In the field of ocean exploration, photogrammetry is one of the many tools used to help us better understand the ocean and what lies within it. It’s used to create interactive 3D virtual models of seafloor sites and features by stitching together hundreds or thousands of overlapping 2D images — taken as still photographs or clipped from video — captured by divers or underwater vehicles. Photogrammetry is used to model maritime heritage sites as well as geological and biological features, such as hydrothermal chimneys and coral reefs.

Located underwater and often in remote locations, these sites and features are difficult to access, but photogrammetry models enable anyone — scientists, researchers, the general public — to access and interact with them noninvasively from their own computers or mobile devices at any time. Photogrammetry eases and improves efforts to study seafloor sites and features and monitor them over time to see how they are changed by natural processes and/or human disturbance.

The purpose of this photogrammetry collection is to share models of seafloor sites and features visited and modeled by NOAA Ocean Exploration and partners — and hosted on Construkted Reality — for use by scientists, researchers, and others interested in detailed representations of our exploration targets. Additional models will be added as they become available.

Kaga 加賀
Kaga was a Japanese aircraft carrier lost in 1942 during the Battle of Midway. In 2023, Ocean Exploration Trust and partners conducted the first in-depth archaeological survey of Kaga, parts of which were located during mapping surveys in 1999 and 2019.
Akagi 赤城
Akagi was a Japanese aircraft carrier lost in 1942 during the Battle of Midway. In 2023, Ocean Exploration Trust and partners conducted the first visual survey of the ship, which was located during a mapping survey in 2019.
USS Yorktown (CV-5)
USS Yorktown was an American aircraft carrier lost in 1942 during the Battle of Midway. In 2023, Ocean Exploration Trust and partners conducted an archaeological survey of Yorktown, which was located during a search for the ship in 1998.
Industry (BOEM Wreck Site 15563)
This shipwreck site was located by an energy company in 2011. Identified as Site 15563 by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), it was explored for the first time in 2022 during a NOAA Ocean Exploration expedition in the Gulf of Mexico and is believed to likely be the remains of Industry, a whaling ship that sank following a storm in 1836.
USS Muskallunge (SS-262)
USS Muskallunge was a submarine that served in both the U.S. and Brazilian navies. In 1968, it was used as a live-fire target for USS Tench and sank off Long Island, New York. Muskallunge was located and explored during a NOAA Ocean Exploration expedition in 2021.
Vernon Basin Shipwreck
Discovered unexpectedly during a NOAA Ocean Exploration shakedown expedition in 2019 in the Gulf of Mexico, researchers suspect this shipwreck may have been a mid-19th century sailing vessel and may have caught fire before sinking.
Bell P-39Q Airacobra (#42-21226)
The Bell P-39Q Airacobra was a U.S. Army Air Force fighter used by Tuskegee airmen for training over the Great Lakes. This aircraft crashed in Lake Huron during a gunnery training exercise in 1944. In 2015, a wing and engine were found during a search for the aircraft led by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
BOEM Wreck Site 15377
BOEM Wreck Site 15377 in the Gulf of Mexico is likely the remains of a fully rigged ship dating back to the first half of the 19th century. Discovered in 2005 during an oil and gas survey, it was identified as Site 15377 by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and explored for the first time in 2017 during a NOAA Ocean Exploration expedition.
USS Baltimore (C-3)
USS Baltimore was a cruiser that served in the U.S. Navy between 1890 and 1922, serving in both the Spanish-American War and World War I. It was scuttled in 1944 near the southern shore of Oahu, Hawai‘i. Baltimore was located and explored during a NOAA Ocean Exploration in 2017.
Japanese Type A Kō-Hyōteki Mini Submarine (HA-16)
Japanese Type A Kō-hyōteki miniature submarine (HA-16) lost in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. In 1951, the scuttled submarine was located in shallow water near Pearl Harbor and moved to deep water. In 2016, NOAA Ocean Exploration and NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries explored HA-16 on the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Japanese Type A Kō-Hyōteki Miniature Submarine (HA-20)
Japanese Type A Kō-hyōteki miniature submarine (HA-20) lost in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Discovered in 2002, NOAA Ocean Exploration and NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries explored HA-20 in 2016 on the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
USS S-19 (SS-124)
USS S-19 (SS-124) was a submarine that served in the U.S. Navy between 1921 and 1934, patrolling along the northeastern seaboard of the United States and in the Pacific. It was scuttled in 1938 off the coast of Hawai‘i. S-19 was located and explored during a NOAA Ocean Exploration expedition in 2015.