The Ocean Exploration Trust begins its 2024 expedition season aboard Exploration Vessel (E/V) Nautilus May 25, spending eight months exploring the Eastern, Central, and Western Pacific.
The OET will be mapping un-surveyed seafloor, and bringing new views of never-before-seen seafloor to the world. Anyone can join the exploration—characterizing deep-sea habitats through detailed ROV observation and integrating emerging technologies to help accelerate the pace of learning about the ocean— by watching in real-time at NautilusLive.org.
Three teachers from American Samoa, Neon Osa from Tafuna High School, Lottie Haleck and Anneliese Haleck from Samoana High School, will be on board as 2024 Science Communication Fellows.
The 2024 expeditions in Hawaiʻi, American Samoa, US Pacific Remote Islands, Guam, Palau, and Canada will contribute to the oceans being better understood by supporting international scientific and U.S. governmental priorities, particularly understanding ocean changes, sharing that knowledge with others and contributing new discoveries and data that will inform future conservation and resource management decisions.
“The vast majority of the Earth’s seafloor and the quintillion gallons of ocean above it have never been scientifically explored, leaving large knowledge gaps that hinder our ability to manage the resources within our planet’s largest ecosystem effectively,” says Allison Fundis, Chief Operating Officer of the Ocean Exploration Trust. “While our 2024 Nautilus expeditions will contribute to the monumental effort of filling these gaps, using them as a way to inspire curiosity about the ocean and build a more inclusive ocean exploration community is also paramount to our mission.”
From May to December 2024, E/V Nautilus expeditions will be made available to the public in real-time through live-streamed video on NautilusLive.org — a 24-hour portal bringing expeditions from the field to people on shore via telepresence technology.
