Follow along as participants in the cruise provide updates and reflections on their experiences, the science, the technology, and other elements of the expedition.
The Deep-Sea Symphony: Exploring the Musicians Seamounts expedition was a 49-day telepresence-enabled, two-part expedition, to collect critical baseline information about unknown and poorly known deepwater areas of the Musicians Seamounts that lie just outside the U.S. EEZ.
Read moreOctober 17, 2024
In 2023, using video collected during this expedition in 2017, NOAA Ocean Exploration produced a photogrammetry model of the wreck of USS Baltimore (C-3).
Read moreSeptember 28, 2017 | By Thomas Morrow
Despite the short amount of time we participated in the Deep-Sea Symphony expedition via telepresence from Seattle, Washington, we acquired a wealth of data we will use to explore scientific questions about plume-fracture zone interactions.
Read moreSeptember 26, 2017 | By Jon Mefford and Levi Unema
Much like its namesake, remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Seirios acts as a brilliant source of light in the “night sky” of the ocean, providing illumination and a wide-angle view from above for its counterpart ROV, the Deep Discoverer.
Read moreSeptember 24, 2017 | By Kasey Cantwell
Today was our last dive in the Musicians Seamounts during the Deep-Sea Symphony expedition. We had two amazing weeks conducting the first-ever remotely operated vehicle exploration in this region. Here are some of the high notes from the dives.
Read moreSeptember 23, 2017 | By Mike Ford, Dhugal Lindsay, and Amanda N. Netburn
Four times after a dive to the seafloor, we explored the midwater – a short tour before recovering the vehicles for a restful night aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. On two special days, we engaged in a marathon of exploration with full-day midwater dives – prime time for our community.
Read moreSeptember 21, 2017 | By Meagan Putts
After collection of expedition video data is complete, video annotators at the University of Hawaii combine animal identifications and habitat observations using the Video Annotation and Reference System software. These data will then be available in the NOAA Deep-Sea Coral Research and Technology Database.
Read moreSeptember 18, 2017 | By Amy Bowman
NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer has been fortunate to have many skilled and knowledgeable NOAA Corps officers on board. The first time the ship had three female officers on board was during the Laulima O Ka Moana: Exploring Deep Monument Waters Around Johnston Atoll expedition. They are together again on our current expedition.
Read moreSeptember 16, 2017 | By Eric Mittelstaedt, Ph.D.
Eric Mittelstaedt is a geophysicist from the University of Idaho. During the Deep-Sea Symphony expedition, his goal was to collect rock samples and to use new maps of the seamounts of the Musicians seamount chain to improve our understanding of the origin of volcanoes on the seafloor.
Read moreSeptember 15, 2017 | By Bryan Costa, Matt Poti, and Laurie Bauer
The exploration of remote, deep-sea locations can be expensive and challenging. Habitat suitability modeling has become a cost-effective tool to help researchers prioritize areas and maximize deep-sea mapping and exploration efforts.
Read moreSeptember 12, 2017 | By Bruce Mundy
On September 8, 2017, this bright-red sea toad (Chaunacops species) was seen during a remotely operated vehicle dive at a seamount ridge, dubbed “Beach Ridge,” in the Musicians Seamounts. Its identity is a mystery.
Read moreSeptember 9, 2017 | By Kasey Cantwell
The Musicians Seamounts offer a unique opportunity to expand our geological knowledge of fracture zones, hotspot volcanism, and how these features interact in areas where they coexist. Our first two dives in the Musicians Seamounts proved to be nothing short of a masterpiece.
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