On August 11, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer discovered and explored a Japanese cargo ship,  Amakasu Maru No.1, near Wake Atoll in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. Using remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Deep Discoverer, the team visually documented the wreckage, the condition of the ship, and living communities growing on and around the site. The dive was streamed live on the Internet - via telepresence - for archaeologists and scientists to participate in the dive in real time and for the public to follow along live.

On a recent research expedition in Alaska, scientists aboard the R/V Norseman IIconducted the first-ever deepwater exploration of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. Using both surveys by scuba divers and the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Kraken2, scientists found an abundance of cold-water corals and associated organisms that use these corals as habitat, from the very bottom to the top of the submerged portion of the fjords. Prior to the expedition, little was known about ecosystems in the depths of the fjord and records of corals were sparse. 

The National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) will present the 2015 Excellence in Partnering Award to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the team that conceived, managed and conducted the Atlantic Canyons: Pathways to the Abyss project. The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, February 23, from 1:00–2:30 p.m. at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans during Ocean Sciences 2016, along with a screening of the 23-minute HD video produced as part of the project.

NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer will begin two months of dives using unmanned remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, to explore marine protected areas in the central Pacific Ocean. Starting on Aug. 1, anyone with an internet connection can virtually explore the deep sea with scientists and researchers from their computer or mobile device.

Testing new scientific technology is a risky business. In the case of two Saildrones released in the eastern Bering Sea over a month ago, the risk has led to big rewards. Equipped with a suite of scientific sensors, the unmanned surface vehicles are performing beyond researchers’ expectations during their first test run in cold waters. Each Saildrone has collected over 40 million measurements over the course of the planned 2.5 month test mission.