During the 2017 American Samoa expedition, we explored a site dubbed "Seamount D," which lies in the eastern region of the Samoan Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), collecting important geological samples that can be analyzed to increase our understanding of the geological evolution of the region. Seamounts located this far east in the Samoan EEZ had not been sampled prior to this expedition.
We began collecting samples using remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer in 2015. Since those first samples were collected, the sampling philosophy of NOAA Ocean Exploration during expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer has remained to take just enough for scientists to be able to characterize a dive site. Samples are only collected if they can provide a general representation of the biological and geological settings for a given dive or an area of interest. This means that fewer samples taken taken during any given dive from Okeanos Explorerthan during conventional research expeditions. With a few exceptions, all collected samples are made freely available after an expedition.
Download SD version (mp4, 21.3 MB).
Download HD version (mp4, 23.2 MB).
Video courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2017 American Samoa.
Accessing Samples Collected by NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer