Okeanos Explorer (EX1603): Hohonu Moana: Exploring the Deep Waters off Hawai`I

Description

The ship will conduct 24 hour operations consisting of daytime ROV dives and evening/nighttime mapping operations including during transit. During this cruise we will conduct primarily 8 hour ROV dives with occasional 10 or 12 hour dives on particularly interesting or deep water dive sites, as staffing allows. ROV operations will focus in depths between 250 and 6,000 meters and will include high-resolution visual surveys and limited sample collection. Mapping operations will be conducted in 250m of water and deeper, and include transit and overnight multibeam, water column backscatter, and sub-bottom data collection. Opportunistic CTD rosette operations may be requested to collect more information about the environmental parameters at ROV dives sites, or opportunistically at selected sites where collecting the data is considered important to understanding the physical or chemical properties of the overlying water column. ROV and mapping operations will not be conducted in state waters. Dive(s) will also be devoted to searching for ship’s lost during the World War II Battle of Midway with an emphasis on finding the main wreck of the Japanese Aircraft Carriers Kaga. Data collected by OER that is considered sensitive will be protected from direct public release until such time as a final determination can be made as to permanent protection. If data are found to be sensitive because they reveal the location of a historically significant cultural resource, Section 304 of the National Historic Preservation Act provides that the head of a Federal agency or other public official shall withhold from public disclosure information about the location, character, or ownership of a historic property when disclosure may cause a significant invasion of privacy; risk harm to the historic property; or impede the use of a traditional religious site by practitioners. Data collected by the EX that is considered sensitive will be archived in a location where it can be withheld from public disclosure.

Resources

Name Format Description Link
21 mapsOE.htm https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/maps/oer-digital-atlas/mapsOE.htm

Tags

  • seafloor mapping
  • davisville rhode island
  • expedition exploration explorer marine education noaa ocean ocean discovery ocean education ocean ex
  • tropical northwest pacific
  • telepresence
  • biodiversity
  • hawaii
  • deep-sea corals
  • marine archaeology
  • sampling operations
  • international waters
  • kwajelein marshall islands midway islands papahanaumokuakea marine national monument pmnm hawaiian a
  • battle of midway world war ii japanese aircraft carrier kaga capstone deepwater corals deepwater spo
  • seamounts
  • habitat characterization
  • submersibles

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