Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The E/V Nautilus expedition from July 23-August 5, 2019 is led by the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa, with lead scientist Dr. Mareike Sudek on shore; co-lead scientist Hanae Spathias aboard the E/V Nautilus; and expedition leader Dr. Christopher Roman, University of Rhode Island/Ocean Exploration Trust.

Building upon data collected in 2017 by NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, the Nautilus expedition marks the first partnership between the NMSAS and the Ocean Exploration Trust, and is sponsored by NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

Other partners include the National Park of American Samoa (NPAS), the Coral Reef Advisory Group (CRAG), and the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources (DMWR). 

According to information from the NMSAS, “Within deep-sea habitats, seafloor geology and biological communities will be documented and potentially new species of deep-sea coral and subsamples of rocks will be collected. In addition to seafloor mapping with multibeam sonar, a Lagrangian float will be utilized to capture high resolution photographic images of the mesophotic zone and associated biota.”

 “Previous expeditions within this region provided a glimpse into the deep-sea habitat and mesophotic ecosystems of American Samoa. Mesophotic coral ecosystems occur in low light ocean zones from 30m to over 150m and are one of the most understudied components of the coral reef ecosystem,” according to nautiluslive.org.

 “Expedition objectives include conducting a biological census of deep-sea and mesophotic communities, exploring a volcanically active seamount, seafloor mapping, and targeted sampling for potential new species and further environmental analysis. Data collection on the Nautilus expedition will help validate and further expand scientific knowledge of diversity and distribution of biological community assemblages within American Samoa and NMSAS.”

Nerelle Que, communications and outreach coordinator of the NMSAS told Samoa News last Tuesday that the expedition was off the coast of Swains island, in the National Marine Sanctuary management area. At the time, they were conducting the first deep-sea dive using ROVs Hercules and Argus at depths up to 2500 meters.

“Our science team is working with the Nautilus crew to characterize benthic species at these likely never before seen areas, conduct transect surveys, and photo-mosaic 3D imaging,” Que told Samoa News. “The first dive is expected to take approximately 24 hours. This expedition is made possible through a NOAA grant awarded to the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration, Ocean Exploration Trust, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. These grantees conduct state-of-the-art ocean research in national marine sanctuaries using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and various marine technology resources.”

ROV dives to survey fish and benthic communities are planned near all islands and seamounts within the American Samoa archipelago, including Tutuila, Ta’u, Ofu-Olosega, Rose Atoll, Swains Island, Vailulu’u Seamount, and Malulu seamount. 

As of 3p.m. last Friday, the expedition was off the coast of Ta’u.

Anyone can follow along and participate in the expedition as it happens live 24/7 online at <www.nautiluslive.org>