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Referring to NOAA Ocean Exploration

To better message and highlight the work of NOAA Ocean Exploration, including that done in association with expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, please keep the information below in mind.

An Updated Brand

Beginning in April 2021, the office officially known as the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research now refers to itself as NOAA Ocean Exploration, both in name and via the emblem used on office products. As such, moving forward, partners are asked to:

  • Refer to the office as NOAA Ocean Exploration and not the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research in all public and partner communications (e.g., websites, image/video credits, credits in scientific journals, etc.)
  • Stop using the OER acronym
In instances where including the official office name would be helpful, it can be set off by commas or in parentheses; for example, “NOAA Ocean Exploration (NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research).” In this example, NOAA Ocean Exploration would then be used as the office name for the remainder of the product.

THE EXCEPTIONS: The NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research remains the official organization name and will continue to be used in any documents having legal bearing, official documents for Congress, and other controlled correspondence.

References to NOAA Ocean Exploration Work On NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer

The guidance below is intended to better message and highlight the work of NOAA Ocean Exploration in association with expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer.

Avoid use of the “Okeanos Explorer Program” (this does not formally exist). Instead, refer to NOAA Ocean Exploration. For example:

  • YES: A NOAA Ocean Exploration team is coordinating the expedition.
  • YES: NOAA Ocean Exploration is coordinating the expedition.
    • NO: An Okeanos Explorer Program team is coordinating the expedition.

Highlight/reference work of the office, not work done on the ship. For example:

  • YES: The discovery was made during an expedition led by NOAA Ocean Exploration on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer.
    • NO: The discovery was made on a NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer expedition.

Try to avoid personification of the ship and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) — the people do the work, the ship and ROVs are tools they use. For example:

  • YES: NOAA Ocean Exploration and partners explored the site from NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer.
    • NO: NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer explored the site.
  • YES: The team mapped the seafloor using the sonars on Okeanos Explorer.
    • NO: The Okeanos Explorer mapped the seafloor.
  • YES: ROV pilots imaged the coral using Deep Discoverer’s cameras.
    • NO: Deep Discoverer imaged the coral.

Data Collected During Expeditions on Okeanos Explorer

In using and citing data collected during expeditions led by NOAA Ocean Exploration on Okeanos Explorer, please keep the information below in mind.

Content on the EX FTP Server are preliminary data and products, being made available to facilitate and encourage shore-based science input and participation during a current seagoing operation.

  • The link to the EX FTP Server should not be shared in publications, as the server is intended only for participants in current expeditions who have applied for and been approved to receive a password to access the server. If you need to cite the server as a source for preliminary data, refer to it as the “EX FTP Server,” but do not include the url. Additionally, there is controlled access to the FTP, which requires participants to sign a non-disclosure agreement to gain access to.

  • Final data and products are made publicly accessible through NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) (also referred to as the NOAA Archives) after an expedition is over and additional processing, data quality analysis, and quality control are conducted and metadata records are created
    • NCEI should be the primary source for data collected during NOAA Ocean Exploration-led expeditions on Okeanos Explorer.

NCEI mints digital object identifiers (DOIs) for each dataset collected during a NOAA Ocean Exploration-led Okeanos Explorer expedition, in accordance with the NOAA Data Citation Procedural Directive. Once minted, a DOI provides a unique and persistent identifier that allows users to accurately cite and locate data obtained from NCEI.

  • Example citation (video data from EX1903L2):
    • Cantwell, Kasey; Wagner, Amy; Weinnig, Alexis (2019). Video data collected during the EX1903L2 Mid and Southeast US (ROV and Mapping) expedition on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer in the North Atlantic Ocean from 2019-06-20 to 2019-07-12 (NCEI Accession 0195408). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/aajk-1b71. Accessed [date].

NOAA Ocean Exploration prepares a cruise report and a mapping data report for every expedition, available approximately 90 days after the end of the expedition. Each report is minted a unique DOI for citations.

  • Example citation:
    • Cantwell, K, Wagner, A., Weinnig, A., Hoy, S., Dunn, C.J., & Copeland, A.. (2019). EX1903L2: Windows to the Deep 2019 Cruise Report. NOAA Ocean Exploration, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, NOAA, Silver Spring, MD 20910. OER Expedition Rep. 19-03-2, 52 p. https://doi.org/10.25923/9ry2-fn95