2023 Seascape Alaska Expeditions (EX2302-EX2307)
May 2023 - September 2023
From May through September 2023, NOAA and partners will conduct a series of telepresence-enabled ocean exploration expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to improve knowledge about unexplored and poorly understood deepwater areas offshore Alaska, with a particular focus on the Aleutian Islands, Gulf of Alaska, and Aleutian Trench.
Data collected during the Alaska expeditions will establish a baseline in explored areas to catalyze further exploration, research, and management activities. Data will also contribute to Seascape Alaska, a regional campaign aimed at fully mapping U.S. waters off Alaska, creating accessible, high-quality modern seabed data for Alaskan waters to support U.S. research, resource management, sustainable economic growth, and the health and security of Americans.
During the six telepresence-enabled expeditions offshore Alaska in 2023, live video and data from remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives and multibeam sonar mapping operations will be shared in real time with shore-based participants and the public. Planned expedition dates, numbers and names, operational modes, and ports of call are as follows:
May 5 - 26: EX2302: Seascape Alaska 1: Aleutians Deepwater Mapping / Seattle, Washington - Dutch Harbor, Alaska
June 5 - 20: EX2303: Seascape Alaska 2: Aleutians Deepwater Mapping / Dutch Harbor, Alaska to Kodiak, Alaska
July 14 - July 25: EX2304: Seascape Alaska 3: Aleutians Remotely Operated Vehicle Exploration and Mapping / Kodiak, Alaska to Dutch Harbor, Alaska
August 1 - 17: EX2305: Seascape Alaska 4: Gulf of Alaska Deepwater Mapping / Dutch Harbor, Alaska to Kodiak, Alaska
August 23 - September 16: EX2306: Seascape Alaska 5: Gulf of Alaska Remotely Operated Vehicle Exploration and Mapping / Kodiak, Alaska to Seward, Alaska
September 23 - October 14: EX2307: Seascape Alaska 6: Gulf of Alaska Transit Mapping / Seward, Alaska to San Francisco, California
Note that dates are subject to change.
Education Themes
Media Resources
Media Contacts
Emily Crum
Communication Specialist
NOAA Ocean Exploration
ocean-explore-comms@noaa.gov
Keeley Belva
Public Affairs Officer
NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations
keeley.belva@noaa.gov
NOAA Ocean Exploration’s 2023 Seascape Alaska expeditions will contribute to the National Strategy for Exploring, Mapping, and Characterizing the United States Exclusive Economic Zone, Seabed 2030, and multipartner Seascape Alaska campaign, which has been endorsed by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO as part of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030.
Data collected during all expeditions will be available in NOAA’s public data archives within 90-120 days of its completion and will be accessible via the NOAA Ocean Exploration Data Atlas.
