Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat

Past Expedition

Dates

October 7 to November 7, 2019

Location

Pacific Ocean

Overview

From October 7 to November 7, 2019, scientists and engineers from NOAA, the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration, the U.S. Geological Survey, and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management conducted a 29-day expedition aboard NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker along the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts, exploring the deep sea, one of the largest, but least known environments on Earth.

Locations of the 15 sites successfully surveyed during the Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat expedition.

Expedition Summary

On November 7, 2019, the Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat expedition ended. This expedition was the latest in a series of multi-agency collaborations known as EXPRESS, short for EXpanding Pacific Research and Exploration of Submerged Systems.

February 18, 2020

The AUV Popoki ready for operation on deck of the Reuben Lasker.

Using an AUV and machine learning to characterize the marine environment

When the Reuben Lasker arrived in San Francisco at the end of leg 1 our autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Popoki had already done seven dives and taken around 40,000 images.

October 28, 2019

So, What Is Environmental DNA Anyway?

One of the goals of this cruise, especially for the Deep-sea Coral Research and Technology Program’s West Coast Research Initiative, is to continue to characterize the biodiversity of deep-sea corals and sponges in various habitats along the West Coast.

October 28, 2019

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Fig. 1. Location of AUV Dive #7 at BOEM Humboldt Call Area off Eureka, CA.

Using an AUV To Characterize Potential Offshore Wind Energy Lease Sites

Just after breakfast each day on the Lasker, the AUV team heads up to the bridge for a safety meeting with Commanding Officer Chad Cary and officers and deck crew currently on watch.

October 16, 2019

VSAT Antenna: Streaming of the live video is possible because of the satellite antenna system under the white dome. The system packs up into the container it is mounted on.

What Lies Beneath…?

What lies beneath ‘the ocean’ is the fundamental question this Reuben Lasker expedition is working to address.

October 14, 2019

Figure 1: Color shaded-relief bathymetric map of the seafloor mound based on multibeam mapping on the NOAA Ship Fairweather.

A Mud Volcano By Any Other Name...

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey recently mapped an unusual seafloor mound feature – during this expedition, they had the opportunity to visually survey the feature.

October 12, 2019

A still photo taken during a quantitative survey transect at Daisy Bank off Newport, Oregon, at 130 meters depth. The red laser dots are 10 cm apart and are located near the middle of the lower part of the screen. Lots of sponges and a few small rockfishes on boulder/cobble habitat will be recorded from the video during this part of the transect, as the ROV Yogi transits forward at a consistent speed, height off the seafloor, and direction.

Quantitative Surveys of Seafloor Communities with the Remotely Operated Vehicle

One of the objectives of the EXPRESS cruise is to collect quantitative information about the seafloor communities in the areas we are studying. To characterize these communities as accurately as possible, our surveys must be standardized to avoid bias, and conducted multiple times to capture variation. This means that we need to measure the area we are surveying, and within that area, identify the animals that we see, count them, and estimate their size. We also need to identify and measure the types and amount of seafloor habitats within the survey area. How is this done with the remotely operated vehicle?

October 11, 2019

Crew of the NOAA Ship Fairweather preparing to deploy a drifting acoustic buoy off Northern California.

Partnerships for Common Goals: Acoustic Buoy to Study Marine Mammals in the California Current

On October 3, the team on NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker located and recovered a buoy that had been drifting on its own for 26 days, about 50 nautical miles offshore Eureka, California, where it had been eavesdropping on the sounds of whales, dolphins, fish, and ships.

October 3, 2019

The proposed cruise track for the Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat Off the U.S. West Coast expedition.

Mission Plan

From October 7 to November 7, 2019, scientists from NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will conduct a 29-day expedition aboard NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker along the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts.

October 2, 2019

The 30 megawatt (MW) Hywind Scotland project began producing electricity from five 6 MW floating wind turbines off Peterhead, Scotland in October 2017.

Offshore Wind Energy

Offshore winds, which tend to be stronger and more consistent than on land, are an abundant energy resource that is located close to major coastal population centers.

October 2, 2019

EXPRESS Overview

EXPRESS, short for EXpanding Pacific Research and Exploration of Submerged Systems, is the latest evolution of the multi-year, multi-ship campaign concept. What started in 2017 as a simple one-day multibeam survey on NOAA Ship Rainier off central California quickly evolved into a major west coast field program engaging and exciting scientists and marine resource managers spanning numerous disciplines and organizations.

October 2, 2019

The SeaBED AUV on deck awaits deployment.

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

Autonomous underwater vehicles are unmanned, untethered vehicles used to conduct underwater research in ocean environments that are a challenge to study because they are difficult to get to.

October 2, 2019

GFOE Remotely Operated Vehicle Yogi is portable and capable to 1500 meters.

Remotely Operated Vehicles

A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is an unoccupied underwater robot that is connected to a ship by a series of cables. These cables transmit command and control signals between the operator and the ROV, allowing remote navigation of the vehicle and exploration of areas of the ocean that would otherwise be difficult to access.

October 2, 2019