Ocean explorers embark on seafloor mapping expedition in Marianas region

Trump administration expands target areas for deep-sea mining in the Pacific

 By Mar-Vic Cagurangan

The Ocean Exploration Trust today launches its two-week seabed-mapping expedition around the Mariana Islands, the first of five trips scheduled this year to survey the region's uncharted ocean floor, which the Trump administration seeks to lease for critical-mineral extraction.

OET said the expeditions aim to "fill critical gaps in ocean knowledge" by charting the deep ocean’s habitats, biodiversity, bathymetry and geological formations.”

Of particular interest to the explorers are the critical minerals and the spots where they can be found.

While the 2026 undersea expeditions—sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration—begin in the deep sea around Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and Hawaii, the Trump administration plans to expand the mapping area to dig for polymetallic nodules, polymetallic sulfides, and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts.

NOAA’s Ocean Exploration Cooperative is proposing potential operational areas off the Hawaiian Islands, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll, Howland and Baker Islands, American Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands in 2027.

“These areas signify broad regions of interest that will be honed into detailed expedition plans, using data collected from this call for input, regional gap analyses, and priorities established by local communities within operational regions,” states NOAA’s call for input released today.

The Trump administration’s 2027 budget request for NOAA includes a $2 million increase to expand the agency’s licensing and permitting capacity under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act.

While collecting information on exploration interests in foreign waters, the federal agency said that operations in 2027 are expected to focus primarily on U.S. waters.

“If any expeditions are proposed in areas under foreign state jurisdiction, they will be coordinated, as necessary, through the U.S. Department of State and in collaboration with the coastal state,” NOAA said

The administration’s budget document states that “NOAA will use artificial intelligence and other technology solutions to increase efficiency in

unleashing an ocean economy.”

The administration proposes transitioning deep-sea uncrewed systems and other innovative technologies from research to operations.

This year’s OET expedition will also cover Wake Island.

“We have an enormous amount left to learn about the ocean and an open, growing scientific foundation of knowledge is what will allow informed and responsible decisions to be made about the ocean and the resources within it," said Allison Fundis, OET president and COO. 

OET will use E/V Nautilus, its mapping sonars, ROV systems and other exploration technologies provided by NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute.

The E/V Nautilus expeditions will be streamed live on NautilusLive.org, a 24-hour platform that invites transparent participation in ocean exploration.

“For 18 years, OET’s approach has been the same: explore the deep sea responsibly and transparently, invite curious audiences into the process of discovery and archive the data we collect openly, so that researchers, resource managers, policy makers and the public all have equal access,” Fundis said.

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OET's expeditiosn are scheduled as follows:

Pacific Mapping | June 10 - 24

E/V Nautilus will begin the 2026 season with a seafloor mapping expedition from Hawaii to Guam, where the team will support subsequent expeditions exploring deep-sea habitats around the Mariana Islands.

This will be the first operational deployment of the newly installed state-of-the-art Kongsberg EM304 mapping system.

This technology investment, executed in partnership with the University of New Hampshire Center for Coastal Ocean Mapping and Kongsberg, will enable the team to expand its mapping and exploration capabilities to depths never before reached.

Deep-Sea Habitats in the Mariana Islands I | June 28 – July 21

This expedition will focus on exploring the Mariana region, one of the most tectonically and volcanically dynamic locations on the planet, marked by Earth’s deepest oceanic trench, some of the most active submarine volcanoes, and some of the oldest seafloor.

This 23-day expedition will utilize the ROV, mapping and telepresence systems of E/V Nautilus in combination with the autonomous underwater vehicle

 Sentry to explore poorly known deep-sea habitats, including abyssal plain habitats, seamounts and other deep-sea areas offshore the Mariana Islands that support resource management and science priorities.

The team will focus on the southeasternmost portion of the U.S. waters around the CNMI.

Deep-Sea Habitats in the Mariana Islands II | July 25 – Aug. 16

The second expedition to the Mariana region will focus on abyssal plain habitats in the northeasternmost portion of the CNMI. On this expedition, the team will also deploy a high-frequency acoustic recording package from the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center to support cetacean monitoring in the region.

Exploration of Wake Island's Deep Sea | Aug. 20 – Sept. 18

Located roughly midway between the Hawaiian and Mariana Islands, Wake Island is one of the most isolated land masses on Earth.

While there have been some recent expeditions to this remote region, the vast majority of the 407,241 square kilometers of seafloor surrounding Wake remains unmapped and uncharacterized, representing one of the most poorly surveyed areas under U.S. jurisdiction.

This 30-day expedition will utilize the ROV, mapping, and telepresence systems of E/V Nautilus to collect critical baseline information across this largely unexplored region, with a focus on exploring poorly known deep-sea habitats in the  Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument and the Wake Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, including abyssal plain habitats, unexplored seamounts and potential maritime heritage sites associated with the Battle of Wake Island.

Deep-Sea Habitats of the Hawaiian Archipelago | Sept. 22 – Oct. 12

The final expedition brings E/V Nautilus back to the Hawaiian Islands. While nearshore waters surrounding the islands have been relatively well surveyed, many offshore areas remain completely unexplored, hindering efforts to effectively manage the resources of this unique region.

This 20-day expedition will start and end in Honolulu, and utilize the ROV, mapping, and telepresence systems of E/V Nautilus to survey previously unsurveyed deep seafloor around the Hawaiian Islands, with a focus on unexplored ridges and seamounts in the eastern portion of the Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary and abyssal plain habitats southwest of the Main Hawaiian Islands.

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