National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Southeastern U.S. Deep-sea Exploration; Okeanos Explorer, November, 2019.

• Dataset ID: NOAA_EX-19-07
• Database Version: 20250714-0
• Data Provider: NOAA, Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
• Data Contact: Bassett, Rachel: rachel.bassett@noaa.gov

Locator Map

Geographic Range

• Ocean: North Atlantic
• Fishery Management Council Region(s): South Atlantic, Gulf (formerly Gulf of Mexico)
• Large Marine Ecosystem(s): Southeast U.S. Continental Shelf, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico
• Marine Ecoregion(s): Bahamian, Carolinian, Floridian, Greater Antilles

Overview

Note: The numbers below only reflect published records. Additional records may be retained by the Program for further review.

• Number of records: 5,012
• Number of coral records: 3,295
• Number of sponge records: 1,717
• Records with images: 5012
• Record type(s): still image
• Minimum depth (meters): 347
• Maximum depth (meters): 1,215
• Number of records flagged as <50 meters depth: 0
• Time frame: 2019 to 2019

Data Set Description: This is a subset of the Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program’s National Database. The 2019 Southeastern U.S. Deep-sea Exploration was a 43-day, two-part expedition led by the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER) on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. Its purpose was to collect critical baseline information about largely unexplored deepwater areas of the Southeastern U.S. continental margin. It addressed scientific themes and priority areas suggested by scientists and managers from NOAA, management agencies in the region, other federal agencies, and the ocean science community. During this expedition off the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, the expedition team mapped and explored a variety of habitats and features, including coral mounds, terraces, slopes, escarpments, and boulders. The data represent observations of deep-sea corals and sponges observed during deepwater ROV surveys by NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer off of the Southeastern United State in the following localities: Southern Blake Plateau, Stetson Mesa, Million Mounds East, Stetson Mesa West, Stetson Mound Field 01, Stetson Mound Field 02, Isolated Mound, Central Blake Plateau, Habitat Response 01, Miami Terrace, Key Largo Deep, Pourtales Terrace, Key West Deep, and Berg Bits. This research and exploration cruise was conducted between November 1 through November 19, 2019. Changes to the original dataset may have been made to conform to the National Database Schema and for quality control purposes. Further information can be found at: https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1907/welcome.html

Data Set Level Citation

NOAA, Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Observation date range: 2019 to 2019. Coral or sponge occurrence observations submitted to the NOAA National Database for Deep Sea Corals and Sponges (www.deepseacoraldata.noaa.gov). Principal investigator: Farrington, Stephanie | Galvez, Kimberly. DSCRTP Dataset ID: NOAA_EX-19-07. Database version: 20250714-0.

Note: Individual records within a data set may have additional citations in the ‘Citation’ field.

Expedition Details

Taxonomic Summary

Percent of coral, sponge, and fish records by lowest taxonomic rank.

## No fish records in this data set.

Coral Taxa Observed

Note: Nothing will appear here if no coral taxa were observed.

Sponge Taxa Observed

Note: Nothing will appear here if no sponge taxa were observed.

Fish Taxa Observed

Note: Nothing will appear here if no fish taxa were observed.

## No fish records in this data set.

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