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 ...

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 ...

The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest ocean basin on Earth, covering more than 155 million square kilometers (60 million square miles) and averaging a depth of 4,000 meters (13,000 feet).

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

The deep ocean is generally defined as the depth at which light begins to dwindle, typically around 200 meters (656 feet). The top 200 meters of the ocean are known as the sunlight, or euphotic, zone.

Bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to topography–the study of surface terrain like hills and valleys on land. Just like dry land, the surface of the seafloor is not always flat. The seafloor can ...

Exploration is key to increasing our understanding of the ocean, so we can more effectively manage, conserve, regulate, and use ocean resources that are vital to our economy and to all of our lives.