NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer at port in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer at port in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Image courtesy of Caitlin Bailey, GFOE, Gulf of Mexico 2018. Download larger version (jpg, 248 KB).

Embarking on the Gulf of Mexico 2018 Expedition
April 11, 2018

On a balmy Pascagoula morning at 10:55 AM CDT, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer got underway. Mapping operations commenced right away as we began navigating towards our first dive site, “ROV Shakedown 1.” The dive will be an engineering dive to test out upgrades to remotely operated vehicles (ROV) Deep Discoverer and Seirios. If all goes well during the dive, we might take a look at a nearby shipwreck! Most of the on-ship science team members have been on the ship before and spent the day re-familiarizing themselves with the ship and its equipment. Additionally, the ROV team finished their preparations, making sure that we are ready to dive tomorrow. The entire crew is excited for our first dive in the morning.