From May 12-21, 2024, researchers investigated the pelagic diversity in the Gulf of Alaska using a novel, multipronged exploration program that included acoustic, photographic, video, and physical and molecular (DNA) inventories of the small animals (zooplankton and micronekton), like fish, crustaceans, gelatinous animals, and squid, in the water column.
A total of six Beyond the Blue expeditions on Okeanos Explorer will take place in 2024, from May through November. As this year marks the return of Okeanos Explorer to the central Pacific region following work on the ship in the region in 2015-2017, efforts this year will focus on mapping deep waters of Hawaiʻi and Johnston Atoll.
May 14 - June 9, 2024: EX2402: Beyond the Blue: Hawai‘i Mapping. Mapping expedition in Hawaiian waters to collect acoustic data of seafloor and sub-seafloor geomorphology.
June 21 - July 9, 2024: EX2403: Beyond the Blue: Papahānaumokuākea Mapping 1. Mapping expedition to the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument to collect acoustic data of seafloor and sub-seafloor geomorphology.
July 18 - August 12, 2024: EX2404: Beyond the Blue: Papahānaumokuākea Mapping 2. Mapping expedition to the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument to collect acoustic data of seafloor and sub-seafloor geomorphology.
August 19 - September 7, 2024: EX2405: Beyond the Blue: Johnston Atoll Mapping 1. Mapping expedition to explore deepwater areas of the Johnston Atoll unit of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.
September 14 - October 10, 2024: EX2406: Beyond the Blue: Johnston Atoll Mapping 2. Mapping expedition to explore deepwater areas of the Johnston Atoll unit of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.
October 19 - November 12, 2024: EX2407: Beyond the Blue: Papahānaumokuākea Mapping 3. Mapping expedition to the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument to collect acoustic data of seafloor and sub-seafloor geomorphology.
From April 10-21, 2024, a team of researchers explored and documented marine habitats in deepwater areas around Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The goal of the expedition was to collect marine organisms (e.g., sponges, corals, and microorganisms) that may contain natural products that can be developed into useful pharmaceutical products.
Between May and December 2024, Ocean Exploration Trust’s Exploration Vessel (E/V) Nautilus will be used to explore deep-ocean habitats in the central, western, and eastern Pacific Ocean and integrate emerging exploration technologies into its operations.
From April to May 2024, Vallejo, California, to Honolulu, Hawai'i. Mapping shakedown expedition to test mapping systems and collect acoustic data of seafloor and sub-seafloor geomorphology in deep water between the U.S. West Coast and the Hawaiian Islands.
No known articles related to this expedition have been published at this time.