NOAA Ocean Exploration

ALT During Dive 08 of the third Voyage to the Ridge 2022 expedition, a rarely observed aggregation of sea urchins (Conolampas sigsbei) was seen, much to the delight of scientists onboard and onshore. The urchins each appeared to have a cluster of debris on the apex of its body, leading scientists to liken them to “hats.” Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration. Alt: Two sea urchins on the seafloor with a cluster of debris on their tops.

ALT Monkfish: This monkfish was hard to spot camouflaged against the seafloor at 861 meters (2.825 feet) depth during a Windows to the Deep 2019 dive to explore the south-facing wall of Washington Canyon off the coast of Virginia. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration. Alt: A fish the color of the seafloor beneath it with a flat body.

ALT Crab: This decorator crab was observed using its modified back legs to carry a glass sponge on its back at a depth of 762 meters (2,500 feet) during Dive 12 of Windows to the Deep 2021. It is thought that decorator crabs use materials from their environments, such as sponges, as camouflage, to avoid detection. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration. Alt: A crab carrying a white sponge with its back legs.

ALT A man sits in front of a row of computer monitors in a dark room. Description: Chief Hydrographic Survey Technician Benjamin Bryan cleans seafloor mapping data during the 2026 American Samoa Mapping + Transit expedition. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration.

ALT November calendar featuring a bright red king crab facing a dark orange crab on the sandy ocean floor with a flat rock topped with white fish eggs between them. The NOAA Ocean Exploration logo is in the lower left corner.

ALT People securing a large, white ROV on a research ship deck as others watch from above.

ALT Ocean DNA Explorer homepage with a welcome message, underwater fish image, navigation menu, action buttons, and data statistics.

ALT A man sits in front of a row of computer monitors, smiling for the camera.

ALT Top left: 2 teachers sit at a table and work on an activity involving a black box and colorful pencils. Top right: A multicolored image of undersea mountains. Bottom left: An image of remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer being raised from the water. Bottom right: Two teachers sit at a table. One uses a syringe for a workshop activity.

ALT A view of the blue ocean from the fantail of a ship.

ALT Top image: purple octopus; bottom image: dumbo octopus swimming

ALT Top image: orange octopus; bottom image: gold octopus

ALT Top image: Close look at an octopus; bottom image: flapjack octopus

ALT Top image: octopus coming out of a hole; bottom image: swimming octopus

ALT Three women stand in front of a banner for the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa. The workshop was instructed by Isabel (Bel) Halatuituia, Education Coordinator at National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, Suraida Nañez-James, NOAA Ocean Exploration workshop facilitator, and Maggie Augafa, Program Director for Division of Curriculum and Instruction of the American Samoa Department of Education. Image courtesy of Patricia (Loa) Penitito.

ALT Four people smile and pose for the camera behind a table. Teachers model and observe deep, cold-water currents around a seamount as part of the Student Investigation: Seamounts and Biological Productivity. Image courtesy of Patricia (Loa) Penitito.

ALT Two women wearing flotation devices stand at the edge of a white railing on a ship; one reaches into a basket holding three cylindrical devices and also appears to be taking a small cap from the other woman. Before them is a boxy object partially covered with a tarp mounted on the railing. Behind them is the ocean and puffy clouds.

ALT In the top row, two maps, one captioned “satellite-derived” and the other captioned “multibeam sonar” show red lines denoting mapping tracks weaving back and forth over a diagonal band. On the left, one seamount is shown from above in the satellite-derived imagery, but in the multibeam imagery on the right, there are two seamounts side-by-side. Below the maps, a 3D rendering shows two underwater seamounts, with flattened tops. A color scale denotes depth.

ALT A group of about 20 smiling women pose for a photo on the bow of a ship at sea on a cloudy day.

ALT A view off the port side of a ship at sea. One of the ship's small orange boats hangs in the foreground.

ALT A double rainbow at sea.

ALT October calendar featuring a batfish on a sandy seafloor. The NOAA Ocean Exploration logo is in the lower left corner.

ALT A flyer advertising the webinar “Highlights from Nancy Foster 2022: Illuminating Deep Waters off Puerto Rico.” The flyer notes that the event will feature Andrea Quattrini, the expedition’s Chief Scientist and Curator of Corals at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. The flyer features several pictures of Dr. Quattrini on the expedition.