Voyage to the Ridge 2022

This page provides members of the media with information, resources, and multimedia developed in association with the Voyage to the Ridge 2022 series of expeditions.

Importance | Goals | Partners | Explorers | Videos & Images | Background Information | Contacts

From May 11 through September 2, 2022, NOAA Ocean Exploration and partners will conduct a series of three, telepresence-enabled ocean exploration expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to collect critical baseline information and improve knowledge about unexplored and poorly understood deepwater areas of the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Azores Plateau, and Puerto Rico.

The first Voyage to the Ridge 2022 expedition will include mapping operations while the second and third expeditions will involve mapping and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives:

1. Mapping: May 14 - June 7 (Newport, Rhode Island, to St. Johns, Newfoundland)
2. ROV and mapping: July 9 - July 30 (Norfolk, Virginia, to Horta, Faial, Azores)
3. ROV and mapping: August 6 - September 2 (Horta, Faial, Azores to San Juan, Puerto Rico)

During the second and third expeditions, video from ROV dives will be streamed online in real time from approximately 6:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, July 17 - July 29, August 7 - August 18, and August 25 - September 1. During dives, we expect to explore deep-sea coral and sponge habitats, potential hydrothermal vent and extinct polymetallic sulfide systems, fracture and rift zones, and the water column.

Expedition Importance

Spanning the north-south length of the Atlantic Ocean and stretching an impressive 16,000 kilometers (10,000 miles), the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) is the longest mountain range in the world and one of the most prominent geological features on Earth. For decades, this largely unexplored underwater mountain range has captivated scientists and the public.

Geologically, the MAR features a divergent plate boundary, volcanism, and frequent earthquakes. Spectacular hydrothermal vents may form where geologic processes provide heat as it rises to the seafloor along the ridge. These vents are known to support diverse chemosynthetic communities. But what life is found at these sites once vents go extinct? Or what life lies beyond the vents, further away from the rift zone? Along the spreading center, are the steep walls and topographic highs suitable habitat for deep-sea corals and sponges? What role does the MAR play in trans-Atlantic biological connectivity? Scientists hope to begin to reveal answers to some of these questions over the course of Voyage to the Ridge 2022, collecting data to support decision-making relative to sensitive marine life and habitats, geological features, and potential resources.

Four Key Things to Know About the Expedition

1. We will map, survey, and sample geological features to better understand the geological context of the region and improve knowledge of past and potential future geohazards. The MAR is an active spreading center, slowly spreading at a rate of 2 to 5 centimeters (0.8 to 2 inches) per year. As a result of this spreading activity, earthquakes are common along the ridge, including in the area where we will be exploring. Data collected during Voyage to the Ridge 2022 will increase our understanding of the region’s geological history, which can lend insight into the causes and consequences of past geohazard events, such as submarine earthquakes, including the large magnitude, repeating earthquakes along the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone and earthquakes on the Azores Plateau, and resulting tsunamis. This information can in turn inform our understanding of the potential for future geohazards in the Atlantic Basin as a whole.
2. We will use the advanced sonar systems on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to fill critical gaps in mapping data within deepwater areas of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Azores Plateau, and Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone. As a whole, the ocean covers 70% of our planet’s surface, yet only 20% of the global seafloor has been mapped with modern high-resolution technology. The collection of high-resolution mapping data, including seafloor, sub-bottom, and water column data, is the first step in exploring and thus understanding our ocean and is a key element of every NOAA Ocean Exploration expedition on Okeanos Explorer. Data collected during Voyage to the Ridge 2022 will inform dive targets and guide future exploration efforts, help to establish a baseline assessment of the ocean environment, increase understanding of marine life and habitats to inform management decisions, improve knowledge of past and potential future geohazards, and increase public awareness of ocean issues. Collected data will fill mapping data gaps in support of Seabed 2030 efforts to generate a complete world seafloor map by 2030.
3. Voyage to the Ridge 2022 will yield data to help scientists understand the diversity and extent of deep-sea coral and sponge communities along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Azores Plateau, and Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone. These ecosystems represent some of the most valuable marine ecosystems on the planet, creating structures that provide shelter, food, and nursery habitat to invertebrates and fish. As corals and sponges are fixed in place and generally long-lived and slow growing, they are particularly vulnerable to human activities such as bottom contact fishing gear, seabed mining, and associated environmental change. Recent research has significantly contributed to our understanding and appreciation of corals and sponges, but there is still a great deal to learn about their distribution, diversity, reproduction, and resilience, particularly in the unexplored and poorly understood deepwater areas where we will be exploring.
4. We will investigate biogeographic patterns of deep-sea ecosystems and connectivity across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Azores Plateau, and Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone for use in broader comparisons of deepwater habitats throughout the Atlantic Basin. During parts of Voyage to the Ridge 2022, we will explore the high seas, which cover roughly two-thirds of the ocean and 50% of the planet, yet lie outside the boundaries of any country’s waters and thus are often not prioritized for exploration and remain among the least understood environments on Earth. As marine animals do not recognize the geopolitical boundaries of the world’s ocean and instead live wherever they find suitable habitat, learning more about ecosystems of the high seas through exploration is critical to ensuring the resources within these and surrounding areas are collectively and sustainably managed for the good of the planet. Additionally, understanding how populations of coral, sponge, fish, and other deep-sea species are related across geographically separated locales (a concept known as connectivity) can offer insight into the resiliency of those populations and thus is important for predicting the impacts of human activities on coral communities and for developing solid plans for their protection where needed.

Expedition Goals

Voyage to the Ridge 2022 will address science themes and priority areas put forward by scientists and managers from NOAA, management agencies in the region, and the ocean science community. NOAA priorities for the expedition include a combination of science, education, outreach, and open data objectives that will support management decisions at multiple levels. Specific expedition goals include:

• Improving knowledge of unexplored areas along the region to inform management needs for sensitive habitats, geological features, and potential resources.
• Locating and characterizing deep-sea coral, sponge, and hydrothermal communities.
• Collecting high-resolution bathymetry in areas with no or low-quality sonar data to extend bathymetric mapping coverage in support of Seabed 2030.
• Ground truthing existing bathymetric data, habitat suitability models, seafloor composition models, and inferred hydrothermal vent sites.
• Characterizing water column habitats along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge using acoustics, visual observations, and emerging technologies.
• Collecting data to enhance predictive capabilities for vulnerable marine habitats, seafloor composition, island formation, plate tectonics, hydrothermal vents, critical minerals, and submarine geohazards.
• Investigating biogeographic patterns of deep-sea ecosystems and connectivity across the region for use in broader comparisons of deepwater habitats throughout the Atlantic Basin.
• Mapping, surveying, and sampling geological features, including ocean spreading centers, hydrothermal vents, extinct polymetallic sulfide systems, fracture zones, and rift zones to better understand the geological context of the region and improve knowledge of past and potential future geohazards.
• Engaging a broad spectrum of the scientific community and public in telepresence-based exploration and providing publicly accessible data and information products to spur further exploration, research, and management activities.

Additionally, Voyage to the Ridge 2022 will contribute to NOAA’s Atlantic Seafloor Partnership for Integrated Research and Exploration (ASPIRE), a major multiyear, multinational collaborative field program focused on raising collective knowledge and understanding of the North Atlantic.

Expedition Partners

Led by NOAA Research's NOAA Ocean Exploration, the expedition involves a number of partners including the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, NOAA Satellite’s National Centers for Environmental Information, and the Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration. This expedition is also receiving extensive participation from international scientists and research initiatives, including representatives from iAtlantic, the University of the Azores, the All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance, ATLAS, SponGES, and others.

Explorers

The individuals listed below are the primary leads for the Voyage to the Ridge 2022 expeditions. They coordinate input from multiple scientists and managers participating from shore to plan dives, are several of the voices you hear on the live video feeds, and are the primary participants in outreach events. For a full list of members of the team, visit the Exploration Team page.

Science Leads

Expedition Leads

Videos and Images

Dive highlight videos, short video clips, and photos will be posted online in the expedition gallery as they become available.

Images and video collected during Voyage to the Ridge 2022 are in the public domain, meaning they are free to use without restrictions or additional permissions, provided that the credit information listed in the caption associated with each image or video is included. If space is limited, please credit NOAA Ocean Exploration (preferred) or NOAA.

Please contact Emily Crum for high-resolution footage, b-roll, and other materials posted on the NOAA Ocean Exploration website.

For additional information, please view our online media kit.

NOAA Ocean Exploration Background Information

• NOAA Ocean Exploration is the only federal program dedicated to ocean exploration, making the office uniquely situated to lead partners in delivering critical deep-ocean information to managers, decision makers, scientists, and the public, leveraging federal investments to meet national priorities. In 2021, we are celebrated our 20th anniversary of deep-ocean exploration.
• NOAA Ocean Exploration’s work supports the National Strategy for Mapping, Exploring, and Characterizing the United States Exclusive Economic Zone, which calls for coordinating interagency mapping and exploration activities for the U.S. EEZ, developing new and emerging science and mapping technologies, building public and private partnerships, and completing mapping of the deep water of the U.S. EEZ by 2030 and the near shore by 2040.
• NOAA Ocean Exploration owns the mission equipment being used during the expedition and is coordinating the mission on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. The ship is operated by the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps and civilians as part of NOAA's fleet managed by the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations.
• Unlike many other ocean expeditions supported by NOAA, most of the scientists participating in expeditions on Okeanos Explorer remain on shore, thanks to telepresence technology. This technology includes a high-bandwidth satellite connection that enables the transmission of data and video to shore in real time, allowing scientists to participate in the expedition from anywhere in the world.
• Anyone with an internet connection can follow the expedition — LIVE. The same technology that allows scientists around the world to participate in the expedition from shore also enables interested members of the public to experience deep-sea exploration, the wonder of discovery, and the fascination of science in real time through the internet. Multimedia elements and other updates will be added to the website throughout the expedition to keep everyone informed.
• Data collected during expeditions on Okeanos Explorer are quality assured and then made quickly available to scientists and the public. This data collection serves as a unique and centralized national resource of critical ocean information for scientists and resource managers to plan future research, make management decisions, detect natural hazards, improve nautical charts, and more.

Media Contact Information