NOAA’s Fall 2026 Pacific Ocean Expeditions

NOAA Ocean Exploration has three Pacific expeditions running this fall, starting September 22, 2026, focused on mapping unexplored seafloor, deep coral monitoring, and testing new deep-water tools.

Hawaiian Islands, September 22 to October 12

The research vessel Nautilus will explore unmapped ridges and seamounts in the eastern part of Papahanaumokuakea and flat deep-ocean-floor habitat southwest of the main Hawaiian Islands. The team will also place equipment on the seafloor (a benthic lander) along with a low-light camera system to monitor deep-sea coral.

Fiji to Hawaii, September 24 to October 19

NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer will run sonar around the clock, mapping the seafloor from Suva, Fiji, to Honolulu, with a focus on the waters around American Samoa along the way.

Technology Test, October 28 to November 16

A final expedition off Hawaii and around Johnston Atoll will test new deep-water tools, including a long-range underwater robot, called an autonomous underwater vehicle, designed to operate at significant depth.

Follow updates on NOAA’s 2026 expedition calendar.

Explorer-in-Training Cassie Ferrante cleans multibeam sonar data collected during a 2022 expedition off Puerto Rico. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2022 Puerto Rico Mapping and Deep-Sea Camera Demonstration. Rights: https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/faqs/