Because corals are attached, taking root to the seafloor, people often think they are plants. Because many corals have hardened surfaces, they are sometimes mistaken as being rocks. However, unlike ...

Looking out at the ocean, you often see a seemingly infinite series of waves, transporting water from one place to the next. Though waves do cause the surface water to move, the idea that waves are ...

The largest known sponge is about the size of a minivan. It was found in 2015 at a depth of 2,130 meters (7,000 feet). During NOAA Ocean Exploration’s 2015 Hohonu Moana: Exploring Deepwaters off ...

Red light does not reach ocean depths, so deep-sea animals that are red actually appear black and thus are less visible to predators and prey. Sunlight contains all of the colors of our visible ...

Cleat on the wood deck of USS Nevada seen during Dive 06 of the 2025 ROV and Mapping Shakedown expedition. The deep sea provides incredible opportunities for heritage preservation, including the ...

While marine life seen during the tenth dive of the 2026 American Samoa ROV + Mapping Exploration expedition wasn’t plentiful, it was present. From amphipods clinging to a dead sponge stalk to sea ...

Throughout the expedition, I have worked alongside the mapping team to collect and process hydrographic data. We ensure the quality of the data before sending it to shore to be made available for ...

The water column is the largest and least explored habitat on Earth, encompassing 95% or more of our planet's livable space. Trillions of organisms reside in the water column, and where light is ...

A sun photometer is a portable scientific instrument that measures the Sun’s energy as it reaches Earth’s surface. These measurements help scientists better understand atmospheric conditions, improve ...

In general, the oceanexplorer.noaa.gov website follows the AP Stylebook ; the most notable exception is that writing on the website always uses the serial (Oxford) comma. academic degrees – Preferred ...

Explore and document a collection of nationally significant shipwrecks in the deep waters (130-480 feet) of Lake Michigan’s Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary In the summers of 2025 ...

Multibeam sonar is a type of active sonar system used to map the seafloor and detect objects in the water column or along the seafloor. The multiple physical sensors of the sonar – called a transducer ...