV ROPOS.
And Brian Kinlan was involved in both of those expeditions
He helped pick out those dive targets through a revolutionary approach at that time.
Brian Kinlan was a spacial ecologist that used predictive habitat models.
He was able to predict where corals could likely be found.
Interestingly enough, today's dive site also was guided by this very same suitability habitat model that Brian helped develop.
His models were also very important to help decision makers make decisions
about the boundaries and locations of several marine protected areas.
Including the Frank R. Lautenberg deep sea conservation area that we'll be diving later on the expedition.
As well as the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument that we'll also be targeting on this expedition.
The greatest asset of NOAA are its people. Brian was exemplary in many ways.
He was a great scientist, a great colleague, a great mentor, and a great friend.
We'd like to dedicate today's dive to Brian Kinlan, his family, and his friends.