|
Deepseawaters
Home Deep
Sea ExplorationsOkeanos
Explorer
Okeanos Explorer: A New Paradigm for Exploration
 Okeanos
Explorer
will be operated by the NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations
commissioned officers of the NOAA Corps and civilians in support
of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration.
The Corps is composed of officers-all scientists and engineers-who
provide operational, management and technical skills supporting
NOAA's environmental programs.
Though
far from Okeanos Explorer, scientists ashore
will be full members of the science team, operating in science
command centers, exchanging data and analyzing real-time,
deep-ocean images taken by remotely operated vehicles
on the ocean floor. High-speed satellite
to Internet pathways will also offer exciting educational
opportunities to raise ocean literacy.
NOAA,
an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce,
is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety
through the prediction and research of weather
and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship
of the nation's coastal and marine resources.
"Okeanos Explorer will break the mold for
the way the nation conducts at-sea research
in the future. We have better maps of Mars and the far side
of the moon than of the deep and remote regions of Earth,"
said retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher
Jr., Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans
and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "Senator Reed
and Governor Carcieri have been outspoken champions of the
oceans. Their support combined with the wealth of academic
and oceanographic institutions in New England would lead to
many exciting collaborations in ocean exploration."
As
part of the NOAA fleet, Okeanos Explorer
will be operated, managed and maintained by the NOAA Office
of Marine and Aviation Operations. Its crew will consist of
technical specialists, wage mariners, scientists, and commissioned
officers of the NOAA Corps-the nation's seventh uniformed
service. The Corps is composed of scientists and engineers
who provide NOAA with an important blend of operational, management
and technical skills that support the agency's environmental
programs at sea, in the air and ashore. A NOAA Corps officer
will command Okeanos Explorer.
 Since
2004, the NOAA Ocean Exploration (OE) program and
Dr. Robert Ballard's Institute for Exploration (IFE)
have conducted a series of expeditions using IFE's ROV's Hercules
and Argus, and telepresence technology to provide
scientists working on shore high-definition video, images,
and data in real time. These expeditions have also provided
an opportunity for students, teachers, and the general public
to share in the excitement of discovery through events staged
at "Expedition Command Centers," through links to real-time
video via the Internet, and to various informal science centers
and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America through a partnership
with Immersion Presents. Finally, each expedition has served
as a proving ground for a new paradigm for exploring unknown
and poorly known ocean areas and phenomena using the new NOAA
Ship Okeanos Explorer, currently undergoing
conversion in Seattle, WA.
 During
the month of August, OE and IFE will engage in two efforts
that will be invaluable for finalizing our plans for the inaugural
year of the Okeanos Explorer. First, we will
be revisiting the Aegean and Black Seas to
further explore the natural environment and to search for
and investigate Byzantine shipwrecks. This time, the expedition
includes specific objectives for testing and evaluating systems
and protocols similar to those being installed on the new
ship. Second, the Okeanos Explorer will undergo
sea
trials to test all of the systems installed on
the vessel during the first phase of the conversion, including
equipment for operating and navigating the vessel, as well
as equipment designed to meet mission objectives. The results
of the sea trials will be critical for guiding the second
phase of the conversion, which will include the installation
of the high-end technology to support telepresence, and the
integration of the equipment to operate a new two-vehicle
ROV system similar to the Hercules and Argus.
This
"mission" is unique in that it will focus on two field activities
involving the dedicated team of OE and IFE staff who are working
to ensure that the Okeanos Explorer will
help NOAA and the Nation usher in a new era of ocean exploration.
 Email
To Friend
|
