The Ocean Exploration Trust, NOAA Ocean Exploration,
and Schmidt Ocean Institute 2021 Field Season
NEW FRONTIERS IN
OCEAN EXPLORATION
The Ocean Exploration Trust, NOAA Ocean Exploration,
and Schmidt Ocean Institute 2021 Field Season
GUEST EDITORS
Samantha Wishnak, Joanne Flanders,
Emily Crum, and Carlie Wiener
OCEANOGRAPHY
Vol. 35, No. 1, Supplement
BELOW
A squat lobster perches atop a bubblegum coral on San Juan
Seamount in the Southern California Borderland. The image was
taken by remotely operated vehicle SuBastian as researchers
investigated several sites where marine minerals are known (or
expected) to occur, while assessing the biological communities liv-
ing among the mineral substrates. Image credit: ROV SuBastian/
Schmidt Ocean Institute
ON THE COVER
A diversity of deepwater coral species was imaged on Ha‘aheo
Seamount during E/V Nautilus expedition Lu‘uaeaāhikiikapapakū
(NA134) in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
Image credit: Ocean Exploration Trust
PREFERRED CITATION
Wishnak, S., J. Flanders, E. Crum, and C. Wiener, eds. 2022.
New frontiers in ocean exploration: The Ocean Exploration
Trust, NOAA Ocean Exploration, and Schmidt Ocean Institute
2021 field season. A Supplement to Oceanography 35(1),
78 pp., https://doi.org/ 10.5670/oceanog.2022.supplement.01.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................1
2021 EXPEDITION OVERVIEW MAP .................................................................................................................................................................4
PART 1. OCEAN EXPLORATION TRUST – E/V NAUTILUS .......................................................................................................6
Technology .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................8
From Seeps to Seamounts: E/V Nautilus Expedition Samples in 2021 ...........................................................................................16
Building Community from Ship to Shore Through Ocean Exploration .........................................................................................18
Nautilus Field Season Overview .....................................................................................................................................................................................22
• E/V Nautilus 2021 Mapping: US West Coast to Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument ............24
• Probing the Santa Barbara Basin Benthos .....................................................................................................................................................26
• Investigating Active Methane Seeps Along the Cascadia Margin ............................................................................................28
• Ocean Networks Canada: Supporting Innovative Technology for Science, Society, and Industry ................30
• A Herculean Effort: Complex Collaboration to Rescue ROVs .........................................................................................................32
• Midwater Exploration with Mesobot, Radiometry, and Environmental DNA ...................................................................34
• Lu‘uaeaahikiikapapakū: Ancient Volcanoes in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument ............36
• Exploration of an Unnamed Seamount Chain ...........................................................................................................................................38
• Autonomous Mapping Technology Returns to the Great Lakes ................................................................................................40
PART 2. NOAA OCEAN EXPLORATION ......................................................................................................................................................42
Mapping the Deep Ocean ...................................................................................................................................................................................................44
Putting “Eyes” on the Deep Ocean: Remotely Operated Vehicle Operations ............................................................................46
Advancing Technology ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................47
Discovering Our Maritime Heritage ............................................................................................................................................................................48
Accelerating Ocean Exploration Through a Culture of Diversity, Inclusivity, and Openness ......................................49
Expanding Outreach and Education ..........................................................................................................................................................................50
PART 3. SCHMIDT OCEAN INSTITUTE – R/V FALKOR ..............................................................................................................52
Expanding Horizons: The Schmidt Ocean Institute 2021 Field Season .........................................................................................54
PART 4. COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS AND PARTNERS ..............................................................................62
Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute .....................................................................................................................................62
Deep Ocean Education Project .............................................................................................................................................................64
Inner Space Center Media Production ............................................................................................................................................66
WHAT’S NEXT ...............................................................................................................................................................................................68
Authors .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................70
Acknowledgments ..........................................................................................................................................................................................73
References ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................77
Acronyms ................................................................................................................................................................................................................78
This beautiful Venus flytrap anemone was observed
perched high on the branches of a bamboo coral at
a depth of 2,766 m during the 2021 NOAA Ocean
Exploration North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedi-
tion. Image credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration
INTRODUCTION By Samantha Wishnak, Genene Fisher, and Carlie Wiener
This twelfth installment of the ocean exploration sup-
plement to Oceanography, the official magazine of
The Oceanography Society, highlights the work of three
vessels that contribute to exploring the world ocean: Ocean
Exploration Trust’s (OET’s) E/V Nautilus, NOAA Ship Okeanos
Explorer, and Schmidt Ocean Institute’s (SOI’s) R/V Falkor.
Expedition programs in 2021 featured exploration of
two ocean basins, with Nautilus off the west coast of the
United States and British Columbia, and out to the Central
Pacific; Okeanos Explorer in the North Atlantic; and Falkor
leaving the Pacific to return to the Atlantic Ocean. All
three organizations continued to develop shipboard and
shoreside collaborations to adapt to conducting opera-
tions at sea during the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. The
pages that follow contain expedition summaries, including
initial results, highlights of new scientific programs and
education and outreach initiatives, and previews of future
exploration plans.
The first expeditions of the 2021 Nautilus season cen-
tered on the west coast of North America, featuring oxy-
gen minimum zones off southern California (pages 26–27),
methane seeps on the Cascadia margin (pages 28–29),
and continued work with University of Victoria’s Ocean
Networks Canada (ONC) to support its offshore cabled
observatory (pages 30–31). As Nautilus neared the end of
the ONC expedition, the remotely operated vehicles (ROVs)
Hercules and Argus became detached from the vessel, and
thanks to the incredible support of the oceanographic
community, we were able to quickly mount a recovery
mission (pages 32–33). Next, Nautilus hosted the first NOAA
Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute (OECI) technology
demonstration, which focused on advancing the efficiency
and effectiveness of vehicle technology and engineering
for ocean exploration (pages 34–35 and 62–63). Nautilus
then mapped its way to Hawai‘i to begin a multi-year
emphasis on exploring the US Exclusive Economic Zone
(EEZ) in the Central Pacific. Two expeditions within and near
Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM)
included ROV surveys on seamount chains to document
coral and sponge communities and to lay the groundwork
for 2022 surveys (pages 36–39). During the field season,
several expeditions mapped large swaths of seafloor to fill
gaps in existing bathymetric data, supporting OECI goals
as well as those of national and international collaborations
to map the entire global seafloor by 2030 (pages 24–25).
The OET section of the supplement includes detailed sum-
maries of Nautilus shipboard technologies (pages 8–15),
specimen collection highlights (pages 16–17), and early
findings from several expeditions. In preparation for our
work within PMNM, OET expanded its suite of education
and outreach offerings and collaborated with local part-
ners to co-develop meaningful outreach and education
opportunities that incorporate Hawaiian culture and worl-
dview into Nautilus expeditions (pages 18–21). In addition
to the E/V Nautilus field season, OET also partnered with
the University of New Hampshire and the NOAA Office of
National Marine Sanctuaries to conduct an inland expedi-
tion at Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary located in
Lake Huron (pages 40–41).
The second section of this supplement features NOAA
Ocean Exploration’s 2021 season, with the pace and effi-
ciency of mapping operations increasing, and Okeanos
Explorer becoming the first ship in the world to receive a
complete upgrade to Kongsberg’s new EM 304 multibeam
sonar (page 44). Season highlights include the exploration
of Blake Plateau off the coast of the southeastern United
States (page 44), when NOAA Ocean Exploration marked
the mapping of 2,000,000 km2 of seafloor since Okeanos
Explorer was commissioned in 2008. A pilot project to
process mapping data in the cloud created an environ-
ment in which simultaneous work on data could occur
from anywhere in the world (page 44). Highlights from the
North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedition are presented
(page 46), and there is an overview of ROV operations and
how they inform exploration, as well as a brief description of
discoveries, including the first visual confirmation of ferro-
manganese nodule fields in the New England Seamount
Chain (page 46). NOAA Ocean Exploration moved on to
investigate the Blake Spur where rich sponge gardens
were revealed (page 46), before discovering and exploring
SS Bloody Marsh, a World War II-era oil tanker sunk off the
coast of South Carolina by a German U-boat (page 46).
NOAA Ocean Exploration support for advancing technol-
ogy is featured, describing emerging tools such as ’omics as
well as testing and deployment of two autonomous sensor
platforms. An update on DriX, a technology the OECI is
developing, is included. An overview of maritime heritage
work highlights the discovery, with “reasonable certainty,”
of US Revenue Cutter Bear following a nearly two-decade
search for this historically significant ship of exploration
(page 48). This section of the supplement concludes
with a summary of NOAA Ocean Exploration’s expanded
diversity and inclusivity efforts during the year (page 49)
before turning to outreach and education endeavors that
included a “brand refresh,” a new education website, and an
expansion of internship opportunities (page 50).
In 2021, Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor
traveled across the Pacific, then made its way back to the
Atlantic to prepare for passing the baton to the newly
acquired research vessel Falkor (too) and marking a new era
of oceanographic research and evolution for the institute.
The final section of the supplement reviews an extraordi-
nary year for SOI activities, including the seven expeditions
that took place in Australian waters and beyond, as well as
the institute’s Artist-at-Sea program and growing partner-
ships activities (pages 52–61).
A key part of all three organizational missions is shar-
ing research and expeditions with students, educators,
and the general public through collaborations that allow
all partners to amplify their work. OECI, a consortium of
five organizations that work together to advance ocean
exploration technology and training in concert with NOAA
Ocean Exploration, moved forward into its third year
with operations and educational outreach (pages 62–63).
Over the last two years, NOAA Ocean Exploration, the
Ocean Exploration Trust, and Schmidt Ocean Institute
collaborated to build a single online hub for ocean science
and exploration-themed educational resources, which
launched in summer 2021 (pages 64–65). Collaborating
across the ocean exploration field, the Inner Space Center
at the University of Rhode Island supports professional
development, online learning, and live event programming
(pages 66–67).
Looking ahead at 2022, the Ocean Exploration Trust
will continue to build upon partnerships and research
from E/V Nautilus within the Central Pacific, particularly
Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and the
Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. During
summer 2022, NOAA Ocean Exploration’s Okeanos Explorer
will work along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and then transit to
the Panama Canal, crossing into the Pacific in August to
begin exploration off the US West Coast. The year will bring
a sea change for Schmidt Ocean Institute, with delivery of
Falkor (too) in fall 2022. We all look forward to continuing to
explore the ocean and to connecting diverse communities
with the deepest parts of our planet (pages 68–69).
Hemicorallium sp., an octocoral in the pre-
cious coral family Coralliidae, observed in
Papahānaumokuākea Marine National
Monument during E/V Nautilus expedi-
tion NA134. Image credit: OET
Page 26
The Santa Barbara
Basin Benthos
Page 28
Cascadia Margin
Methane Seeps
Page 30
Ocean Networks
Canada
Page 32
Collaboration to
Rescue ROVs
Page 34
Midwater
Exploration
Page 40
Mapping the
Great Lakes
Page 38
Unnamed
Seamount
Chain
7
Page 36
Ancient
Volcanoes
in PMNM
6
Page 54
Mapping the Tasman
and Coral Seas
Page 56
Australian
Mesophotic Coral
Examination
Page 58
The Biodiverse
Borderlands
Page 59
Designing the
Future 2
Page 60
Interdisciplinary
Investigation of the
Pescadero Basin
R/V FALKOR EXPEDITIONS
E/V NAUTILUS EXPEDITIONS
1
2
3
4
5
8
1
2
3
Page 55
Seafloor to Seabirds
in the Coral Sea
4
5
6
Page 57
Discovering Deep
Sea Corals of the
Phoenix Islands 2
7
6
7
1
4
3
2
R/V
E/V
2021 EXPEDITION OVERVIEW MAP
COMPETITIVE GRANTS
NOAA Ocean Exploration also provided support for nine projects
through its competitive grants program.
Page 44
Sea Testing
and Mapping
Shakedown*
Page 47
Technology
Demonstration*
1
Page 46
North Atlantic
Stepping
Stones*
3
Page 44
Blake Plateau
Mapping*
4
Page 46
Windows to
the Deep*
5
NOAA OCEAN EXPLORATION
Seafloor to Seabirds
2
2
3
5
8
1
4
5
6
7
5
2
4
1
3