EXPRESS: Expanding Pacific Research and Exploration of Submerged Systems

The west coast of the United States showing locations of EXPRESS ship-based multibeam surveys, ROV dives, AUV dives, and sediment samples. Red boxes show locations of close-up views of multibeam bathymetry in Figures 2 and 3 below.

Read the June 11, 2020 News Release from The White House, “Ocean Policy Committee Delivers on Strategies and Recommendations to Advance Ocean Exploration.”

In response to Section 2 of the Presidential Memorandum (PM) on Ocean Mapping of November 19, 2019, the National Strategy for mapping, exploring, and characterizing the United States Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) has been established. EXPRESS (Expanding Pacific Research and Exploration of Submerged Systems) activities focus on the Pacific EEZ. In particular, the unique partnership of EXPRESS allows federal and non-federal entities to collaborate in identified priority areas. These are directly aligned to the National Strategy outlined by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Council on Environmental Quality.

EXPRESS partners include NOAA, BOEM, USGS, MBARI, and USC Sea Grant.

Priorities

• Extend bathymetry and backscatter coverage to high priority areas
• Create a seamless map with benthic habitat classifications for targeted regions
• Locate and characterize deep sea coral, sponge, and chemosynthetic communities, including associated fish populations
• Identify underwater geological hazards and evaluate their potential for generating tsunamis
• Investigate deep-sea minerals of potential industry interest
• Use the complementary capabilities of federal assets to produce integrated datasets
• Provide a foundation of publicly accessible data and information to spur further exploration, research, and management
• Engage a broad cross-section of the scientific community and the public

Figure 2. Colored, shaded-relief bathymetry of Trinidad Submarine Canyon northwest of Humboldt Bay in northern California. Area is in the vicinity of a potential offshore renewable energy development.

Figure 3. Colored, shaded-relief bathymetry offshore central California. Data supported management of National Marine Sanctuaries and prospective renewable energy decisions. Black ovals are locations of AUV-based multibeam surveys. Close-up views of two AUV surveys are shown in Figures 4 and 5.

Figure 4. Colored shaded-relief bathymetry including submarine channels and pockmarks offshore Morro Bay, California. Map generated from AUV-based multibeam bathymetry data collected by MBARI both prior to and as a part of EXPRESS.

Figure 5. Colored shaded-relief bathymetry including pockmarks offshore Morro Bay, California. Map generated from AUV-based multibeam bathymetry data collected by MBARI.

Fieldwork

EXPRESS partners have completed several research cruises using ships from NOAA, university, and non-profit oceanographic research institutions. More cruises are planned and under discussion. Every participating organization has contributed resources including ships, instruments, and personnel.

EXPRESS Days-At-Sea by Agency and Purpose. This graph shows 326 days at sea across 9 vessels​:

• > 110 ROV and 70 AUV dives​
• 79 piston cores​
• Actively participating organizations: ​NOAA (16); BOEM (2); USGS (2)​; MBARI

The NOAA ship Rainier completed several EXPRESS research cruises offshore of California and Oregon in 2017 and 2018. Credit: NOAA

Explore this interactive overview of some completed EXPRESS research cruises.

The figure shows the location of remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Doc Ricketts dives conducted in September 2020, plus three images of the CT scan data from one of the collected cores. In the CT scan of the upper 80 cm of the core "DR1281 VC-870," with a zoomed in section to the right outlined in red, sections of lighter colors indicate sandy sediment and suggest horizons associated with 4 turbidites.  In the lower right is a perpendicular slice through a horizon (marked in orange) showing coarse grains that are characteristic of turbidites. Previously published work identified a sand layer in a core at this same site and subbottom depth, which was determined to be associated with the January 1700 Cascadia mega-earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

Explore our geonarrative: “Expanding Pacific Exploration and Research: multi-agency team mapping uncharted waters and exploring deep-sea ecosystems off the west coast of the United States”

 

Completed Research Cruises

Date	Location	Ship	Organizations
October 2017	Morro Bay, California	Rainier	NOAA MBARI BOEM USGS
October-November 2017	Channel Islands, California	Rainier	NOAA
April 2018	Morro Bay, California	Rachel Carson	MBARI NOAA BOEM USGS
July-August 2018	Cordell Bank NMS and Farallones NMS, California	Shimada	NOAA USGS
August 2018	Cascadia Margin, Oregon and California	Rainier	USGS NOAA BOEM
September 2018	Morro Bay, California	Rainier	BOEM USGS NOAA
October 2018	California and Oregon	Shimada	USGS NOAA MMS
June 2019	Cascadia Margin, Oregon and California; more info: “Observing Seafloor Methane Seeps at the Edge of Hydrate Stability”	Falkor	USGS NOAA
August 2019	California and Oregon	Fairweather	USGS NOAA
September 2019	California	Bold Horizon	USGS BOEM MBARI
September 2019	California	Fairweather	NOAA
October 2019	California	Bold Horizon	USGS BOEM
October-November 2019	Washington, Oregon, and California; more info: “Research Cruise to Survey Deep-Sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat Along the West Coast” and “Surveying Deep-sea Corals, Sponges, and Fish Habitat Off the U.S. West Coast”	Reuben Lasker	NOAA BOEM USGS
September 2020	Southern Cascadia Margin, Northern California and Southern Oregon	Western Flyer	MBARI USGS

Partners

EXPRESS Expedition Team hosts NOAA, USGS, and BOEM leadership on October 21, 2019, in San Francisco

NOAA, BOEM, and USGS are the primary EXPRESS partners. Other partners include MBARI and USC Sea Grant.

Federal Partners

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

• National Ocean Service (NOS) – Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Office of Coast Survey
• NOAA Fisheries (NMFS) – Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program
• Ocean and Atmospheric Research (OAR) – Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
• National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) – National Centers for Environmental Information
• Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO)

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM):

• Pacific Region
• Environmental Studies Program

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

• Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (PCMSC)
• Wetland and Aquatic Research Center (WARC)

EXPRESS workshop participants, November 29-30, 2018, in Santa Cruz, California

Non-Federal Partners

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)

Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration (GFOE)

University of Southern California Sea Grant (USC Sea Grant)

Planning Workshop, November 29-30, 2018

Core EXPRESS participants held a planning workshop at the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center in Santa Cruz, California. Attendees discussed objectives, refined priorities for future work, and reviewed accomplishments to date.

Virtual Workshop to Identify National Ocean Exploration Priorities in the Pacific, July-September 2020

In partnership with NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER), the Consortium for Ocean Leadership organized the Workshop to Identify National Ocean Exploration Priorities in the Pacific. This workshop was hosted virtually. A virtual opening plenary was held on July 10, 2020. A series of virtual breakout sessions were held in July and August 2020, and a virtual closing plenary was held on September 21 and 22, 2020.

USGS research geologist Jenna Hill proposed new geophysical surveys at the EXPRESS workshop, November 2018, Santa Cruz, California