Sunset seen from the back deck of the Okeanos Explorer as the ship heads back to Apia, Samoa.

Sunset seen from the back deck of the Okeanos Explorer as the ship heads back to Apia, Samoa. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Discovering the Deep: Exploring Remote Pacific MPAs. Download larger version (jpg, 2.8 MB).

Mapping Back to Port
March 28, 2017

The dives for this expedition are complete and the ship is heading back to port. Today was spent transiting back to Apia, Samoa. While transiting, the mapping team was able to tailor the route to add data to previous mapping in this area. During the transit back, the ship personnel prepared the ship for arrival. The ROV and Data engineers used the transit day to begin demobilizing the equipment and storing the data products. The mapping team had watches 24 hours a day to monitor the mapping data collection. The video team worked on completing the final video products for the cruise, including some longer videos on the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, species of fish encountered during the cruise, and the potential of these remote protected areas as being relief areas for large predators.