Palau Deepwater Expedition
An ocean exploration expedition named “Lebuu’s Voyage” set sail October 28 aboard Ocean Exploration Trust’s (OET) EV Nautilus to explore deep-sea habitats within Euotelel a Klingil a Debel Belau, the Palau National Marine Sanctuary (PNMS). Eleven local scientists, educators, cultural liaisons, and early-career professionals are part of this interdisciplinary expedition team led by OET in partnership with the Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC) and NOAA Ocean Exploration.
Over the next three weeks, two back-to-back expeditions will gather seafloor mapping data and explore the seafloor with ROVs to illuminate deep-sea habitats around Palau. These expeditions are funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute as the first step in fulfilling the U.S. government commitment made at the seventh Our Ocean Conference to support ocean mapping of the PNMS and are part of its Beyond the Blue: Illuminating the Pacific campaign. Additional NOAA Ocean Exploration-sponsored expeditions in the region are planned in 2025 aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. All data gathered will be provided to the Palauan government and PICRC to support and enable additional follow-on exploration and management activities to better understand and care for the ocean.
The expeditions were named “Lebuu’s Voyage” by Palauan stakeholders as part of a strategic effort to advance traditional knowledge and best practices in tandem with scientific understanding.
Protecting 80 percent of Palau’s exclusive economic zone, PNMS is closed to fishing, mining and similar extractive activities. Today, less than 30 percent of Palau’s ocean territory has been mapped to high resolution. This expedition will help expand the knowledge about the types of habitats and the biodiversity that call the deepwaters surrounding Palau home.
These expeditions will use streaming telepresence technology, social media, and OET’s educational outreach programs to engage broad audiences in Palau and the Pacific Island region. The team hosts live audio commentary through the Nautilus Live website. Schools and community groups are encouraged to schedule free, live one-on-one Q&A sessions with explorers on the ship.