VOL. 30, NO. 1, SUPPLEMENT
MARCH 2017
GUEST EDITORS | KATHERINE L.C. BELL, JOANNE FLANDERS,
AMY BOWMAN, AND NICOLE A. RAINEAULT
Oceanography
The E/V Nautilus, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer,
and R/V Falkor 2016 Field Season
New Frontiers
in Ocean Exploration
PREFERRED CITATION
Bell, K.L.C., J. Flanders, A. Bowman, and N.A. Raineault, eds.
2017. New frontiers in ocean exploration: The E/V Nautilus,
NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, and R/V Falkor 2016
field season. Oceanography 30(1), supplement, 94 pp.,
https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2017.supplement.01.
FRONT COVER. ROV Deep Discoverer explores an
eruptive vent at the top of a large mound of pillow lavas
during the 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas
expedition. Photo credit: NOAA OER
THIS PAGE. ROV ROPOS image showing chimney
structures at a black smoker hydrothermal vent. Photo
credit: SOI/ROPOS
Introduction ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................1
2016 Expedition Overview Map ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................4
Ocean Exploration Trust – E/V Nautilus
Technology ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................6
Nautilus as a Testbed for Experimental Technologies ...................................................................................................................................................................12
Upgrades to the Nautilus/Hercules Software Systems...................................................................................................................................................................14
Nautilus Samples 2016: New Techniques and Partnerships .......................................................................................................................................................15
Nautilus Education & Outreach Programs ..........................................................................................................................................................................................18
Nautilus Field Season Overview .................................................................................................................................................................................................................24
Wiring the Abyss 2016: Ocean Networks Canada’s Most Challenging Expedition .................................................................................................26
Water Column and Cold Seep Exploration of the Cascadia Margin ..............................................................................................................................28
Exploration of S/S Coast Trader ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................31
Mapping and Exploration of Deep-Sea Corals and Shipwrecks in the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary ....................32
Exploration and Mapping of USS Independence ........................................................................................................................................................................34
Exploration of Central California Basins, Cold Seeps, and San Juan Seamount .......................................................................................................36
Mapping and Exploration Within and Surrounding the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary ......................................................38
Exploration of the Southern California Borderland .................................................................................................................................................................40
NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
Exploration and Information to Meet National Needs with NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer ..............................................................................42
New Technologies for Ocean Mapping .................................................................................................................................................................................................43
Telepresence: Sending Imagery from the Seafloor to Your Screen ........................................................................................................................................46
Exploring the Ocean Through Data.........................................................................................................................................................................................................48
Value to the Nation: Surveying and Data Management for the US Extended Continental Shelf Project ........................................................50
Combined Bathymetry Coverage in the Mariana Region ...........................................................................................................................................................52
CAPSTONE: Exploring the US Marine Protected Areas in the Central and Western Pacific ..................................................................................53
2016 Hohonu Moana: Exploring the Deep Waters off Hawai‘i ..........................................................................................................................................56
Combined Bathymetry Coverage of the Hawaiian Archipelago and Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument ...........58
Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas ........................................................................................................................................................................................60
The 2016 Midwater Exploration of the Mariana Region .......................................................................................................................................................66
First Deep Exploration in the Wake Unit of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument ......................................................68
Exploring the Underwater Archaeology of World War II .....................................................................................................................................................72
Hidden Ocean: Exploring the Dynamic Chukchi Borderlands .................................................................................................................................................74
Engagement 2016: A Commitment Reaching Far and Wide .....................................................................................................................................................76
Schmidt Ocean Institute – R/V Falkor
A Glance at Schmidt Ocean Institute .....................................................................................................................................................................................................78
An Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................78
R/V Falkor 2016 Field Season ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................79
Global Networks – Sharing Science and Partnership Projects ..........................................................................................................................................82
Epilogue ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................84
Authors ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................86
Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................88
References ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................92
Acronyms ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................94
Contents
ROV Hercules shining its lights on
sponges growing on the hull of
USS Independence. Photo credit: OET
Introduction
Welcome to the seventh ocean exploration supplement
to Oceanography! In addition to the initial results of the
Exploration Vessel (E/V) Nautilus and National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ship Okeanos Explorer
2016 expeditions, we are very pleased this year to include
highlights of several projects that took place aboard Research
Vessel (R/V) Falkor, as provided by guest contributor Schmidt
Ocean Institute (SOI). In 2016, the three programs focused
their efforts in the largest ocean basin on the planet—Falkor
in the southern and western Pacific, Okeanos Explorer in
the central and western Pacific, and Nautilus in the eastern
Pacific. Here, we include summaries of research, exploration,
and discoveries, describing new developments in technology
and engineering, as well as innovative education and outreach
approaches for learners around the globe.
Continuing its mission of ocean exploration, innovation,
and education, the Ocean Exploration Trust (OET) embarked
on the eighth field season of E/V Nautilus. This section of the
supplement begins with a catalog of Nautilus’ technical capa-
bilities (pages 6–11), as well reports on new experimental tech-
nologies that were deployed at sea (pages 12–13), upgrades
to the software systems of the remotely operated vehicles
(ROVs) Hercules and Argus (page 14), and new techniques
and results for sample collection and analysis (pages 15–17).
Next, we describe OET’s global efforts for increasing interest
and literacy in science, technology, engineering, and mathe-
matics (STEM) fields by harnessing the public’s excitement
about ocean exploration (pages 18–23). Finally, we report on
the results of the 2016 Nautilus field season’s geological, bio-
logical, and archaeological exploration off the west coast of
North America, from British Columbia to southern California
(pages 24–41). Several of the nine cruises were undertaken
in partnership with the NOAA Office of National Marine
Sanctuaries and Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory,
and the results are being used to support NOAA priorities in
the region. The Nautilus team looks forward to continuing to
grow these and other relationships in 2017 and beyond.
The second section focuses on the advances and accom-
plishments of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, as well as other
exploratory efforts by the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration
and Research (OER). We begin with a description of the tech-
nologies and innovations used for ocean exploration, includ-
ing telepresence, ocean mapping, and managing and expand-
ing access to oceanographic video and data, as well as the
important work of the US Extended Continental Shelf Project
(pages 42–52). Next, we focus on the results of field projects,
most of which were carried out aboard Okeanos Explorer
under the auspices of the Campaign to Address Pacific mon-
ument Science, Technology, and Ocean NEeds (CAPSTONE;
pages 53–73). The CAPSTONE campaign included deep-sea
mapping and imaging along with biological and geological
exploration of the Hawaiian Archipelago, Mariana Islands,
and remote Pacific islands, including Wake Island. This
campaign included World War II-related underwater archae-
ology. We also report on the findings of the exploration of
the Chukchi Borderlands and Glacier Bay National Park and
Preserve (pages 74–75). Affirmation of OER’s continued com-
mitment to encourage the next generation of ocean explorers,
scientists, and engineers through public engagement and
education closes the section (pages 76–77).
In the third and final section of this supplement, we high-
light several research projects supported by Schmidt Ocean
Institute in 2016. SOI strives to advance the frontiers of global
marine research by providing state-of-the-art operational,
technological, and informational support to pioneering ocean
science and technology projects at sea. In 2016, SOI supported
studies of oxygen minimum zones; high-resolution mapping
of hydrothermal vents in three dimensions; and investigation
of physical, chemical, and microbial processes in the air-sea
microlayer, as well as other projects in the South China Sea
near Hawai‘i (pages 78–83). With its philanthropic efforts,
SOI aims to demonstrate how scalable innovation can tackle
important scientific and societal challenges.
All three programs are continuing their important work in
the Pacific Ocean in 2017, and we look forward to sharing our
discoveries with you.
By Katherine L.C. Bell, William Mowitt, and Victor Zykov
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are vital tools for conserving the ocean’s most unique and valuable resources.
MPAs cover 3.2 million square kilometers (26%) of US marine waters, and protect nationally important marine
resources, including fish, minerals, and a rich record of human history (NOAA, 2017a).
The US National Marine Sanctuary System includes 13 national marine sanctuaries (NMS) and two of the four
US marine national monuments within the US Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and Great Lakes. Across all national
marine sanctuaries, approximately $8 billion is generated annually in local coastal- and ocean-dependent econ-
omies from activities such as commercial fishing, research, and recreation (NOAA, 2017b). This figure does not
include the net economic value—the value received by a consumer of a good or service over and above what the
consumer is required to actually pay to receive the good or service. The estimated net economic value of the Main
Hawaiian Islands coral reefs alone is $33.57 billion (Bishop et al., 2011).
While scientists knew enough about these places to inform the process that made them sanctuaries and
monuments, much remains to be learned. The nation’s ocean exploration program therefore includes a focus
in and near MPAs. In 2016, E/V Nautilus explored and documented five West Coast sanctuaries (pages 32–39),
NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer focused on US MPAs in the central and western Pacific (pages 53–73), and
R/V Falkor’s work ranged from the tropical to the western Pacific, including the Marianas Trench Marine National
Monument (page 81).
These expeditions increased US knowledge of MPAs and laid a foundation upon which further work can be
built. The expeditions’ use of telepresence brought together scientists and the public to watch dives as they were
being conducted and to participate in exploration of the deep sea in real time. Whether the ships were far out in
the Pacific or near coastal communities, the larger community saw that discovery and learning were happening in
US waters. Social media, live- streamed Internet broadcasts, special educational programs, and news stories shared
the process of exploration and the discoveries that underscored why marine protected areas are valuable, and
they told the stories that continue to emerge from the depths of these valuable and unique places.
Octopus, Farallones Escarpment.
Photo credit: OET
Octocoral Anthomastus spp., Farallones
Escarpment. Photo credit: OET
The Value of Marine Protected Areas to the Nation
By James P. Delgado, Mitchell Tartt, Matthew Stout, Katie Wagner, and Sarah Marquis
One of the unusual benthic
platyctenid ctenophores docu-
mented during an ROV dive at
Ahyi Seamount in the Marianas.
Photo credit: NOAA OER
Bubble gum coral, Farallones
Escarpment. Photo credit: OET
Farallones Escarpment habitat.
Photo credit: OET
2016 Expedition Overview Map
Page 80 | Ecosystem
Dynamics of
Hydrothermal Vent
Communities
Page 81 |
A Changing River:
Measuring Nutrient
Fluxes to the South
China Sea
Page 81 |
Searching
for Life in
the Mariana
Back-Arc
Page 79 | Virtual Vents:
The Changing Face of
Hydrothermalism
Page 80 |
Study of the Sea-
Surface Microlayer
and the Air-Sea
Boundary
Page 56 |
Hohonu Moana:
Exploring the
Deep Waters off
Hawai‘i
Page 60 |
Deepwater
Exploration
of the
Marianas
Page 72 |
Exploring the
Underwater
Archaeology of
World War II
Page 50 |
The US Extended
Continental
Shelf Project
Page 68 | Exploring
the Wake Unit of
the Pacific Remote
Islands Marine
National Monument
E/V Nautilus
Expeditions
R/V Falkor
Expeditions
NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration
and Research Expeditions
Page 74 |
Exploring
the Dynamic
Chukchi
Borderlands
Page 79 |
Investigating
Life Without
Oxygen in the
Tropical Pacific
Page 26 |
Wiring the
Abyss: Ocean
Networks
Canada
Page 28 |
Exploring the
Cascadia Margin
Water Column
and Cold Seeps
Page 36 | Exploring
the Central
California Basins,
Cold Seeps, and
San Juan Seamount
Page 38 |
Exploring the
Channel Islands
National Marine
Sanctuary
Page 31 |
Exploration
of S/S Coast
Trader
Page 40 |
Exploring the
Southern
California
Borderland
Page 34 |
Exploring and
Mapping
USS Independence
Page 32 |
Exploring the
Greater Farallones
National Marine
Sanctuary
Note: All images in the Nautilus section
of this publication are copyright OET
unless otherwise indicated.
E/V Nautilus
Nautilus is an efficient 64-meter exploration vessel with
17 permanent crew and berthing for a 31-member rotating
Corps of Exploration. The ship is equipped with a Kongsberg
EM 302 multibeam echosounder and two ROVs named
Hercules and Argus that explore the seafloor. The ship has a
data lab and wet lab, as well as other scientific facilities, for
processing digital data and physical samples. As part of our
effort to share our expeditions with students and colleagues,
we use telepresence technology to stream live video from our
ROVs and various locations on the ship in real time to our
Nautilus Live website (http://www.nautiluslive.org).
GENERAL
BUILT | 1967, Rostock, Germany
LENGTH | 64.23 meters (211 feet)
BEAM | 10.5 meters (34.5 feet)
DRAFT | 4.9 meters (14.75 feet)
TONNAGE | 1,249 gross, 374 net
RANGE | 24,000 kilometers (13,000 nautical miles)
at 10 knots
ENDURANCE | 40 days at sea
SPEED | 10 knots service, 12 knots maximum
FUEL CAPACITY | 330 cubic meters
PROPULSION | Single 1,285 kilowatt (1,700 hp) controllable
pitch main thruster; 280 kW bow tunnel
thruster; 300 kW jet pump stern thruster
SHIP SERVICE GENERATORS | Two 585 kVA generators,
one 350 kVA generator
PORTABLE VAN SPACE | One 20-foot van
Technology
COMPLEMENT | 17 crew; 31 science and operations
FLAG | St. Vincent and the Grenadines
HEAVY EQUIPMENT |
• Dynacon 421 ROV winch with 4,500 meter (14,764 feet)
Rochester A06063 1.73 centimeter (0.681 inch)
diameter cable
• DT Marine 210 winch with 1,200 m Rochester
A320327 0.82 centimeter (0.322 inch) diameter wire
• Bonfiglioli knuckle-boom crane, 2–6 ton capacity,
two extensions
• Two airtuggers, SWL 900 lbs each
• A-frame, SWL 8 mtns
• Rescue boat davit with SWL 0.9 mtn
• Oceanscience UCTD 10-400 profiling system;
max depth 1,000 meters
TELEPRESENCE TECHNOLOGY
VSAT | 2.4 meter axis stabilized Sea Tel 9711 uplink antenna
capable of C- and Ku-band operation of up to 20 Mbps
(C-band circular or linear)
REAL-TIME VIDEO STREAMING |
• Three Tandberg standard definition encoders with
multiplex for encapsulating real-time video
• Harmonic Electra 7000 high-definition encoder
CAMERAS | Two Sony BZR-H700 high-definition pan/tilt/
zoom cameras mounted to view the aft deck and port rail;
one BZR-H700 in the control vans; Marshall VS-570 PTZ
cameras in the wet lab and in the ROV hanger
Photo credit: Ocean
Networks Canada
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