Explore From Home

Less than 150 miles west of Hawai’i sits a chain of seamounts completely unsurveyed by ROVs or high-resolution mapping! For 12 days in December, the Nautilus team invites you to join expedition Luʻuaeaahikiikekualonokai to explore the Chautauqua seamounts - a chain of seven undersea mountains to collect geologic samples to identify the history and learn about the diverse biological communities who make their homes on these slopes. Join Expedition Leader Allison Fundis and Lead Scientist Dr. Adam Soule live from E/V Nautilus in the Central Pacific for this interactive Q&A event to discuss the mission and experience of conducting first-of-its-kind exploration in this area. 

The expedition name -- Luʻuaeaahikiikekualonokai -- represents the journey to and the work in the kualono kai, or the sea ridges in the Chautauqua seamounts. Located south of the Hawaiian Islands, the seamounts may hold key information to deepen our understanding of Hawaiʻiʻs volcanic history. Moreover, like a kualono, or ridge that offers protection to those within its domain, the Chautauqua seamounts offer important marine habitats that protect various ocean organisms. As we go to sea in this region, we gratefully acknowledge generations of indigenous Hawaiians and today’s stewards of these lands and waters.

ROV dives return again with the first-ever seafloor exploration of the Wentworth Seamount chain in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument! This expedition is the second of a series of expeditions collaborating with the PMNM team to better understand the largest conservation area in the United States. Learn about the biological importance and cultural significance of coral communities across these ancient seamounts from Co-Lead Scientist Dr. Christopher Kelley and Office of Hawaiian Affairs Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group member Kalamaʻehu Holden Takahashi. Dives will also investigate the tiny microbes of exceptional diversity found across the rocky seafloor landscape with Dr. Beth Orcutt. Bring your questions for the team!

How do you find the shape of a mountain masked by thousands of meters of water? In the Lu’uaeaahikiikalipolipo expedition, teams have been using acoustic technology to peer through the waves revealing the shape of the seafloor in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM). This expedition is the first of a series collaborating with the PMNM team to better understand the largest conservation area under the US flag.  Join this live Q&A with our seafloor mapping team including Expedition Leader Emil Petruncio, Mapping Lead Erin Heffron, Seafloor Mapping Intern Anna Sulc, and PMNM Education Coordinator Andy Collins as they share the importance of the mapping process to understanding the monument and what new data means for future exploration and protection.

Watch live on YouTube and Facebook

Join the conversation to learn more about how the NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute (OECI) is bringing together partners to advance the pace and practices of modern ocean exploration. 

Join Ocean Exploration Trust (OET) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) for a one-hour look at an exciting multi-vehicle technology and concept of operations test expedition aboard Exploration Vessel Nautilus. Presented by team members live at sea off the coast of Southern California, this event will feature OECI Associate Director Jason Fahy, WHOI National Deep Submergence Facility Director Andy Bowen, WHOI Senior Scientist Dr. Dana Yoerger, and OET Director of Education and Outreach, Megan Cook. Bring your questions for the team out at sea as they share early results from this operation testing mission.

This is the third seminar in a six-part OECI series.

In the last decades, autonomous underwater vehicles have rapidly advanced their capabilities. During a September mission aboard E/V Nautilus, teams are coming together to continue pushing the technology working to combine the strengths of remotely operated and self-driving vehicles exploring in combination. Supported by the NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute, the Corps of Exploration and team from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are coming together working with ROV Argus and Hybrid ROV NUI flying in combination to trial new underwater communication and piloting tasks. Join the conversation and bring your questions for engineers Mike Jakuba, Casey Machado, and Zac Berkowitz.

Watch live on YouTube or Facebook!