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Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat Off the U.S. West Coast

Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat

Past Expedition

Dates
October 7 to November 7, 2019
Location
Pacific Ocean

Overview

From October 7 to November 7, 2019, scientists and engineers from NOAA, the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration, the U.S. Geological Survey, and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management conducted a 29-day expedition aboard NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker along the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts, exploring the deep sea, one of the largest, but least known environments on Earth.

Features

Locations of the 15 sites successfully surveyed during the Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat expedition.
Expedition Summary
Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat Off the U.S. West Coast: Wrapping It Up
February 18, 2020
The AUV Popoki ready for operation on deck of the Reuben Lasker.
Using an AUV and machine learning to characterize the marine environment
Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat Off the U.S. West Coast
October 28, 2019
Niskin bottles on the GFOE ROV Yogi.
So, What Is Environmental DNA Anyway?
Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat Off the U.S. West Coast
October 28, 2019
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Fig. 1. Location of AUV Dive #7 at BOEM Humboldt Call Area off Eureka, CA.
Using an AUV To Characterize Potential Offshore Wind Energy Lease Sites
Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat Off the U.S. West Coast
October 16, 2019
VSAT Antenna: Streaming of the live video is possible because of the satellite antenna system under the white dome. The system packs up into the container it is mounted on.
What Lies Beneath…?
Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat Off the U.S. West Coast
October 14, 2019
Figure 1: Color shaded-relief bathymetric map of the seafloor mound based on multibeam mapping on the NOAA Ship Fairweather.
A Mud Volcano By Any Other Name...
Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat Off the U.S. West Coast
October 12, 2019
A still photo taken during a quantitative survey transect at Daisy Bank off Newport, Oregon, at 130 meters depth. The red laser dots are 10 cm apart and are located near the middle of the lower part of the screen. Lots of sponges and a few small rockfishes on boulder/cobble habitat will be recorded from the video during this part of the transect, as the ROV Yogi transits forward at a consistent speed, height off the seafloor, and direction.
Quantitative Surveys of Seafloor Communities with the Remotely Operated Vehicle
Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat Off the U.S. West Coast
October 11, 2019
Crew of the NOAA Ship Fairweather preparing to deploy a drifting acoustic buoy off Northern California.
Partnerships for Common Goals: Acoustic Buoy to Study Marine Mammals in the California Current
Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat Off the U.S. West Coast
October 3, 2019
The 30 megawatt (MW) Hywind Scotland project began producing electricity from five 6 MW floating wind turbines off Peterhead, Scotland in October 2017.
Offshore Wind Energy
Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat Off the U.S. West Coast
October 2, 2019
EXPRESS Overview
Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat Off the U.S. West Coast
October 2, 2019
The SeaBED AUV on deck awaits deployment.
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat Off the U.S. West Coast
October 2, 2019
GFOE Remotely Operated Vehicle Yogi is portable and capable to 1500 meters.
Remotely Operated Vehicles
Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat Off the U.S. West Coast
October 2, 2019
The proposed cruise track for the Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat Off the U.S. West Coast expedition.
Mission Plan
Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat Off the U.S. West Coast
October 2, 2019

Multimedia

Featured multimedia assets associated with this project.

View All Multimedia
Buoy Schematic
Morro Bay Humpback Whale Sounds Recording
Fairweather Crew
Beaked Whales
Daisy Bank
Sponge Bycatch
Water Filtration
Niskin Bottles
Rockfish
Pink Urchins
Popoki
Depth Profile
Recovering Popoki
T-S Profile
Dive #7 Location
XY Plot
Popoki Surfacing
Seafloor Image
Mixed Habitat
Mushroom Coral
Dive Tracks
Yogi Transect
Mud Volcano
VSAT Antenna
Telepresence Set Up
Arrestor
Lasker Loading
ROV Discussion
SCS Mapping Initiative
Future Offshore Wind - Central
Reuben Lasker
Trim Tests
Schematic
Schematic
Offshore
Hywind Scotland Project

Education

Our Learn & Discover page provides the best of what the NOAA Ocean Exploration website has to offer to support educators in the classroom during this expedition. Each theme page includes expedition features, lessons, multimedia, career information, and associated past expeditions. Below are related top education themes for this expedition.

Cold Seeps
Deep-Sea Corals

Resources & Contacts

Related Links
  • Published October 2, 2019
  • Last updated February 18, 2020