2026 Pacific Islands Mapping

Collaboration in Practice

In addition to the opportunity to map data-scarce deepwaters within the Jarvis Island unit of the Pacific Island Heritage Marine National Monument, this route also opened the door for a project of opportunity between NOAA Ocean Exploration, NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL), and the NOAA Climate Prediction Center (CPC). 

With the aim of gathering more data from the region to refine their forecasts and retroactively validate models, scientists from PMEL and CPC requested that the onboard science team collect oceanographic data beyond the norm. The scientists were particularly interested in data from the area around the Jarvis Island EEZ to supplement data already being fed into NOAA forecast models. Subsurface ocean states in this region are important factors for the development of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which can significantly affect global weather and climate states. 

During a typical expedition onboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, a variety of oceanographic and meteorological data are collected via ship instrumentation and the deployment of the CTD rosette and expendable bathythermographs (XBTs). The regional data that PMEL and CPC scientists sought included temperature and salinity data in the upper 300 meters (984 feet) of the water column collected via CTD and XBT, ocean current data collected by acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP), and surface wind and precipitation data collected by ship meteorologicaly sensors. With support from NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO), CTD rosette and meteorological data were transmitted via the Global Telecommunications System in near real-time, filling a data gap between two existing data collection points (Tropical Atmospheric Ocean moorings at 170° W and 155° W) to improve ENSO predictions. In all, 22 CTD deployments supported NOAA PMEL and NOAA CPC weather model development and validation. Furthermore, supplemental current and XBT profiles will facilitate the retroactive validation of model forecasts.

Whether it is received in real-time or after the fact, additional data points help meteorologists improve their models and forecasts, leading to more accurate predictions and better outcomes — a win for science and public safety alike.

Survey Technician Hannah Miller and Sample Data Manager Jess Nation replenish the XBTs in the custom-built autolauncher aboard Okeanos Explorer. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2026 Pacific Islands Mapping. Download largest version (jpg, 1 MB).

Additional Science Objectives

Another objective for the expedition was the collection and processing of water samples for eDNA analysis within the Jarvis Island EEZ. In particular, science partners were interested in water samples collected between depths of 3,000-5,000 meters (~1.9-3.1 miles) to increase understanding of organisms present in the region’s abyssal depths. In total, seven CTD rosette deployments reached depths in this range, supporting eDNA collection in some of the deepest waters sampled to date within the Jarvis Island EEZ. With the expertise of NOAA’s Omics Coordinator onboard, the team not only set a record for the highest number of CTD rosette system deployments conducted during a single Okeanos Explorer expedition, but also refined and documented the process for expeditions to come. 

Additionally, as is the case for all Okeanos expeditions, sun photometer readings were taken opportunistically in support of NASA’s AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET), a long-term, NASA-led research project assessing marine aerosols. Mission personnel updated the procedures for collecting these readings during the expedition, and also produced a new ocean fact about the sun photometer based on the experience.

Top row: The ship’s operating area within the Jarvis Island Exclusive Economic Zone. The image on the left is a map based on satellite altimetry data, which only detected one guyot, highlighted by a white box. However, high-resolution bathymetry of the same area, collected during this expedition, detected a second guyot seen on the map on the right. Rosette symbols denote CTD rosette system deployments, and sun symbols indicate sun photometer measurements. Bottom image: A three-dimensional perspective view of the two mapped guyots. Numbers in the depth bar represent meters below the sea surface. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2026 Pacific Islands Mapping. Download largest version (jpg, 161 KB).

Expedition Coordinator Logan Kline (right) and technical operations team member Maggy Hanley (left) filter water samples in the wet lab. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2026 Pacific Islands Mapping. Download largest version (jpg, 1 MB).

Other expedition highlights include:

• Mapping: 19,979 square kilometers (7,714 square miles) were mapped within the Jarvis Island unit of the Pacific Island Heritage Marine National Monument. This is approximately 6.2% of the 323,100 square kilometer (124,750 square mile) Jarvis Island EEZ and approximately 1.6% of the 1,269,094 square kilometer (490,000 square mile) monument.
• Geology: Highlighting the importance of high-resolution bathymetry, overnight mapping revealed two guyots (flat-topped seamounts) where satellite altimetry had predicted just one large seamount (see image above). Together, the features extend approximately 16 kilometers (10 miles) horizontally. Both rise about 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) above the surrounding seafloor with their summits remaining more than 4,000 meters (2.5 miles) below the ocean surface. 
• Outreach: Audiences were able to follow along with the expedition through the eyes of 2026 Knauss Fellow Shari Rohret, who detailed the cadence of life and science at sea through her writing and photos documenting her first expedition.
• Education: Live interactions and video ship tours exposed the next generation of ocean explorers to life at sea, including a group of NOAA interns who engaged with mission personnel and gained valuable guidance and practical tips for careers in ocean policy and science. 
• Records set: According to records accessible via the World Ocean Database, the sixth CTD deployment of the expedition appears to be the deepest CTD cast ever conducted within the Jarvis Island EEZ. It reached a depth of 5,217 meters (17,116 feet, or over 3.2 miles!)
• A first in Okeanos history: An unplanned milestone of gender parity was reached during this expedition, when for the first time in Okeanos history, half of the expedition participants happened to be women. Women were represented among the ship’s crew and science team alike, and were found in every shipboard department (wardroom, deck, medical, engineering, and survey). They led the science team as the expedition coordinator and eDNA lead, and also commanded the vessel as acting commanding officer and acting executive officer during the expedition.

Women represented half of the expedition participants during the expedition, a first in Okeanos expedition history. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2026 Pacific Islands Mapping. Download largest version (jpg, 1 MB).