Located in the westernmost portion of the US Exclusive Economic Zone, the deep waters surrounding the Mariana Archipelago host a wide diversity of unique marine habitats, including the deepest areas and largest mud volcanoes on Earth. The majority of the seafloor in this region has not yet been explored with modern technologies, with the overlying water column remaining virtually unexplored. This expedition will explore the Mariana Trench and adjacent mud volcanoes through the use of various technologies from partner institutions of the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute, including Ocean Exploration Trust’s remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and hull-mounted mapping sonars, University of Rhode Island’s Deep Autonomous Profiler, University of Hawaiʻi’s Hadal Water Column Profiler, and Aquatic Labs’ Multipuffer eDNA sampler.
This expedition is funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute.
