expeditions conducted along the Atlantic continental mar-
gin that filled in data gaps and contributed to Seabed 2030
and Galway Statement goals, which begins on page 82. We
then describe findings from deep-sea habitat exploration
around Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands (pages 90–91).
OER’s 2018 mapping achievements and advances are sum-
marized next (pages 92–95), followed by an overview of
OER contributions to the US Extended Continental Shelf
Project. This project reached a historic American milestone
in 2018, having collected all the data needed to determine
the outer limits of the US Extended Continental Shelf (ECS).
We describe Okeanos Explorer’s own 2018 ECS contribution
(pages 98–99) before turning to discussions of technology
development and a new push to provide dedicated ship
time aboard Okeanos Explorer for testing emerging tech-
nologies (pages 100–103). We next review a DEEP SEARCH
expedition (pages 104–105) and then the wealth of data
these expeditions provide, as well as how those data are
collected and managed (pages 106–109). A series of arti-
cles on OER’s engagement and outreach strategies, STEM-
driven programs, and results from OER’s first National
Education Review follow (pages 110–117). We close the
section with articles that highlight innovative work funded
through OER grants that further leverage its mission. These
projects include state-of-the art water column technology
exploration, searches of submerged World War II battle-
fields, and exploration of the biodiversity and ecology
of the vast and poorly studied Clarion-Clipperton Zone,
among other innovative projects (pages 118–127).
In the final section, Schmidt Ocean Institute highlights
some of their significant accomplishments in 2018, illumi-
nating the important outcomes of expedition-based tech-
nology trials and software development, as well as new
vent and species discoveries. From mysterious White Shark
Cafés to methane bubbles emerging from the seafloor, new
collaborations with autonomous vehicles and software
helped to provide a better understanding of our dynamic
ocean. This section charts 13 expedition outcomes that
impacted ocean sciences this year. With its philanthropic
efforts, SOI aims to demonstrate how scalable innovation
can tackle important scientific and societal challenges
(pages 128–137).
The year 2019 will bring some new partnerships that
will grow our abilities to explore. Nautilus will investigate
regions between the US west coast and Howland and
Baker Islands in the Central Pacific and begin new partner-
ships with NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
in Thunder Bay and American Samoa. Okeanos Explorer
will probe and explore the seafloor and water column in
high-priority areas of the North Atlantic and expand its
technology demonstration efforts, while continuing to
advance its high-resolution mapping capabilities. Falkor
will continue to focus on the Western Pacific, with projects
that utilize advanced and coordinated robotic systems,
artificial intelligence, and other frontier technologies
to accelerate ocean research, conservation,
and management. We invite you to fol-
low our expeditions online. We look
forward to sharing highlights of our
discoveries with you next year.
A basket star is perched on a pinna-
cle blanketed by crinoids on Pilgrim
Bank off Southern California. The
photo was taken during E/V Nautilus
cruise NA104. Image credit: OET