EM302 Water Column Sonar Data Collected During EX1905L2

Okeanos Explorer (EX1905L2): New England and Canada (ROV and Mapping) (EM302). This 21-day expedition leg will start in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on August 26, 2019, and end in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, on September 15, 2019. The expedition will include 24-hour-a-day operations, including daytime ROV dives to depths ranging between 250-3,000 meters (~820-9,843 feet), overnight mapping operations to depths of 5,000 meters (16,404 feet), as well as continuous shore-side participation via telepresence technology. ROV dives will focus on exploring submarine canyons and slope habitats, seamounts, deep-sea coral and sponge communities, midwater habitats, unique geological features, and other poorly known deep-sea habitats. Mapping operations will concentrate on seafloor and water column areas with little or no high-quality sonar data, as well as being used to support ROV operations and identify potential maritime heritage sites. Data collected on this expedition will support the development of habitat suitability models and geohazard models and enhance our understanding of poorly explored deepwater areas offshore of the U.S. Mid-Atlantic, New England, and Nova Scotia.