Check this page to learn more about what is happening in NOAA Ocean Exploration, including recent accomplishments and announcements as well as information about upcoming events and activities. Or, visit the archive for past updates.
2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
March 15, 2023
The Aleutians Uncrewed Ocean Exploration expedition has resulted in the mapping of more than 45,000 square kilometers (17,375 square miles) of seafloor in previously unexplored areas around Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and off the California coast.
Read moreMarch 1, 2023
NOAA Ocean Exploration and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation have awarded 12 grants to help engage and inspire the next generation of ocean explorers by supporting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts related to ocean literacy and workforce development.
Read moreFebruary 22, 2023
From October 2022 through December 2023, NOAA Ocean Exploration and partners will conduct a series of telepresence-enabled ocean exploration expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to improve knowledge about unexplored and poorly understood deepwater areas of the U.S. West Coast from Southern California to Washington.
Read moreJanuary 10, 2023
On January 10, 2023, the paper “Deep-sea biology in undergraduate classrooms: Open access data from remotely operated vehicles provide impactful research experiences,” was published in Frontiers in Marine Science. The paper highlights the value of course-based research in enhancing learning experiences, illustrating how students in an undergraduate marine biology laboratory course at SUNY Geneseo were able to use open-source ROV data to study the relationship between substrate type and biodiversity of deepwater coral communities located within the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.
Read moreDecember 21, 2022
NOAA and two of Australia's leading science agencies announced a formal agreement Tuesday to work together to advance Pacific Ocean exploration and mapping, a major priority for NOAA and of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
Read moreNovember 7, 2022
In partnership with NOAA Ocean Exploration, NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) has launched a new NOAA Ocean Exploration Data Atlas. The data atlas is a freely available and publicly accessible map-based tool for viewing and accessing data collected during NOAA Ocean Exploration expeditions. It replaces the Ocean Exploration Digital Atlas and offers numerous enhancements, such as improved performance and more intuitive visualizations.
Read moreOctober 12, 2022
On October 19, 2022, at 3:30 p.m. ET, NOAA Ocean Exploration will lead a special session at OCEANS 2022 Hampton Roads titled, “From Innovation to Collaboration: Propelling Ocean Exploration Forward to Meet the Needs of the Future.”
Read moreOctober 11, 2022
The John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship has allowed me to bridge natural and social sciences and policy in ways that I would have never imagined. I wasn’t sure at first if a humanist like me would be qualified as a Knauss fellow. I found the Knauss program - “a unique educational and professional experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources” - both exciting and intimidating.
Read moreOctober 7, 2022
NOAA Ocean Exploration and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation are proud to announce that the request for proposals for this year’s Ocean Exploration Education Grants to support diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts related to ocean literacy and workforce development is now open.
Read moreOctober 4, 2022
University of Southern California (USC) faculty and staff, including Professor of Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies Dr. John Heidelberg, USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies Executive Director Dr. Jessica Dutton, and Dive Safety Officer Hanna Reed, created an American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) dive training program for students from backgrounds that are underrepresented in the scientific diving community.
Read moreSeptember 28, 2022
The Research Foundation for the State University of New York (SUNY) on behalf of SUNY Geneseo was one of seven recipients of an Ocean Exploration Education Mini-Grant from NOAA Ocean Exploration and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.
Read moreSeptember 16, 2022
As of mid-September, the Saildrone Surveyor has been making great progress toward the interagency project team’s goal to collect ocean mapping and environmental data in unexplored waters around Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.
Read moreSeptember 12, 2022
This year, with grant funding from NOAA Ocean Exploration and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, Spencer Cody continued building capacity for ocean literacy and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics workforce development by not only bringing ocean science to South Dakota classrooms, but by bringing South Dakota educators and students to the ocean!
Read moreSeptember 7, 2022
On Thursday, September 8, representatives from NOAA Ocean Exploration will be onsite with our Education Alliance Partners at the EcoExploratorio, a science museum based in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Read moreAugust 24, 2022
Black in Marine Science (BIMS) created the BlMS Immersion Program (“BIP”), a week-long experience designed to reduce barriers that prevent black, indiginous, and people of color (BIPOC) from entering the field of marine science.
Read moreAugust 18, 2022
On August 11, 2022, the Saildrone Surveyor departed Dutch Harbor in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, embarking on a multipartner project to better understand the ocean and seafloor in one of the most remote and understudied parts of the United States. NOAA Ocean Exploration and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) are the primary sponsors of this work.
Read moreAugust 9, 2022
When Mystic Aquarium first applied for an Ocean Exploration Education Mini-Grant from NOAA Ocean Exploration and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, they intended to use the funds to create an Ocean Exploration Adventure for 200 eighth grade students and their five teachers from underserved communities in Cranston, Rhode Island.
Read moreJuly 28, 2022
At NOAA Ocean Exploration, engaging the next generation of ocean explorers is at the foundation of our mission. One of the ways we accomplish this is through internship programs. Each group of interns brings unique perspectives and fresh ideas that advance our office’s mission in tangible ways. Get to know this year’s interns!
Read moreJuly 27, 2022
On Wednesday, August 3 at 1:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. GMT, join a live discussion featuring mission personnel leading the Voyage to the Ridge 2022 expedition aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer!
Read moreJuly 27, 2022
During Dive 04 of the second Voyage to the Ridge 2022 expedition, we observed several sublinear sets of holes in the sediment on the seafloor at a depth of approximately 2,540 meters (1.6 miles). While the holes look almost human made, the little piles of sediment around them suggest they had been excavated. We attempted but were not able to take a peek into the holes and poke them with the tools on the remotely operated vehicle. It was also not apparent as to whether the holes were connected beneath the sediment surface.
Read moreJuly 14, 2022
Join us online July 17 through August 28 - This summer, take the plunge and join NOAA Ocean Exploration and partners as we explore along the longest mountain range in the world: the mid-ocean ridge. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge portion of this range spans the north-south length of the Atlantic Ocean and stretches an impressive 16,000 kilometers (10,000 miles). This largely unexplored underwater mountain range has captivated the imagination of explorers for more than a century. It’s time to unlock some of its secrets – LIVE!
Read moreJuly 13, 2022
In a new article in the scientific journal Zootaxa, Christopher L. Mah describes 20 species of previously undescribed sea stars, including 12 species and 3 genera that are new to science. Among them are sea stars named after NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, NOAA Ocean Exploration’s recent campaign in the Pacific, and our partners in ocean exploration, the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration.
Read moreJuly 11, 2022
A project update from Butler County High School (Kentucky), a recipient of an Ocean Exploration Education grant to build capacity for ocean literacy and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workforce development.
Read moreJuly 1, 2022
Through the Ocean Exploration Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Funding Opportunity, NOAA Ocean Exploration selected eight projects for financial support totaling approximately $4 million. For the FY22 competition, we solicited proposals for projects to conduct or support ocean exploration resulting in outcomes that provide or enable initial assessments about unknown or poorly understood regions of U.S. waters.
Read moreJune 23, 2022
This week, NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad signed a memorandum of understanding at the United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC) that outlines U.S. participation in Seabed 2030. The MOU also describes best practices and protocols for this type of data collection and is expected to build positive collaboration between all involved countries and partners.
Read moreMay 26, 2022
As part of our community-driven exploration model, NOAA Ocean Exploration invites you to submit exploration recommendations for mapping, remotely operated vehicle (ROV), and autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) operations for Fiscal Years (FY) 2023 and 2024 on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer off the U.S. West Coast and Alaska.
Read moreMay 10, 2022
On Earth Day (April 22, 2022), the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) hosted an “Ocean Explorers” event for about 100 middle and high school students from under-resourced schools in Miami, Florida.
Read moreMay 4, 2022
During a recent expedition on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, an engineer on shore, over a thousand miles away from the ship, successfully piloted a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to explore the deep ocean. A first for NOAA Ocean Exploration and the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration, this test of piloting an ROV from shore opens new possibilities for deep-ocean exploration.
Read moreMarch 23, 2022
NOAA and partners today announced the discovery of the wreck of a 207-year-old whaling ship, called Industry, found on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. The remains of the 64-foot long, two-masted wooden brig opens a window into a little known chapter of American history when descendents of African slaves and Native Americans served as essential crew in one of the nation’s oldest industries.
Read moreFebruary 28, 2022
On March 14, NOAA will welcome Jeremy Weirich as the new Director of NOAA Ocean Exploration.
Read moreJanuary 26, 2022
NOAA’s Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program has completed its multiyear highly collaborative effort known as the Southeast Deep Coral Initiative.
Read moreJanuary 25, 2022
The Deep Ocean Education Project website was recently awarded a MarCom Gold Award in the Pro Bono category of the International Competition for Marketing & Communication Professionals.
Read moreJanuary 19, 2022
NOAA Ocean Exploration and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation have awarded seven education grants to help engage and inspire the next generation of ocean explorers by supporting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility efforts related to ocean literacy, stewardship, and workforce development.
Read moreJanuary 11, 2022
Throughout Fall 2021, as part of the NOAA Science Seminar Series, the NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute (OECI) presented a six-part series of virtual public seminars to introduce the OECI. Recordings of each seminar are available for viewing.
Read moreJanuary 7, 2022
The application for the 2022 Explorer-in-Training Program is now open!
Read moreNovember 15, 2021
Two million square kilometers. Or 772,204 square miles. That’s more than one quarter the size of the contiguous United States. And it’s the area of seafloor mapped by NOAA Ocean Exploration using the modern, high-resolution multibeam sonar system aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer since the ship was commissioned in 2008.
Read moreNovember 1, 2021
On October 28, 2021, NOAA Ocean Exploration discovered the likely wreck of SS Bloody Marsh, an oil tanker sunk off the coast of South Carolina by a German U-boat in 1943.
Read moreSeptember 2, 2021
Calling all ham radio operators: The Federal Communications Commission has authorized special event callsign W4U to operate through Saturday, September 11, 2021. This special event station, the “Gulf of Mexico Underwater Forests,” will educate the worldwide amateur radio community about a unique scientific discovery: remains of an ancient cypress forest that once graced the Alabama coastline but now, due to sea level rise, lies 60 feet beneath the waves.
Read moreJuly 13, 2021
Through the Ocean Exploration Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Funding Opportunity, NOAA Ocean Exploration selected eight projects for financial support totaling approximately $3.5 million. For the FY21 competition, we solicited proposals to map, explore, and characterize deep waters of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone to improve understanding of the vast ocean resources of the nation and to advance economic, health, security, and environmental interests.
Read moreJune 24, 2021
Expedition Coordinator Kasey Cantwell will join biology Science Lead Rhian Waller of the University of Maine, geology Science Co-Lead Jason Chaytor of the U.S. Geological Survey, and onshore scientist Chris Mah of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History for a discussion about the exploration, including memorable moments and interesting finds, expedition goals and roles, and more.
Read moreJune 24, 2021
2021 is NOAA Ocean Exploration’s 20th Anniversary. As part of the celebration, NOAA Communications released a story map that takes viewers deep into Earth’s largest habitat.
Read moreJune 8, 2021
Developed through a partnership with NOAA Ocean Exploration, Ocean Exploration Trust, and Schmidt Ocean Institute, the Deep Ocean Education Project website combines standards-aligned student activities, high-resolution images and videos, stories from the field, and information needed to stay current on ocean exploration expeditions—making learning about the deep-sea accessible to all. Visitors to the website can save resources directly to a collection that they build and organize with a free account and share their collections directly with colleagues or friends.
Read moreJune 3, 2021
The NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute has received approval from NOAA to increase the amount of funding it is eligible to receive, called its award ceiling, from the original award ceiling of $94 million to $150 million over the initial five-year award period.
Read moreMay 5, 2021
On Wednesday, May 5 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, join a live event introducing the 2021 Technology Demonstration. NOAA Ocean Exploration’s Mike White, Meredith Everett of the NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Russell Smith of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Tim Shank of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will discuss the technologies that will be tested on the expedition and the potential of these technologies for improving our collective understanding of both the ocean here on Earth, and possibly even oceans on other planets. The session will conclude with a question and answer session.
Read moreApril 28, 2021
The West Coast continental shelf is known to host methane bubble streams, formerly thought to be rare. However, results of a recently published paper indicate that nearly 3,500 methane bubble streams, clustered into more than 1,300 methane emission sites, emanate from the seafloor in an area known as the Cascadia Margin.
Read moreFebruary 11, 2021
At NOAA Ocean Exploration, women are an integral part of the work being accomplished every single day. But today, February 11, we are taking a moment to reflect on contributions women members of the NOAA Ocean Exploration team have made to our mission to explore the ocean by sharing just a few web highlights from over the years.
Read moreNovember 25, 2020
The largest aggregation of fishes ever recorded in the abyssal deep sea was discovered by a team of oceanographers from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and the National Oceanography Centre during the 2018 “DeepCCZ” expedition funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the University of Hawaii.
Read moreNovember 20, 2020
The comb jellies were recorded two and a half miles below sea level using NOAA's Deep Discoverer remotely operated vehicle.
Read moreNovember 11, 2020
Given the vastness of our ocean, discoveries made while exploring the deep sea aren’t unusual, but they’re always exciting. Among recent discoveries are three previously unknown species of black coral.
Read moreOctober 6, 2020
NOAA Ocean Exploration has released the Deepwater Exploration Mapping Procedures Manual to describe the office’s approach to deepwater ocean exploration acoustic mapping.
Read moreSeptember 4, 2020
Through the Ocean Exploration Fiscal Year 2020 Funding Opportunity, NOAA Ocean Exploration selected five projects for financial support totaling approximately $2.4 million.
Read moreAugust 13, 2020
Three seamounts in the Pacific Ocean now bear names honoring the contributions to science made by NOAA and its partners in ocean exploration during a campaign led by NOAA Ocean Exploration. Seamounts are just what their name implies, mountains in the sea. Usually of volcanic origin, they are defined as seafloor features that are at least, and often more than, 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) tall.
Read moreJuly 30, 2020
Here at NOAA Ocean Exploration, one of the most rewarding aspects of our mission is encouraging and supporting the next generation of ocean explorers. Learn more about this year’s interns and the programs that supported them.
Read moreJuly 22, 2020
Just over a year ago, using remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Deep Discoverer (D2) and the telepresence capabilities of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, researchers essentially "stumbled" upon a rare and incredible scene filled with deep-sea predators.
Read moreJuly 9, 2020
In a newly published paper , scientists have identified and named a new genus and species of sponge: Advhena magnifica, Latin for “magnificent alien.” This new sponge was sampled and seen during missions in the Pacific on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. Read on to learn more about this discovery.
Read moreJune 25, 2020
While deep-ocean exploration is responsible for ground-breaking discoveries, it is also unmasking the true scale of our impacts in the deep ocean. Marine debris is a growing problem and a new study has shown that even unexplored, remote, and protected areas of the central and western Pacific deep ocean are not immune from our touch.
Read moreJune 21, 2020
In 2005, the United Nations adopted a resolution to recognize June 21 as World Hydrography Day, calling attention to the vital information that hydrography provides. But what is hydrography?
Read moreJune 11, 2020
The federal government recently announced the release of strategies and recommendations to fully map, explore, and characterize the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). With more than 13,000 miles of coastline and 3.4 million square nautical miles of ocean, the U.S. EEZ is larger than the land area of all 50 states combined, and one of the largest in the world – yet only a fraction of this area has been explored.
Read moreApril 22, 2020
Sea stars play an important role in deep-sea ecosystems, especially as predators of sponges and corals (mostly octocorals). This was the key finding of a new article by Christopher L. Mah in the scientific journal Zootaxa that summarizes feeding observations of 28 species of sea stars from seven expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer.
Read moreDecember 10, 2019
NOAA Ocean Exploration has awarded a three-year grant to the University of New Hampshire, Saildrone, Inc. of Alameda, California, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute to develop ocean exploration applications for a new unmanned wind-powered sailboat-like vehicle capable of long-duration missions to collect vital ocean mapping information.
Read moreSeptember 25, 2019
As part of the Fiscal Year 2019 Federal Funding Opportunity, NOAA Ocean Exploration selected 8 projects to receive financial support. The supported projects are described here.
Read moreAugust 28, 2019
In one of the largest U.S. exploration efforts ever conducted, NOAA and partners organized and implemented a three-year, Pacific-wide field campaign entitled CAPSTONE: Campaign to Address Pacific monument Science, Technology, and Ocean NEeds. This comprehensive effort was detailed and analyzed for the first time in a new paper published in Frontiers of Marine Science.
Read moreJune 8, 2019
Happy World Oceans Day! This year, we’re joining partners at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA Earth Observatory, Ocean Exploration Trust, and Schmidt Ocean Institute in taking a look at the connections between our ocean on Earth as well as oceans elsewhere in our solar system.
Read moreMay 16, 2019
On May 10, 2019, the Bureau of Ocean Management launched its publicly accessible Virtual Archaeology Museum. The platform showcases interactive 3D models of shipwrecks created using imagery collected during missions led by NOAA Ocean Exploration on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer.
Read moreMay 6, 2019
NOAA has selected the University of Rhode Island to host NOAA’s new Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration (CIOE), in partnership with the University of New Hampshire, the University of Southern Mississippi, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the not-for-profit Ocean Exploration Trust.
Read moreMarch 28, 2019
As part of the Fiscal Year 2018 Federal Funding Opportunity, NOAA Ocean Exploration selected 10 projects to receive financial support. The supported projects are described here.
Read moreOctober 31, 2018
On November 8 - 9, 2018, MIT Media Lab Open Ocean is hosting the 2018 National Ocean Exploration Forum: All Hands on Deck.
Read moreOctober 19, 2018
NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, in partnership with NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and NOAA Ocean Exploration, has announced two Federal Funding Opportunities focused on mesophotic coral ecosystems.
Read moreOctober 5, 2018
The Office of Naval Research, on behalf of the National Oceanographic Partnership Program agencies, recently posted the NOPP Fiscal Year 2019 Broad Agency Announcement solicitation. Three of the seven ocean research and technology topics identified in the announcement are of specific relevance to NOAA Ocean Exploration.
Read moreJune 13, 2018
At the request of educators, NOAA's Ocean Exploration now has a Facebook page dedicated to education.
Read moreMarch 19, 2018
On Thursday, March 15 at the Oceanology International’s Catch the Next Wave conference in London, the nine finalist teams advancing in the $7M Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE were recognized and awarded.
Read moreMarch 6, 2018
On March 5, 2018, a report of NOAA Ocean Exploration 2017 expeditions was released online. New Frontiers in Ocean Exploration: The E/V Nautilus, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, and R/V Falkor 2017 Field Season, is the eighth consecutive supplement on ocean exploration to accompany Oceanography.
Read moreJanuary 9, 2018
The Explorer-in-Training application period for 2018 is now open and applications are currently being accepted for opportunities between March to September of 2018. Applications are due January 19, 2018.
Read moreOctober 17, 2017
On the weekend of October 21-22, 2017, experts in ocean exploration and data science will come together for the annual National Ocean Exploration Forum at the University of California San Diego’s Qualcomm Institute. The goal of the Forum, titled Ocean Exploration in a Sea of Data, is to move the way we experience ocean exploration data into the future.
Read moreSeptember 19, 2017
Come celebrate ocean exploration with us! On October 1, 2017, we invite you to a very special opportunity to come tour two of the most technologically advanced research and exploration vessels in the world. Both Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor and NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer will be docked at the University of Hawaii Marine Center - Pier 35, Honolulu, Hawaii, celebrating recent exploration activities and preparing for upcoming expeditions.
Read moreApril 21, 2017
On April 19, NOAA Ocean Exploration launched the Ocotnauts Corner webpage. On this webpage, visitors can download Creature Cards (educational coloring sheets) and a Deep Sea Creature Chart and view related videos from Okeanos Explorer expeditions.
Read moreMarch 6, 2017
On March 4-5, 2018, NOAA Ocean Exploration and the NOAA Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research & Technology hosted a workshop, From Surface to Seafloor: Exploration of the Water Column.
Read moreFebruary 27, 2017
The final reports from the 2015 and 2016 National Ocean Exploration Forums are now available.
Read more