Vol. 31, No. 1, Supplement, March 2018
GUEST EDITORS | Nicole A. Raineault,
Joanne Flanders, and Amy Bowman
Oceanography
The E/V Nautilus, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, and R/V Falkor 2017 Field Season
New Frontiers in
Ocean Exploration
PREFERRED CITATION
Raineault, N.A, J. Flanders, and A. Bowman, eds. 2018.
New frontiers in ocean exploration: The E/V Nautilus, NOAA
Ship Okeanos Explorer, and R/V Falkor 2017 field season.
Oceanography 31(1), supplement, 126 pp., https://doi.org/
10.5670/ oceanog.2018.supplement.01.
FRONT COVER. A large Deepstaria enigmatica scypho-
zoan jellyfish is imaged up close at 974 m depth off of
San Benedicto Island, Revillagigedo Archipelago, Mexico,
on E/V Nautilus cruise NA092. This specimen, measuring
approximately 55 cm across, was approached in almost
complete darkness and remained undisturbed for several
minutes, at which point it closed its umbrella and turned
to present itself in high detail. An intricate network of
anastomosing canals, assumed to be part of its digestive
tract, is clearly visible. Image credit: D. Fornari (WHOI-MISO
Facility) and OET
Interior of a gas-rich pillow basalt off the west
coast of Socorro island, Revillagigedo Archipelago,
Mexico, from E/V Nautilus cruise NA092. Image
credit: D. Fornari (WHOI-MISO Facility) and OET
Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................1
2017 National Ocean Exploration Forum: Ocean Exploration in a Sea of Data ...................3
2017 Expedition Overview Map..................................................................................................4
PART 1. Ocean Exploration Trust – E/V Nautilus ......................................................................6
Technology.........................................................................................................................................8
2017 Nautilus Samples Program .................................................................................................. 14
Nautilus Education and Outreach Programs .............................................................................. 16
Nautilus Field Season Overview .................................................................................................... 24
E/V Nautilus Mapping Summary 2017: Cascadia Margin to the
Revillagigedo Archipelago and Beyond ............................................................................ 26
Expedition 2017: Wiring the Abyss in the Northeast Pacific .............................................. 28
Submerged Sea Caves of Southern California’s Continental Borderland ........................ 30
Peering into the Abyss: Studying Our Own Ocean to Advance Astrobiology................... 32
Discovering the Undersea Beauty of Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary .............. 34
Quinault Canyon and Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary .................................... 36
Discovering Oregon’s Lost Coast: Finding and Studying Submerged
Archaeological Sites and Landscapes on the Pacific Continental Shelf ....................... 38
Exploration of the Northern Guaymas Basin ....................................................................... 39
Biogeochemical Exploration of the Pescadero Basin Vents ............................................... 42
Exploring and Mapping the Revillagigedo Archipelago World Heritage
Site in Mexico ...................................................................................................................... 44
PART 2. NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research .............................................. 46
CAPSTONE: NOAA’s Campaign to Address Pacific monument Science,
Technology, and Ocean NEeds ..................................................................................................... 48
CAPSTONE Operations 2015–2017 .............................................................................................. 53
Exploring Pacific Maritime Heritage ............................................................................................ 54
NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer: Exploring America’s Deep Ocean .............................................. 55
2017 NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer Mapping Highlights ............................................................ 56
2017 Midwater Exploration on Okeanos Explorer ....................................................................... 61
Working with Video to Improve Deep-Sea Habitat Characterization ...................................... 64
Engagement: Exploring Global Opportunities in 2017 .............................................................. 68
Diversity and Inclusion .................................................................................................................. 71
2017 American Sāmoa Expedition: Suesuega o le Moana Amerika Sāmoa ........................... 72
Deepwater Exploration of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine
National Monument and Central Pacific Basin .......................................................................... 74
Discovering the Deep: Exploring Remote Pacific Marine Protected Areas ..................... 76
Mountains in the Deep: Exploration of the Seamounts of the Central Pacific Basin .... 78
Laulima O Ka Moana: Exploring Deep Monument Waters Around Johnston Atoll ....... 80
Deep-Sea Symphony: Exploration of the Musicians Seamounts ............................................. 82
CAPSTONE Sampling Overview: Providing Insights in the Remote Pacific ............................. 84
Exploring the Pacific Through International Partnerships ........................................................ 86
Dense aggregation of the tube worm
Oasisia aff. alvinae with high abundance
of small yellow dorvilleid polychaetes
on the outer tubes. Red polynoid scale
worms and anemones surround the
bush of Oasisia on E/V Nautilus cruise
NA091 in Pescadero Basin. Image credit:
D. Fornari (WHOI-MISO Facility) and OET
Sponsored Projects: NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research ............................... 88
Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research, and Technology ...................... 89
Pushing the Boundaries: Technology-Driven Exploration of
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary ....................................................................... 90
Exploring the Sunken Heritage of Midway Atoll at the 75th Anniversary
of the Battle of Midway .................................................................................................... 91
Cold Seeps of the Cascadia Margin ..................................................................................... 92
Exploring US Mid-Atlantic Margin Methane Seeps: IMMeRSS, May 2017 ....................... 93
Innovative Observing Approaches to Better Understand the Big Picture ...................... 94
Northern Neighbors: Transboundary Exploration of Deepwater Communities ........... 95
Innovative Nitrogen Sensor Maps the North Pacific Oxygen Minimum Zone ............... 96
Realizing Capabilities Through Broad and Expanding Partnerships ....................................... 97
DEEP SEARCH: Deep Sea Exploration to Advance Research
on Coral/Canyon/Cold Seep Habitats ............................................................................. 97
Southeast Deep Coral Initiative: Exploring Deep-Sea Coral Ecosystems
off the Southeast United States ...................................................................................... 98
2018: A Shift in the Focus of Deep-Sea Exploration ................................................................ 100
PART 3. Schmidt Ocean Institute – R/V Falkor ..................................................................... 102
Five Years of Research Aboard R/V Falkor ................................................................................ 104
R/V Falkor in 2017......................................................................................................................... 106
Epilogue ............................................................. 110
Authors ............................................................... 112
Acknowledgments ............................................ 116
References ......................................................... 121
Acronyms ........................................................... 125
Introduction By Nicole A. Raineault, William Mowitt, and Victor Zykov
This annual ocean exploration supplement to Oceanography
presents highlights of the latest field season for three vessels
that investigate the world ocean: Ocean Exploration Trust’s
Exploration Vessel (E/V) Nautilus, NOAA Ship Okeanos
Explorer, and Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Research Vessel
(R/V) Falkor. In 2017, work continued in the Pacific Ocean—
with Falkor in the southern and western Pacific, Okeanos
Explorer in the central Pacific, and Nautilus in the eastern
Pacific, including Mexican waters for the first time. Late in
2017, after three years exploring the Pacific, Okeanos Explorer
moved east into the Gulf of Mexico. Summaries of these
expeditions describe new discoveries, advancements in ocean
exploration technology, and outreach efforts aimed at all who
are interested in the ocean’s secrets.
Continuing its mission of ocean exploration, innova-
tion, and education, Nautilus embarked on its eighth field
season in 2017. Part 1 of this supplement begins with a
catalog of Nautilus’s technical capabilities (pages 8–13), as
well as descriptions of new techniques and results of sample
collection and analysis (pages 14–15). Next, we describe
the global efforts of the Ocean Exploration Trust (OET) to
increase interest and literacy in STEM fields through a vari-
ety of programs and development of educational materials
(pages 16–23). Finally, we report on the early discoveries made
during the 2017 field season, which explored geology, biology,
and archaeology off the west coast of North America, from
British Columbia to the Gulf of California and Revillagigedo
Archipelago (pages 28–45). Four of the 14 cruises focused on
mapping the seafloor—a critical first step in characterizing
ocean regions and supplying baseline data needed for future,
more detailed explorations (pages 26–27). In addition, several
of the 14 cruises were undertaken in partnership with the
NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries; the results of
these joint efforts support NOAA priorities in the region. The
Nautilus team looks forward to expanding these and other
relationships in 2018 and beyond.
Part 2 of this supplement focuses on the advances and
accomplishments of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, America’s
only federal ship dedicated to ocean exploration. The ship
recently completed surveys that contribute to the Campaign
to Address Pacific monument Science, Technology, and Ocean
NEeds (CAPSTONE), as well as other exploratory efforts by
NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER).
The OER section begins with the results of CAPSTONE
(pages 48–53), including work in maritime archaeology
(page 54), and introduces the capabilities of Okeanos Explorer
(page 55). A description of innovations in ocean exploration
follows, including ocean mapping, mid water column explo-
ration, and the rich data source that video footage provides
(pages 56–67). Next comes a review of OER’s continuing
commitment to encourage the next generation of ocean
explorers, scientists, and engineers through public engage-
ment and education activities (pages 68–71). Then we take a
deeper dive into Okeanos Explorer expeditions. Expeditions
to several areas across the central Pacific included high seas
surveys and exploration of the Musicians Seamounts and
remote protected areas. We also report on how we manage
our underwater biological and geological samples and lever-
age the intellectual capital of shoreside scientists by opening
up sample collections for community input (pages 72–85),
and we discuss the importance of international partnerships
(pages 86–87) and their emergence during CAPSTONE.
OER’s sponsored projects include work with the Cooperative
Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research, and Technology
(CIOERT), and we present highlights of maritime archaeol-
ogy and methane cold seeps exploration as well as showcase
some new technology developments (pages 88–96). Finally,
we discuss the power of partnerships to increase the potential
for ocean exploration and highlight ones focused on deep-sea
ecosystems in the Atlantic, including coral, and look at part-
nerships taking shape to enable the goals of the new Atlantic
campaign to be met (pages 97–101).
The final part of this supplement highlights some signif-
icant accomplishments of R/V Falkor’s 2017 field season.
Celebrating the ship’s five years of research, Schmidt Ocean
Institute (SOI) supported technology development as well as
research that examined scalable approaches to the character-
ization of phytoplankton community dynamics, rates of past
sea level change as recorded in the structure of ancient corals,
diversity of geological processes surrounding some of the
world’s most active submarine volcanic provinces, and unique
and novel biological ecosystems discovered within large and
remote protected areas. Through its philanthropic efforts,
SOI aims to demonstrate how scalable innovation can tackle
important scientific and societal challenges (pages 102–109).
In 2018, cruise plans call for the three vessels to work in
geographically distant parts of the globe. Nautilus will com-
plete its first West Coast to Hawai‘i circle, returning at the
end of the season to San Pedro, California, and Falkor will
continue to focus on the greater Pacific Ocean. Okeanos
Explorer will venture into the Atlantic Ocean (including
performing additional work in the Gulf of Mexico), initiating
the Atlantic Seafloor Partnership for Integrated Research and
Exploration (ASPIRE). This is a large cross-Atlantic basin
effort in support of the Galway Statement on Atlantic Ocean
Cooperation, an initiative between the United States, Canada,
and the European Union to advance knowledge of the
Atlantic Ocean to improve stewardship and understanding.
We invite you to follow along with our explorations online,
and we look forward to sharing highlights of new discoveries
with you next year.
ROV Deep Discoverer documents the benthic
communities at Paganini Seamount, captur-
ing high-resolution imagery that can be used
by scientists to identify organisms and build a
baseline characterization of what these habi-
tats look like. Image credit: NOAA OER
Ocean Exploration in a Sea of Data
From October 21 to 22, 2017, experts in ocean exploration
and data science, as well as other fields, attended the fifth
annual National Ocean Exploration Forum at the University
of California, San Diego’s, Qualcomm Institute, a division
of the California Institute for Telecommunications and
Information Technology. The goal of the 2017 interdisciplin-
ary forum, Ocean Exploration in a Sea of Data, was to move
the application of ocean exploration data into the future.
Partners from the Qualcomm Institute, Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory, NOAA, and others gave presentations,
provided demonstrations on priority areas, and held discus-
sion groups. Thinking of ocean exploration in broad terms,
forum participants considered how relevant data—whether
from satellites, ocean sensors, hydrophones, or deep ocean
cores—can be integrated, analyzed, and visualized to under-
stand the ocean in new ways.
Demonstrations of new technologies included those
for exploring ocean data through audio spatialization and
sonification, for applying near-360 degree immersive visual-
ization of video and data, for exploring an active mid-ocean
ridge volcano in real time through a fiber-optic cable con-
nection to data, for visualizing Antarctic ice shelf structure
and bathymetry from the air, and for allowing point-based
visual analytics and habitat characterization using under-
water photogrammetry. Participants shared impressions of
these demonstrations and discussed how these tools could
impact their work, areas of interest, and the ocean explora-
tion community.
A Brief History of the Forum
Since 2013, leading ocean exploration experts have assem-
bled at National Ocean Exploration Forums to discuss the
priorities and aims of a national ocean exploration program.
These forums have examined the future of ocean exploration
through the lens of a coordinated NOAA-led, multi-agency
federal collaboration with the private sector and academia.
The inaugural 2013 Forum, called Ocean Exploration (OE)
2020, prioritized exploration in the polar, Indo-Pacific, and
central Pacific regions and recommended expanding tra-
ditional ocean exploration to include ocean chemistry and
the water column. OE 2020 recommendations emphasized
the importance of using a variety of exploration platforms,
developing new technologies, creating citizen science
opportunities,
increasing
and
fostering
partnerships,
improving low- to no-cost near-real-time data accessibility,
and enhancing and expanding ways to communicate about
ocean exploration. Subsequent forums have built upon
these priorities and recommendations, helping to drive
ocean exploration in both the public and private sectors
in subsequent years.
Looking Ahead
With these priority areas defined, further aims established,
and additional ocean exploration conducted, the next step
with the 2017 forum was to determine how the ocean
exploration community can best manage large quantities of
new and historical data and apply data science analysis and
visualization techniques to them. The 2017 forum yielded
community recommendations, described in a formal report
to be released in 2018, for how data scientists, ocean explor-
ers, and members of other disciplines can work together to
expand traditional concepts of ocean exploration while driv-
ing toward new discoveries, increased access to contempo-
rary and historical data, and improved public engagement.
The 2018 National Ocean Exploration Forum will continue
to build upon previous recommendations and will review
ways to better explain ocean exploration to students and
the public with a goal of developing recommendations for
more effective messaging and engagement strategies.
Vicki Ferrini of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory demon-
strates the SunCAVE’s near-360 degree capabilities at the 2017
National Ocean Exploration Forum. These immersive environ-
ment technologies allow experimentation with new ways to
represent deep ocean bathymetry, seafloor features, and other
attributes of the deep ocean. Image credit: OER
2017 National Ocean Exploration Forum:
Ocean Exploration in a Sea of Data
By David McKinnie and Adrienne Copeland
2017 Expedition Overview Map
Page 78. Mountains
in the Deep:
Exploration of the
Seamounts of the
Central Pacific Basin
Page 80. Laulima O
Ka Moana: Exploring
Deep Monument
Waters Around
Johnston Atoll
Page 61.
Midwater
Exploration
on Okeanos
Explorer
Page 72.
2017
American
Sāmoa
Expedition
Page 108.
Underwater Fire:
Studying the
Submarine Volcanoes
of Tonga
Page 107.
Discovering Deep
Sea Corals of the
Phoenix Islands
Page 106.
Eyes Below:
Mapping
Johnston
Atoll
Page 76. Discovering
the Deep: Exploring
Remote Pacific Marine
Protected Areas
Page 82. Deep-
Sea Symphony:
Exploration of
the Musicians
Seamounts
Page 54.
Exploring
Pacific
Maritime
Heritage
Page 107.
Unraveling
Ancient
Sea Level
Secrets
Page 26.
Mapping
the
US West
Coast
Page 28.
Expedition 2017:
Wiring the Abyss
Page 36. Quinault
Canyon and the
Olympic Coast
National Marine
Sanctuary
Page 38.
Discovering
Oregon’s
Lost Coast
Page 39.
Exploration of
the Northern
Guaymas Basin
Page 44. The
Revillagigedo
Archipelago World
Heritage Site
Page 30. Submerged
Sea Caves of Southern
California’s Continental
Borderland
E/V Nautilus
Expeditions
R/V Falkor
Expeditions
NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer
Expeditions
Page 42.
Biogeochemical
Exploration of
the Pescadero
Basin Vents
Page 32.
Peering into
the Abyss
Page 34. The
Cordell Bank
National Marine
Sanctuary
Page 106.
Sea to Space
Particle
Investigation
Chemicals precipitate out of the hot fluids
emanating from a hydrothermal vent as
it is quenched by cold seawater in the
Guaymas Basin on E/V Nautilus cruise
NA090. The surrounding materials are
coated in microbes. Image credit: D. Fornari
(WHOI-MISO Facility) and OET