Towfish (sidescan and video) and echo sounder surveys were utilized to examine bottom type and macrophyte cover within the area of two coastal marine finfish aquaculture sites, one in New Brunswick (Welch Cove) and one in Nova Scotia (Jordan Bay). Both towfish and echo sounder data could be used independently of one another. However, the towfish data were very useful for ground truthing echo sounder based classifications. All survey data were placed into a GIS which could be used to answer management questions such as the placement of cages at sites, benthic impacts and baseline conditions to determine long term changes. Cite this data as: Vandermeulen H. Data of: Exploratory Video-Sidescan and Echosounder Survey of Jordan Bay. Published: March 2019. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/752d277f-8b3e-40c7-b99d-cfa67e69d975

A novel towfish incorporating sidescan and video hardware was used to ground truth echosounder data for the nearshore of Halifax Harbour. The resulting sampling grid extended from the shoreline to a depth of 10 m, including Bedford Basin through the Inner Harbour to the Outer Harbour. Each of these three zones could be distinguished from the others based upon combinations of substrate type, benthic invertebrates, and macrophyte canopy. Bedford Basin had a relative lack of macrophytes and evidence of intense herbivory. The Inner Harbour was characterized by shoreline hardening due to anthropogenic activities. The Outer Harbour was the most “natural” nearshore area with a mix of bottom types and a relatively abundant and diverse macrophyte canopy. All survey data were placed into a GIS, which could be used to answer management questions such as the placement and character of habitat compensation projects in the harbour. Future surveys utilizing similar techniques could be used to determine long term changes in the nearshore of the harbour. Cite this data as: Vandermeulen H. Data of: A Video, Sidescan and Echosounder Survey of Nearshore Halifax Harbour. Published: September 2021. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S. https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/9122c3e2-3cfc-45d0-ac36-aecb306130f6

NOAAS RAINIER water column collected for OPR-P337-RA-25 SEASCAPE.

Two acoustic surveys were conducted as part of a cruise also looking at benthic habitat near the Baltimore Canyon methane seeps.

Between April 14 and May 10, 2021 EX-21-01 performed the sea acceptance testing of the newly installed Kongsberg EM 304 MKII transmit array, conducted mission readiness of the mapping systems through annual testing and calibration, and mapped unexplored areas of the Blake Plateau. In addition to the EM 304 multibeam sonar objectives, EK60/80 split-beam echosounder objectives included acceptance of the newly installed EK80 38 kHz transducer and calibration of each frequency (18, 38, 70, 120, 200 kHz). Other mission readiness objectives included ensuring functionality of all ancillary equipment, including sound speed profiling equipment, updating and refining procedural documents, and defining new procedures for supporting shore-based processing using the Cloud. EX-21-01 collected 22,187 square kilometers of bathymetry and associated water column data, with 18,773 square kilometers being within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and Territorial Sea deeper than 200 m.

Water Column raw (level-0) files (.wcd)

This cruise covers the integration of the IFE ROV Little Hercules and OER camera platform into the EX, as well as subsequent shakedown and field trial cruises associated with performance and operation of this tandem system. Activities will occur sequentially as described.

The 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones: New England and Corner Rise Seamounts expedition (EX-21-04) was a combined mapping and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) expedition to the seamounts of the Northwest Atlantic that took place between June 30 and July 29, 2021. Operations during this 30-day at sea expedition included a combination of ROV dives in support of NOAA Ocean Exploration and its partner priorities as well as exploratory mapping operations targeting areas containing no or poor quality modern mapping data. The initial focus was on the U.S. Northeast Seamount and high seas areas, however, during the expedition weather altered the planned transect to outside Bermudan waters where three dives took place before rejoining the planned dive sites exploring a total of 19 seamounts and one canyon (Hydrographer) for water column exploration. During the expedition, 20 Deep Discoverer ROV dives were conducted from 300 m to 4187 m water depth for a total of 154 hours of bottom time, and surveyed using EM 304 multibeam sonar 54,710 square km over 30 days at sea. All data associated with this expedition have been archived and are publicly available through the NOAA Archives.

From May 14-27, 2021, NOAA Ocean Exploration led the 2021 Technology Demonstration on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to Norfolk, Virginia. The expedition brought together NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA JPL), the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and the Inner Space Center/University of Rhode Island (ISC/URO) to advance new ocean technologies and sampling techniques. The expedition had three overall objectives; field testing and engineering readiness of WHOI/NASA JPL Orpheus autonomous underwater vehicles, piloting environmental DNA (eDNA) collection for NOAA Ocean Exploration and mapping priority deepwater areas offshore the U.S. Southeast, largely focused on the Blake Plateau. During 14 days at sea, 8 AUV deployments were completed between 12 and 866 meters in depth. Over 724 GB of downlooking AUV 4K video were collected. The AUVs surveyed 30 linear kilometers of seafloor and logged over 16 hours of bottom time. The AUVs spent a total of 32 hours 59 minutes in the water, which included autonomous water column exploration. Twelve CTD rosette casts were completed, most simultaneous with AUV operations. Using the Niskin bottles on the CTD rosette, 120 water samples were collected for post-cruise eDNA analysis. Exploration mapping operations included acoustic data collection using the EM 304 MKII multibeam echosounder, Simrad EK60/80 split-beam echosounders, Knudsen sub-bottom profiler and Acoustic Doppler Profilers. 8,703 square kilometers of largely unmapped seafloor were mapped using the EM 304 with 8,519 square kilometers being within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and Territorial Sea deeper than 200 m. All operations and data collected were in U.S. waters.