Singlebeam raw files

Singlebeam raw files

Singlebeam raw files

Okeanos Explorer (EX1106): Transit, Continuous Plankton Recorder, and Seafloor Mapping from Pascagoula, MS to Davisville, RI - 2011(EK60)

From August 6 - September 2, 2022 (Horta, Faial, Azores to San Juan, Puerto Rico) NOAA Ocean Exploration completed the Voyage to the Ridge 3 expedition (EX-22-06), a combined mapping and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) expedition to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Azores Plateau, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and U.S. waters in the vicinity of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Operations during this 28-day expedition included the completion of 9 successful ROV exploration dives in the vicinity of the Azores, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge south of the Azores, and Puerto Rico. ROV dives were conducted in water depths ranging from 250 m to 6000 m for a total of 41 hours of bottom time. EX-22-06 also collected 56,769 square kilometers of seafloor bathymetry and associated water column data using an EM304 multibeam sonar. All data associated with this expedition have been archived and are publicly available through the NOAA Archives.

From September 5 - September 28, 2021, NOAA Ocean Exploration conducted mapping operations on the Blake Plateau within U.S. waters, aiding in closing the gaps within this region. The second of two cruises focused on mapping this region, EX-21-06 collected 25,800 square kilometers of bathymetry and associated water column data, 25,790 square kilometers of which were within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and Territorial Sea deeper than 200 m. The exploratory mapping operations conducted during this cruise will provide initial characterization of the region, as well as data to support further exploration with remotely operated vehicles planned for EX-21-07.

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.

From October 16-November 3, 2022 (San Diego, California to Newport, Oregon), NOAA Ocean Exploration conducted mapping operations off the coast of California and Oregon in U.S. waters, aiding in closing bathymetric gaps within this region. Expedition EX-22-08 collected 32,416 square kilometers of bathymetry and associated water column data, 22,313 square kilometers of which were within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and Territorial Sea deeper than 200 m, while 10,104 square kilometers were collected in international waters. During mapping operations, NOAA Ocean Exploration simultaneously collected EM 304 multibeam sonar bathymetry observations and Simrad EK60/EK80 split-beam fisheries sonar observations of biologic material in the water column, as well as Knudsen 3260 sub-bottom profiler observations of sub-seafloor geologic structure and sediment. A detailed sub-bottom survey targeted previously-identified sponge reefs in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The exploratory mapping operations conducted during this cruise will provide initial characterization of the region, as well as data to support further exploration.

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.

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.