Deep-Sea Habitats in the Mariana Islands II

In our second expedition of the year in the Mariana region, E/V Nautilus will spend 22-days at sea. The expedition will utilize the ROV, mapping, and telepresence systems of E/V Nautilus in combination with autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry to explore priority deep-sea areas identified by the management and science community,  including abyssal plain habitats, as well as other deep-sea areas offshore the Mariana Islands that support resource management priorities. This is the second of two consecutive E/V Nautilus expeditions that will explore poorly known deep-sea habitats around the Mariana Islands in 2026, and focus on the northeasternmost portion of the US EEZ around the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. On this expedition, the team will also deploy a high-frequency acoustic recording package from the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center to support cetacean monitoring in the region.