GIFF JOHNSON
A deep sea mapping project will focus on the Marshall Islands as one of several islands in the region to have their ocean floors mapped later this year.
The Ocean Exploration Trust is partnering with the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority on the upcoming visit of its vessel Nautilus. In addition to partnering with MIMRA, the Ocean Exploration Trust is working closely with the National Geographic Pristine Seas program, that was in the RMI last year documenting the rich marine life in and around Bokak and Bikar in the northern Marshall Islands.
This year, the organization is starting in the Mariana Islands, then moving to the Solomon Islands and later coming to the RMI during August for two-and-a-half-weeks of researching the ocean floor and sea mounts within the Marshall Islands 200-mile zone.
Megan Cook, the director of Education and Outreach for the Ocean Exploration Trust, told the Journal that the organization specializes in deep sea mapping.
One of the features is live streaming from the deep ocean area as the underwater vehicles used by the 68-meter (223-foot) research vessel prowl the ocean floor. The live streaming format allows students, educators and people in any location the opportunity to see what they are doing and speak with the scientists and others on board the research vessel.
“We work closely with NatGeo Pristine Seas,” said Cook. “The goal is to add and contribute (to knowledge).”
Sea mounts around the Marshall Islands — there are said to be 300 — have not yet been mapped. The Nautilus will aim to map one or more, which Cook said are “hot spots of marine life.”
MIMRA Director Glen Joseph said he was delighted to partner with the Ocean Exploration Trust because the deep sea research will fill gaps in knowledge that MIMRA has from surveying reefs and marine life around atolls such as Bikar and Bokak. The remotely operated vehicle the research ship uses can work at depths of up to 4,000 meters (13,100 feet).
In 2024, the Nautilus visited nine nations from voyaging from Canada to Palau.
In preparation for the visit to RMI later in the year, Cook, Ocean Exploration Trust’s Chief Scientist Dr. Daniel Wagner, and Science Coordinator Noelle Helder visited Majuro earlier this month. They conducted a workshop that had over 25 participants to outline plans for the visit, as well as meeting with high school and college students. They met with MIMRA Director Glen Joseph and staff, getting a tour of the fisheries headquarters.
The team emphasized that photos and data gleaned from the deep sea mapping is provided to each country in which they work. “We provide hard drives of data to local management agencies,” said Wagner. The same information is also uploaded to a website so to is accessible to policymakers and the public. “The data set is meant to contribution to a global discussion (about the oceans),” Wagner added. “It isn’t just raw data that is provided. The team puts it in publicly intelligible presentations.”
Cook pointed out “that it’s extremely difficult to manage what you don’t know. The data helps highlight specific biodiversity in the deep sea area.”