The abundance of fish in a healthy coral reef ecosystem are part of what makes the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands so special.
Photo: James Watt

 

Members of the NOAA Maritime Heritage Program will be surveying some of the world's most beautiful and untouched submerged cultural resources during this expedition.
Photo: Robert Schwemmer/NOAA

 

The NOAA ship Hi'ialakai will be supporting a multidisciplinary research expedition which includes a benthic habitat mapping team, maritime archaeologists and interpretation of this research through education and outreach specialists. Photo: NOAA

Ellyn Tong,
Hawai`i Audubon Society

 

Ship crew and the scientific party participate in an abandon ship drill, which occurs on every research cruise.
Photo: Claire Johnson/NOAA

 

The maritime heritage team dons agamasks in the dry lab to get practice in using their new underwater communication system.
Photo: Claire Johnson/NOAA

A mock shipwreck survey takes place on the stern of the ship to demonstrate research techniques that will be used underwater.
Photo: Paulo Maurin

 

Co-chief scientist Hans Van Tilburg collects mock data while running through baseline trilateration exercise with his underwater archaeology team.
Photo: Claire Johnson/NOAA

 

Co-chief scientist Hans Van Tilburg demonstrates baseline trilateration as the education team attentively observes.
Photo: Paulo Maurin

 

The deck crew discusses small boat safety to prepare the science party for being launched overboard from the ship to conduct their research.
Photo: Claire Johnson/NOAA

 

Members of the mapping team work through the night in a small computer lab with numerous screens.
Photo: Claire Johnson/NOAA

 

A few ships have conducted high-resolution seafloor mapping in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as shown in the colorful
track lines.

 

Chief Scientist Dr. John Rooney points out the tracks that have been mapped around Kure Atoll.

Sketch showing trilateration of an object on deck using a baseline. Photo: Paulo Maurin