New England and Canada Mapping

Vessel: NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer; Expedition Dates: August 06, 2019 to August 20, 2019

Ports: North Kingstown, RI to Halifax, Nova Scotia

Project Principals: Shannon Hoy, NOAA/OAR/OER (Expedition Coordinator and Mapping Lead)

EX-19-05 Leg 1 collected 18,734 square kilometers (5462 square nautical miles) and 4798 linear kilometers of bathymetry and associated water column data; 37 square kilometers of this area were mapped within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone in depths greater than 200 meters. EX-19-05-Leg 1 departed from North Kingstown, Rhode Island on August 6, 2019 and arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on August 20, 2019, for a total of 15 days-at-sea. EX-19-05 Leg 1 operations involved a transit northward, crossing the continental shelf followed by focused ocean mapping operations mostly in deep (> 200 m) Canadian waters off the east coast of Nova Scotia. The cruise conducted 24 hour/day exploratory mapping operations to provide initial characterization of the region, as well as to provide data to support more in-depth exploration with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) planned for the follow-on EX-19-05 Leg 2 expedition.