Okeanos Explorer
Encyclopedia
NOAAS Okeanos Explorer (R 337) is a converted United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
ship (formerly ), now an exploratory vessel for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
(NOAA), and will officially launch in 2010. Meanwhile, it is engaging in trial voyages before its maiden voyage planned for the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, near Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. NOAA has entered into a five-year partnership with the San Francisco Exploratorium
Exploratorium
The Exploratorium is a museum in San Francisco with over 475 participatory exhibits, all of them made onsite, that mix science and art. It also aims to promote museums as informal education centers....
. The focus is on gathering scientific information about oceans for the public as well as for scientific uses. As much as 95% of the ocean remains unexplored, NOAA officials said. The ship is equipped with cameras and will provide real-time viewing of the ocean floor for scientists and for the public.
This is a pioneering use of what NOAA calls "telepresence technology
Telepresence technology
Telepresence technology is a term used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to refer to the combination of satellite technology with the Internet to broadcast information, including video in real-time from cameras used on its remotely operated vehicle on Okeanos Explorer....
". The Okeanos Explorer is the only vessel owned by the U.S. government that is dedicated to exploring the seabed and ocean crust. Its mission has been compared to the lunar landing.
Description
The 224 feet (68.3 m) converted vessel is covered with cameras capable of high definition images, and sophisticated devices such as 3-D sonar mapping systems. It looks like an average ship, except for a 12 feet (3.7 m) white ball, its satellite dome, mounted high above its bridge. This will provide the ability to provide live satellite broadcasts. It also will have a ROVRov
Rov is a Talmudic concept which means the majority.It is based on the passage in Exodus 23;2: "after the majority to wrest" , which in Rabbinic interpretation means, that you shall accept things as the majority....
(remotely operated vehicle) with its own mini-ROV that will be able to descend nearly 19000 feet (5,791.2 m) to the ocean floor. The ROV, named "The Discoverer," will be tethered to the mother vessel and carry a small camera, to send back high-definition images.
Voyages
The maiden voyage is planned for the Pacific OceanPacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, near Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. Further trips are planned for the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
, off the coast of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, to investigate a graveyard where there are 2,000-year-old shipwrecks.
Currently, it has already revealed that there are previously unknown features off the California coast. In the sea off Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa...
, an area containing 30 volcanic crater
Volcanic crater
A volcanic crater is a circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a basin, circular in form within which occurs a vent from which magma erupts as gases, lava, and ejecta. A crater can be of large dimensions, and sometimes of great depth...
s was discovered. Scientists on board saw deep fractures of the plates in the ocean crust off the coast of Eureka
Eureka, California
Eureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....
. They also identified a massive, previously unknown plume of gas thought to be methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
.
Education
NOAA is seeking to provide data for, and interact with, students, teachers, and anyone else who is interested. For this purpose it is collaborating with San Francisco's ExploratoriumExploratorium
The Exploratorium is a museum in San Francisco with over 475 participatory exhibits, all of them made onsite, that mix science and art. It also aims to promote museums as informal education centers....
to develop an online eductational programs with live broadcast for all ages and for the general public. They will "join the scientific expertise and observational resources of the NOAA with the creativity and educational expertise of the Exploratorium", a press release said. The Okeanos Explorer is designed as an educational tool that can be followed on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
.