The Ocean Exploration Trust 2022 Field Season
NEW FRONTIERS IN
OCEAN EXPLORATION
GUEST EDITOR
Daniel Wagner
OCEANOGRAPHY
Vol. 36, Supplement 2
EDITOR. Ellen Kappel
ASSISTANT EDITOR. Vicky Cullen
LAYOUT AND DESIGN. Johanna Adams
ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION
Support for this publication is provided by the Ocean Exploration Trust.
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Published by The Oceanography Society
Single printed copies are available upon request from info@tos.org.
PREFERRED CITATION
Wagner, D., ed. 2023. New frontiers in ocean exploration: The E/V Nautilus 2022 field season.
Oceanography 36(Supplement 2), 54 pp., https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2023.s2.
All images in this publication are
copyright Ocean Exploration Trust
unless otherwise indicated
Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Technology ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................2
E/V Nautilus’s Two-Body ROV System ..................................................................................................................................................................10
Collaborating for Ocean Stewardship: Examples of OET Partnerships in 2022...........................................................12
The Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute ................................................................................................................................................15
Inner Space Center: Telepresence Support for E/V Nautilus in 2022 ......................................................................................16
Reaching the World through Ocean Exploration and Education .................................................................................................18
2022 E/V Nautilus Field Season Overview .........................................................................................................................................................22
Building the Foundation for Deep-Sea Exploration in the Central Pacific:
E/V Nautilus Seafloor Mapping in 2022 .................................................................................................................................................................26
Exploration of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument:
Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll, and Seamounts of the Surrounding US EEZ ....................................................................28
Lu‘uaeaahikiikekumu: Ancient Seamounts of Lili‘uokalani Ridge .............................................................................................30
Exploration of Deep Seamount Biology and Geology: The Johnston Atoll Unit
of the Pacific Remote Island Marine National Monument ..................................................................................................................32
Mesobot Operations from E/V Nautilus ................................................................................................................................................................34
DriX Operations from E/V Nautilus ............................................................................................................................................................................36
Nereid Under Ice Operations from E/V Nautilus ...........................................................................................................................................38
From Shore to the Abyss: Exploration of Marine Mammal Communication, Shark Communities,
Maritime Heritage, and Microplastic Pollution in the Main Hawaiian Islands ................................................................40
Data System Upgrades on E/V Nautilus ..............................................................................................................................................................42
Recent Upgrades to E/V Nautilus’s Video Products ................................................................................................................................44
Ocean Exploration Trust Deploys Sofar Ocean’s Smart Buoys in the Pacific
to Fill Gaps in Marine Weather Data .........................................................................................................................................................................45
Providing a Foundation for Follow-On Investigations: Sample Archives at the
Museum of Comparative Zoology and the Marine Geological Samples Laboratory ...............................................46
2022 Science Publications from E/V Nautilus Expeditions ...............................................................................................................48
What is Next ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................50
Authors ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................52
Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................53
In 2022, the Ocean Exploration Trust started a
partnership with the National Geographic Society
focused on the scientific exploration of shallow-
water habitats, a first for E/V Nautilus.
Introduction
By Daniel Wagner and Allison Fundis
March 2023 marks the thirteenth year of the partnership
between Oceanography, the Ocean Exploration Trust
(OET), and other organizations to co-develop an annual
supplement to the journal highlighting advancements in
ocean exploration. This issue summarizes work conducted
as part of the 2022 field season aboard OET’s E/V Nautilus.
Since OET first launched expeditions aboard Nautilus in
2009, our work has centered on exploring the ocean and
making discoveries, while pushing the boundaries of
technological innovation, education, and outreach. During
the 2022 field season, Nautilus undertook 11 multidisci-
plinary expeditions to explore some of the most remote
and poorly surveyed areas in the Central Pacific. Several of
these integrated emerging exploration technologies, and
all included efforts to share expedition stories with diverse
audiences across the globe.
As in previous years, E/V Nautilus began its 2022 oper-
ations with a shakedown cruise to complete a series of
engineering tests in preparation for the field season, and
then conducted several expeditions focused on mapping
and remotely operated vehicle operations in US waters
surrounding the Hawaiian Islands and the Pacific Remote
Islands. Two of these expeditions also included deploy-
ments of vehicles from partners of the Ocean Exploration
Cooperative Institute, a consortium of oceanographic
institutions that brings together the expertise and capa-
bilities of the University of Rhode Island, University of
New Hampshire, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,
University of Southern Mississippi, and OET to advance
the core priorities of NOAA Ocean Exploration. These
technology- focused expeditions demonstrated the value
of combining complementary ocean exploration technolo-
gies, as well as the benefits of inter-institutional collabora-
tions, for accelerating the pace by which we can effectively
explore our ocean. The 2022 Nautilus season ended with
three back-to-back expeditions that combined the com-
plementary missions of OET and the National Geographic
Society to undertake a new shallow-water exploration
program for Nautilus.
Stories and discoveries from the 2022 season were
shared with public audiences via various avenues that col-
lectively reached several million people around the world.
Across the 2022 field season, expedition teams hosted
569 live interactions from the broadcast studio onboard
Nautilus, welcomed aboard over 50 students and educa-
tors, grew the program’s social media presence, developed
dozens of new STEM education resources, and promoted
Nautilus work through more than 1,200 media stories.
The accomplishments of the E/V Nautilus 2022 field sea-
son were only possible thanks to the many partners that
contributed to this work, including both ship-based and
shore-based personnel. In 2022, OET continued to build on
its collaborations with NOAA Ocean Exploration, the Ocean
Exploration Cooperative Institute, the National Geographic
Society, the Office of Naval Research, the National Marine
Sanctuary Foundation, and many others that are detailed
throughout this supplement to Oceanography. These
partnerships focused not only on gaining new knowledge
about our largely unexplored ocean, but also on how to
meaningfully share this knowledge with a wide array of
ocean stakeholders, particularly those from geographies
where Nautilus operated. In particular, we continued our
on going collaboration with our partners in Hawai‘i—
including Papahānamokuākea Marine National Monument
staff and representatives of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs-
facilitated Papahānamokuākea Cultural Working Group—
to ensure our expeditions to places that hold cultural
significance to Native Hawaiians incorporated Hawaiian
worldview, participation, and input.
Technology
E/V NAUTILUS
The Exploration Vessel (E/V) Nautilus is an efficient 68-meter
ship, with berthing for 17 permanent crew members in
addition to 33 berths for rotating members of the Nautilus
Corps of Exploration. The ship is equipped with remotely
operated vehicles (ROVs), acoustic mapping sonars, and
various other state-of-the-art technologies. Nautilus has
a data lab for processing digital data, as well as a wet lab
for processing physical samples. As part of the Ocean
Exploration Trust’s effort to share expeditions with the
world, we utilize telepresence technology to stream live
video from the ROVs and various locations aboard the ship
in real time to the Nautilus Live website.
GENERAL
BUILT. 1967, Rostock, Germany
LENGTH. 68.23 meters (224 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 horsepower)
controllable pitch main thruster; 280 kilowatt bow tunnel
thruster; 300 kilowatt jet pump stern thruster
SHIP SERVICE GENERATORS. Two 585 kilovolt-ampere
generators, one 350 kilovolt-ampere generator
PORTABLE VAN SPACE. Four 6.1-meter (20-feet) vans
COMPLEMENT. 17 crew, 33 science and operations
FLAG. St. Vincent and the Grenadines
ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT
• Dynacon 369i ROV winch with 7,000 meters (23,000 feet)
of 1.73 centimeter (0.681 inch) diameter electro-optic
Rochester cable
• DT Marine 210 winch
• Bonfiglioli knuckle-boom crane, 2–6 ton capacity,
two extensions
• Hawbolt painter boom with winch safe working load,
1.5 metric tons with 7-meter reach off starboard side
• Two air tuggers, safe working load 900 pounds each
• A-frame, safe working load 8 tons
• Two rescue boats, crane and davit, safe working load
0.9 metric tons
• Oceanscience UCTD 10-400 profiling system;
maximum depth 1,000 meters (3,280 feet)
TELEPRESENCE TECHNOLOGY
VSAT. 2.4-meter stabilized Sea Tel 9711 uplink antenna
capable of C- and Ku-band operation of up to 20 megabits
per second (C-band circular or linear)
REAL-TIME VIDEO STREAMING. Six Haivison Makito X
encoders streaming live video via satellite to the Inner
Space Center ashore
CAMERAS. 24 high-definition cameras: aft port, amid and
starboard (pan/zoom/tilt), 180° wide aft, transom, bow,
command center (8), wet lab, ROV hangar, winch hold (6)
COMMUNICATIONS
• Ship-wide RTS Odin intercom system for shipboard com-
munications and connection with shoreside participants
• Software audio connection for global participants using
VLink multi-platform intercom client (Mac, Windows,
Android, iOS); telephone interface is available through
a Rhode Island exchange for real-time collaboration
between scientists ashore and the ship
• Full Internet connectivity from shipboard LAN and Wi-Fi
• KVH TracPhone-v7 for redundant bridge communication,
providing telephone and IP service
DATA PROCESSING & VISUALIZATION LAB
AREA. 44.5 square meters (480 square feet)
WORKSTATIONS. Eight workstations for seafloor mapping
and other data processing
RACK ROOM
AREA. 17.3 square meters (185 square feet)
DATA STORAGE. 50 terabyte onboard storage for non-
video data, 150 terabyte disk storage for video data
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS. Iridium phone,
KVH phone
ELECTRONICS WORKBENCH. 2.3 cubic meters
(80 cubic feet) of storage
PRODUCTION STUDIO
AREA. 12 square meters (130 square feet)
CAMERA. UHD Panasonic BGH1 studio camera, Sony A1
camera kit for topside video with live broadcast capacity
via Teradek 500
PRODUCTION. 10-input video production switcher for
live-produced interactions, full production editing work-
station with ship-to-shore transmit capacity for remote
production needs
WET LAB
AREA. 19 square meters (204.5 square feet) with 5.3-meter-
long (17.5-feet) stainless steel bench and 2.3-meter-long
(7.6-feet) worktop
REFRIGERATION
• Panasonic MDF-C8V1 ULT –80°C/–86°C scientific freezer,
0.085 cubic meters (3 cubic feet)
• Two science refrigerators, approximately 0.57 cubic
meters (20 cubic feet) each
• Science freezer, –20°C, 0.14 cubic meters (5 cubic feet)
HAZMAT
• Fume hood
• Two HAZMAT lockers for chemical and waste storage
• Carry-on, carry-off chemical policy
MICROSCOPE. Zeiss Primo Star Binocular Microscope, 4x,
10x, 40x, 100x
ROV HANGAR
AREA. 24 square meters (258.3 square feet)
POWER. 110/60 hertz and 220/50 hertz available
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. Hard hats,
personal flotation devices, high voltage gloves
LIFTS. 2 × 2-ton overhead manual chainfall lifts
STORAGE. Storage for spares and other equipment
ROV WORKSHOP
AREA. 18 square meters (193.8 square feet)
TOOLS. Complete set of hand tools, cordless tools,
electrical and fiber optic test equipment, mill-drill combi-
nation machine
STORAGE. Storage for spares and other equipment
CONTROL, COMMAND, & OUTREACH VANS
AREA. 43 square meters (476 square feet)
WORKSTATIONS. Twelve workstations, typical configu-
ration for ROV operations includes workstations for ROV
pilot, co-pilot, navigator, video engineer, data logger,
educator, and 2-4 for scientists
VIDEO RECORDING AND STORAGE. Two Cinedeck ZX85
video recorders that capture ROV footage in two simulta-
neous codecs, two Blackmagic Hyperdeck uncompressed
4K recorders, two AJA KiPro Go recorders, 2x linear
tape-open-6 archive media drives, 2x linear tape-open-8
archive media drives
KONGSBERG EM 302 MULTIBEAM ECHOSOUNDER
The EM 302 is a hull-mounted 30-kilohertz multibeam echo-
sounder composed of two long transducer arrays mounted
in a T-shape on the hull of E/V Nautilus. The EM 302 can map
the seafloor in water depths from 10 to 7,000 meters (33 to
22,965 feet) at ship speeds up to 12 knots.
FREQUENCY. 30 kilohertz
DEPTH RANGE. 10–7,000 meters (33–22,966 feet)
PULSE FORMS. CW and FM chirp
ANGULAR RESOLUTION. 1° × 1°
APPROXIMATE SWATH WIDTH. 3–5 times water depth,
up to 8 kilometers (5 miles)
SOUNDINGS PER SWATH. Up to 423 in single swath mode,
864 in dual swath mode
APPROXIMATE GRID RESOLUTION. 1%–5% water depth
(e.g., 10–50 meters [33–164 feet] at 1,000 meters
[3,281 feet] depth)
KNUDSEN 3260 SUB-BOTTOM PROFILER
AND ECHOSOUNDER
The Knudsen 3260 is a sub-bottom echosounder mounted
inside the hull of E/V Nautilus. It operates at low frequencies
(3.5 and 15 kilohertz) so that emitted sound can penetrate
layers of sediment to about 100 meters below the surface.
OPERATING FREQUENCY. Dual frequency, 3.5 and
15 kilohertz
POWER. 4 kW on Channel 1 and up to 2 kW on Channel 2
RANGE. 50–5,000 meters (164–16,404 feet)
KONGSBERG SIMRAD EC150-3C TRANSDUCER
The Kongsberg Simrad EC150-3C 150 kilohertz is a hull-
mounted transducer that combines an acoustic Doppler
current profiler (ADCP) and an EK80 split-beam fisheries
sonar into one instrument. The ADCP measures the speed
and direction of currents underneath the ship, whereas the
split-beam echosounder maps features found within the
water column.
FREQUENCY. 150 kilohertz (130-170 kilohertz range)
DEPTH RANGE. <400 meters (1,312 feet)
BEAMWIDTH. 3° at 150 kilohertz
PULSE FORMS. CW or FM
ADCP NUMBER OF BEAMS. 4
ADCP DEPTH BIN CELL SIZE. 2-16 meters (6.5-52.5 feet)
ULTRA-SHORT BASELINE NAVIGATION SYSTEMS
SYSTEM. Sonardyne Ranger 2 with Lodestar
GyroUSBL transceiver deployed from the moonpool
for USBL tracking
DEPTH RANGE. Up to 7,000 meters (22,966 feet)
POSITIONING ACCURACY. 0.5% of slant range
OPERATIONAL COVERAGE. ±90°
OPERATING FREQUENCY. 19–34 kilohertz
TARGETS TRACKED. Hercules, Argus, and two additional
transponders are available. More targets can be tracked
with the addition of compatible Sonardyne transponders
ACOUSTIC SYSTEMS
ROV Argus is a deep-tow system capable of diving to
6,000 meters. Argus is mainly used in tandem with ROV
Hercules, hovering several meters above in order to provide
a bird’s-eye view of Hercules working on the seafloor. Argus
is also capable of operating as a stand-alone system for
large-scale deepwater surveys.
GENERAL
DEPTH CAPABILITY. 6,000 meters (19,685 feet),
currently limited to 4,000 meters (13,123 feet)
CABLE. 7,000 meters (23,000 feet) of 1.73 centimeter
(0.681 inch) diameter electro-optic Rochester cable,
3x #11 conductors, 4x SM fibers SIZE. 3.8 meters long ×
1.2 meters wide × 1.3 meters high (12.5 feet long ×
3.9 feet wide × 4.3 feet tall)
WEIGHT. 2,100 kilograms (4,700 pounds) in air,
1,360 kilograms (3,000 pounds) in water
MAXIMUM TRANSIT SPEED. 2 knots
ASCENT/DESCENT RATE. 30 meters/minute
(98 feet/minute)
PROPULSION. Two Tecnadyne Model 1020 thrusters
for heading control
IMAGING & LIGHTING
CAMERAS
• One Insite Pacific Zeus Plus high-definition camera with
Ikegami HDL-45A head and Fujinon HA 10 × 5.2 lens,
1080i SMPTE 292M output format, 2 megapixel still
image capable on tilt platform
• Three utility cameras (fixed mounted) 480 line
NTSC format
• One DeepSea Power & Light Wide-i SeaCam, downward
looking standard definition camera (fixed mounted)
LIGHTING
• Three CathX Aphos 16 LED lampheads,
28,000 lumens each
• Two DeepSea Power & Light 250 Watt
incandescent lights
VEHICLE SENSORS & NAVIGATION
SYSTEM. NavEst integrated navigation system solution
USBL NAVIGATION. Sonardyne Ranger 2
PRIMARY HEADING. Crossbow high-resolution magnetic
motion and attitude sensor
PRESSURE SENSOR. Paroscientific Digiquartz 8CB series
ALTIMETER. Benthos PSA-916
FORWARD-LOOKING SONAR. Mesotech 1071,
300 kilohertz, 0.5–100 meter (1.6–328.1 feet) range
SUB-BOTTOM PROFILING SONAR. TriTech SeaKing
Parametric Sub-bottom Profiler (10–30 kilohertz)
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT SUPPORT
POWER. 110 volt 60 hertz AC, 24 VDC and
12 VDC power options
DIGITAL DATA CHANNELS. Ethernet
REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLE (TOWSLED) ARGUS
ROV Hercules works in tandem with towsled Argus or
Atalanta to explore the deep sea. Hercules is equipped with
a high-definition video camera, LED lights, two manip-
ulator arms, and a variety of oceanographic sensors and
samplers. A suite of high-resolution mapping tools is avail-
able upon request. Hercules can deliver up to 113 kilogram
(250 pounds) of samples or tools to and from the seafloor.
GENERAL
DEPTH CAPABILITY. 4,000 meters (13,123 feet)
TETHER. 30–45 meters (98.4–147.6 feet), 20 millimeters
(0.79 inches) diameter, neutrally buoyant
SIZE. 3.9 meters long × 1.9 meters wide × 2.2 meters tall
(12.8 feet long × 6.2 feet wide × 7.2 feet tall)
MASS. ~ 2,500 kilograms (5,500 pounds) in air
PAYLOAD. Up to 113 kilograms (250 pounds)
MAXIMUM VEHICLE SPEED. 0.77 meters/second
(1.5 knots) forward, 0.25 meters/second (0.5 knots)
lateral, 0.5 meters/second (1 knot) vertical (on site,
within tether range)
MAXIMUM TRANSIT SPEED. 1 meter/second (2 knots),
no sampling, in layback mode
MAXIMUM ON-BOTTOM TRANSIT SPEED.
0.5 meters/second (1 knot), no sampling
MAXIMUM SAMPLING TRANSIT SPEED.
0.25 meters/second (0.5 knots) on flat seafloor,
<0.13 meters/second (<0.25 knots) over featured terrain
ROV CLOSED LOOP POSITION CONTROL. Station Keep,
X/Y step, Auto Depth, Auto Altitude, X/Y/Z step and hold
velocity control
DESCENT/ASCENT RATE. Range 30 meters/minute
(98.4 feet/minute) to 15 meters/minute (49.2 feet/minute),
or 20–22 meters/minute (65.6–7.2 feet/minute) average
PROPULSION
• Six hydraulic thrusters powered by 15 kilowatt
(20 horsepower), 207 bar (3,000 pounds power
square inch) hydraulic system
• Fore/Aft & Vertical – Four 27.94 centimeter (11 inch)
ducted thrusters, each providing 900 Newton
(200 pounds of force) thrust
• Lateral – Two 22.86 centimeter (9 inch) ducted thrusters,
each providing 450 Newton (100 pounds of force) thrust
VEHICLE SENSORS & NAVIGATION
SYSTEM. NavEst integrated navigation system solution
HEADING AND ATTITUDE
• Primary Heading – IXSEA Octans III north-seeking
fiberoptic gyrocompass (0.1° secant latitude accuracy
with 0.01° resolution)
• Secondary Heading – TCM2 solid state fluxgate compass
PRESSURE SENSOR. Paroscientific Digiquartz 8CB series
CTD. Sea-Bird FastCAT 49
OXYGEN OPTODE. Aanderaa 3830
TEMPERATURE PROBE. WHOI high-temperature probe
(0°–450°C, 0.1°C resolution)
DOPPLER NAVIGATION & ALTITUDE. RDI Workhorse
Navigator Doppler Velocity Log 600 kilohertz,
0.7–90 meter range (2.3–295.3 feet)
FORWARD-LOOKING SONARS
• Kongsberg Mesotech 1071 scanning sonar, tunable
from 400–1,000 kilohertz; range to 200 meter (656 feet)
at 450 kilohertz; range resolution up to 3.75 millimeter
(0.15 inch)
• TriTech Super SeaKing V7 scanning sonar, 325 and
675 kilohertz; range 0.4–300 meters (1.3–984 feet);
range resolution 0.015 meter (0.05 feet)
REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLE HERCULES