The Challenger Deep is the deepest known point of the seabed of Earth. Its depth is measured at 10,902–10,929 m (35,768–35,856 ft) by direct measurement from deep-diving submersibles, remotely operated underwater vehicles and benthic landers, and (sometimes) slightly more by sonar bathymetry.
A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is a free-swimming submersible craft used to perform tasks such as valve operations, hydraulic functions and other general tasks within the subsea oil and gas industry. ROVs can also carry tooling packages for undertaking specific tasks such as pull-in and connection of flexible flowlines and umbilicals, and component replacement.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is a private, non-profit oceanographic research center in Moss Landing, California. MBARI was founded in 1987 by David Packard, and is primarily funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Christopher Scholin serves as the institute's president and chief executive officer, managing a work force of approximately 220 scientists, engineers, and operations and administrative staff.
R/V Roger Revelle is a Thomas G. Thompson-class oceanographic research ship operated by Scripps Institution of Oceanography under charter agreement with Office of Naval Research as part of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) fleet. The ship is named after Roger Randall Dougan Revelle, who was essential to the incorporation of Scripps into the University of California San Diego.
Jason is a two-body remotely operated vehicle (ROV) designed, built, and operated by the National Deep Submergence Laboratory of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). Construction of Jason began in 1982 and was first launched in 1988, redesigned in 2002 as the second iteration of the ROV. The ROV allows scientists and explorers to have access to the seafloor without leaving the deck of a ship.
A multibeam echosounder (MBES) is a type of sonar that is used to map the seabed. It emits acoustic waves in a fan shape beneath its transceiver. The time it takes for the sound waves to reflect off the seabed and return to the receiver is used to calculate the water depth. Unlike other sonars and echo sounders, MBES uses beamforming to extract directional information from the returning soundwaves, producing a swathe of depth soundings from a single ping.
RV Hugh R. Sharp is a research vessel owned and operated by the University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment in Lewes, Delaware operating as a member of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS). She is a replacement for Cape Henlopen.
NOAAS Thomas Jefferson is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hydrographic survey vessel in service since 2003. The ship was built for the United States Navy as USNS Littlehales (T-AGS-52) serving as one of two new coastal hydrographic survey vessels from 1992 until transfer to NOAA in 2003 when it was named after Founding Father and third U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson.
RPM Nautical Foundation is a non-profit archaeological research and educational organization dedicated to the advancement of maritime archaeology that includes littoral surveys and excavation of individual shipwreck and harbor sites.
Intervention AUV or I-AUV is a type of autonomous underwater vehicle. Its characteristic feature is that it is capable of autonomous interventions on the subsea installations, a task usually carried out by remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) or human divers.
NOAAS Okeanos Explorer is a converted United States Navy ship, now an exploratory vessel for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), officially launched in 2010. Starting in 2010, NOAA entered into a five-year partnership with the San Francisco Exploratorium. 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.
NOAAS Reuben Lasker is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fishery research vessel. The ship's namesake, Reuben Lasker, was a fisheries biologist who served with the Southwest Fisheries Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, and taught at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. This class of NOAA ships is very similar to, and based in part upon, the Neil Armstrong-class Oceanographic Research (AGOR) ships owned by the Office of Naval Research and operated by various US Universities.
EVNautilus is a 68-meter (223 ft) research vessel owned by the Ocean Exploration Trust under the direction of Robert Ballard, the researcher known for finding the wreck of the Titanic and the German battleship Bismarck. The vessel's home port is at the AltaSea facility in San Pedro in the Port of Los Angeles, California. Nautilus is equipped with a team of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), Hercules, Argus, Little Hercules, and Atalanta, a multibeam mapping system, and mapping tools Diana and Echo, allowing it to conduct deep sea exploration of the ocean to a depth of 4,000 meters (13,000 ft).
RV Neil Armstrong (AGOR-27) is the designation for a new oceanographic research ship, first of the Neil Armstrong-class research vessels, to be owned by the United States Navy and operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced on September 24, 2012, that the research vessel was to be named after Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the Moon and a former naval aviator who served in the Korean War.
Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit operating foundation established in March 2009 by Eric Schmidt and Wendy Schmidt. The Institute's goal is to advance innovative oceanographic research and discovery through technological advancement, collaborative research, outreach and education, and open sharing of information. SOI supports oceanographic research by providing collaborators with free ship time aboard their research vessel Falkor (too) and expert technical shipboard support. Collaborating researchers and institutions utilizing Falkor commit to openly share and communicate the outcomes of their research, including raw observations and data. Research proposals are reviewed through a peer-reviewed process and assessed based on their potential for technological innovation, oceanographic research, and overall impact. Since its inception in 2009, SOI has supported over 60 expeditions all around the globe.
NOAAS Pisces is an American fisheries and oceanographic research vessel in commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fleet since 2009.
RV Petrel, or R/V Petrel, is a 76.45 m (250.8 ft) research vessel owned by the United States Navy and once owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The ship is named after the petrel, a sea bird. The ship was completed by Brattvaag Skipsverft, Norway in 2003 as the deepwater offshore inspection vessel Seaway Petrel for service with Stolt Offshore. It was later renamed Acergy Petrel, then Seven Petrel with Subsea 7.
NOASS Okeanos Explorer Gulf of Mexico 2017 Expedition was the first of three expeditions on the NOAAS Okeanos Explorer intended to increase the understanding of the deep-sea environment in the Gulf of Mexico. Gulf of Mexico 2017 was a 23-day telepresence-enabled expedition focused on acquiring data on priority exploration areas identified by ocean management and scientific communities. The goal of the expedition was to use remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives and seafloor mapping operations to increase the understanding of the deep-sea ecosystems in these areas to support management decisions. Many of the areas had no sonar data, these areas were top priority for high-resolution bathymetry collection. The expedition established a baseline of information in the region to catalyze further exploration, research, and management activities. The expedition lasted from 29 November 2017 to 21 December 2017.
RV Falkor (too) is an oceanographic research vessel being refit in 2021–2022 from the former multi-role offshore support vessel MS Polar Queen. The ship was purchased by the Schmidt Ocean Institute in March 2021. It replaced the RV Falkor.
The Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) SuBastian is owned and operated by the Schmidt Ocean Institute and is used for scientific exploration of the deep sea. ROV SuBastian is operated from the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel RV Falkor and can reach depths up to 4,500m. The tethered robot has an array of scientific capability which includes:
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