Okeanos Explorer (EX2309): EXPRESS: West Exploration ROV + VIP Dives

Vessel: NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer; Expedition Dates: November 30 - December 8, 2023

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

From November 30 - December 8, 2023 (San Francisco, California to San Francisco, California) NOAA Ocean Exploration conducted EXPRESS: West Coast Exploration (EX2309), an AUV and mapping expedition, along the central Californian coast. Operations during this 9-day expedition included mapping operations and drop camera operations in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and along the Central California coast. Unfortunately due to weather and logistics onboard the ship, only one AUV dive was conducted. This dive was located in CINMS and corresponds to a calibration that was needed to complete the dataset for EX2308 in collaboration with the University of Southern Mississippi's (an OECI affiliate) AUVs Eagle Ray. Five drop camera deployments were conducted in partnership with Ocean Discovery League as part of the development of their new lightweight, low cost camera system, Maka Nui. EX2309 also collected 6,375 square kilometers of seafloor bathymetry and associated water column data using the EM304 multibeam sonar, all within the US EEZ. Data associated with this expedition will be publically available through NOAA Archives.