E/V Nautilus: 2023 Field Season

Between April and December 2023, Ocean Exploration Trust will use Exploration Vessel (E/V) Nautilus to map and explore deep-sea habitats in the central and eastern Pacific and to integrate emerging exploration technologies into its operations. The 2023 Nautilus field season is sponsored primarily by NOAA Ocean Exploration through the NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute.

This year’s telepresence-enabled program includes seafloor mapping operations, remotely operated vehicles, an autonomous underwater vehicle, an autonomous surface vessel, and an emerging exploration tool capable of autonomously profiling and sampling the full depth of the water column — from the sea surface to the seafloor. Operations will focus within U.S. waters in and around the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll, Johnston Atoll, and Jarvis Island) and Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and south of the main Hawaiian Islands.

Learn more about the individual expeditions and join in on the exploration in real time through the livestreamed deep-sea video on Nautilus Live. Also, follow Ocean Exploration Trust on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter for behind-the-scenes updates.

NOAA Ocean Exploration and Ocean Exploration Trust have partnered to explore the world's ocean since 2001. NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer was developed alongside E/V Nautilus, and the two are operated in a similar manner, using telepresence to enable scientists, students, educators, and the public to follow operations and participate remotely from shore. Today, through its support for Nautilus via the NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute, NOAA Ocean Exploration continues to work with Ocean Exploration Trust to advance marine technologies, reduce uncertainties in critical parts of our largely unexplored deep ocean, and contribute to the National Strategy for Mapping, Exploring, and Characterizing the United States Exclusive Economic Zone and Seabed 2030.

Header image courtesy of Ocean Exploration Trust.

Published April 6, 2023