Exploration of the Deepwater Galápagos Region

In June and July 2011, Okeanos Explorer surveyed diverse habitats and geologic settings of the deep Galapagos region, including axial volcanic ridges, hydrothermal vents, off-axis sulfide mounds, and seamounts. During this expedition, the ship provided scientists, engineers, and the public an opportunity to explore unknown areas and revisit historical sites in the Galapagos Rift. The ship's multibeam sonar mapped more than 40,000 km super(2) of seafloor, 11 CTD tows conducted along approximately 400 km of the unexplored eastern arm of the rift surveyed for hydrothermal plumes, and 12 ROV dives collected more than 90 hours of high-definition digital video. Broadband satellite transmitted data and ROV video feeds from the ship to a team of scientists on shore. The expedition team evaluated seafloor observations; directed seafloor ROV, CTD, and mapping operations in real time; and maintained a portal for outreach (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov).