EXPLORATION VARIABLES IDENTIFIED BY NOAA OCEAN EXPLORATION U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH NOAA OCEAN EXPLORATION NOAA TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM OAR OER; 004 APRIL 2021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25923/m37w-8b55 1 EXPLORATION VARIABLES IDENTIFIED BY NOAA OCEAN EXPLORATION U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH NOAA OCEAN EXPLORATION Katharine E. Egan1*, Jennifer T. Le1*, James W.A. Murphy1*, Amanda N. Netburn1, Margot Bohan1, Adrienne Copeland1, Megan Cromwell2, Clint Edrington2,3, Stephen Hammond1,4, Mashkoor Malik1, David McKinnie1, Derek Sowers1,5, Nathalie Valette-Silver1, Daniel Wagner6 1 NOAA Ocean Exploration, Silver Spring, Maryland 2 NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi 3 Northern Gulf Institute, Mississippi State University, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi 4 Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 5 Cherokee Nation Strategic Programs, Tulsa, Oklahoma 6 Conservation International, Center for Oceans, Arlington, Virginia * C ontributions to this effort were provided while supported by the NOAA Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship with NOAA Ocean Exploration. CITATION: Egan, K.E., Le, J.T., Murphy, J.W.A., Netburn, A.N., Bohan, M., Copeland, A., Cromwell, M., Edrington, C., Hammond, S., Malik, M., McKinnie, D., Sowers, D., Valette-Silver, N., and Wagner, D. 2021. Exploration Variables Identified by the NOAA Ocean Exploration. NOAA Ocean Exploration. Silver Spring, MD. NOAA Technical Memorandum OAR OER; 004. 136 pp. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25923/m37w-8b55 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5 INTRODUCTION 7 EXPLORATION VARIABLES USED TO INFORM DEEP-SEA EXPLORATION NEEDS 10 LITERATURE ON DEEP-SEA EXPLORATION AND OBSERVATION NEEDS 10 EXPLORATION VARIABLES DERIVED FROM DEEP-SEA LITERATURE 14 DATA CURRENTLY COLLECTED BY NOAA OCEAN EXPLORATION ON OKEANOS EXPLORER 19 MAPPING OPERATIONS 19 REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLE OPERATIONS 22 CTD ROSETTE OPERATIONS 24 SHIP-BASED DATA COLLECTION 25 ANALYSIS OF NOAA OCEAN EXPLORATION’S CAPABILITIES FOR ADDRESSING HIGH-PRIORITY EXPLORATION VARIABLES 27 ADDRESSING DATA GAPS 32 FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT PROCESS 34 FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT TEMPLATE 35 SUMMARY: ASSESSING FEASIBILITY OF COLLECTING ENVIRONMENTAL DNA 38 SUMMARY: ASSESSING FEASIBILITY OF MICROPLASTIC DISTRIBUTION, ABUNDANCE, SIZE, AND COMPOSITION 39 RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS 41 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 42 REFERENCES 43 APPENDIX A: FULL LIST OF EXPLORATION VARIABLES A-1 APPENDIX B: KEY EXPLORATION DRIVERS B-1 3 APPENDIX C: REPORTING OUT ON THE DATA COLLECTION OF EXPLORATION VARIABLES IN NOAA OCEAN EXPLORATION C-1 APPENDIX D: LIST OF ACRONYMS D-1 APPENDIX E: FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DNA E-1 APPENDIX F: FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT FOR MEASURING MICROPLASTIC DISTRIBUTION, ABUNDANCE, SIZE, AND COMPOSITION F-1 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report provides the results of a multiyear project to identify deep-ocean exploration variables and evaluate how NOAA Ocean Exploration (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Ocean Exploration and Research), addresses high-priority exploration variables through its current ocean exploration operations. NOAA Ocean Exploration is the only federal program dedicated to ocean exploration. Through its exploration activities and unique capabilities, NOAA Ocean Exploration reduces unknowns and scientific gaps in deep-ocean areas (greater than 200 m water depth) and provides high-value environmental intelligence required by NOAA and the nation to address current and emerging science and management needs. To better understand the extent to which NOAA Ocean Exploration is collecting data needed to carry out its exploration mission, the office director tasked a cross-division working group with the review of the oceanographic data recommended for initial exploration of an area (exploration variables). The working group took the following multitiered approach to produce recommendations that address data usability and enhance data collection and presentation: 1. Identify and rank exploration variables required to explore a feature or target area through a literature review that synthesizes deep-ocean exploration and observation needs. 2. Identify the appropriate tools that could be used to address high-priority exploration variables using NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer as an example. 3. Identify high-priority exploration variable data gaps that are not currently addressed by NOAA Ocean Exploration through NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer operations. 4. Develop an approach for incorporating new processes, technologies, and instruments into NOAA Ocean Exploration operations to address high-priority exploration variable data gaps. The working group identified 91 exploration variables through a literature review of 12 deep- sea publications and reports that synthesize discussions and workshops related to exploration data. Of those 91, 33 exploration variables were identified in three or more reports. Ultimately, the working group deemed 16 exploration variables as high priority for NOAA Ocean Exploration based on the number of mentions in the literature and mission alignment and evaluated if and how we address each of them. The working group focused on one NOAA Ocean Exploration platform, NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, because its standard procedures, which are summarized in this report, provide a clear and direct path for evaluating data collection from an ocean exploration perspective. However, 5 it is important to note that NOAA Ocean Exploration also supports ocean exploration through other mechanisms, including grants and partnerships with other government agencies and the academic, private, and philanthropic sectors. Of the 16 high-priority exploration variables, NOAA Ocean Exploration can address 8 of them with its current Okeanos Explorer operations and capabilities. Additionally, it can partially address four others and has the potential to address three more. The working group identified five high-priority exploration variables as data gaps that NOAA Ocean Exploration could consider in the future. To help address these data gaps, the working group developed a framework to assess the feasibility of incorporating new types of data or data collection procedures into NOAA Ocean Exploration operations. A template and examples of these assessments are included in this report. As its assets and capabilities change, and as science and technologies continue to advance, NOAA Ocean Exploration continually evaluates and adapts its operations in order to expand the frontiers of ocean exploration. 6 INTRODUCTION NOAA Ocean Exploration (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Ocean Exploration and Research), is the only federal program dedicated to ocean exploration. NOAA Ocean Exploration facilitates deep-sea exploration and discovery by supporting data collection and dissemination in unexplored and underexplored areas, providing initial information about an area for use in further research and decision-making (see FIGURE 1). Through its expeditions and unique capabilities, NOAA Ocean Exploration reduces unknowns and scientific gaps in deep-ocean areas (greater than 200 m water depth) and provides high-value environmental intelligence required by NOAA and the nation to address both current and emerging science and management needs. NOAA SHIP COLLECTED DATA OKEANOS EXPLORER & SAMPLES FISH GENETIC CHEMOSYNTHETIC SEAFLOOR DISTRIBUTION INTERCONNECTIVITY COMMUNITIES FEATURES DEEP-SEA WATER COLUMN SUBMERGED MARINE CORAL CHARACTERIZATION CULTURAL RESOURCES GEOLOGY FIGURE 1. The flow of ocean exploration data collected by NOAA Ocean Exploration from NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. Data and physical samples are made available through three main repositories: NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), the Oregon State University Marine and Geological Repository, and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. These data provide baseline information about unexplored and underexplored areas. 7 NOAA Ocean Exploration is responsible for filling gaps in our basic understanding of U.S. deep waters and the seafloor and providing the critical deep-ocean data needed to strengthen the economy, health, and security of the nation. To do so, we (1) make discoveries of scientific, economic, and cultural value, including mapping ocean basin features of interest; (2) explore geological, physical, chemical, and biological phenomena; (3) explore areas with potential ocean resources; and (4) discover and characterize submerged cultural resources. This report identifies deep-ocean exploration needs and evaluates the extent to which NOAA Ocean Exploration addresses them. It also serves as an internal audit of our data collection responsibilities as they relate to our mission and identifies improvements we could make to better serve the broad exploration community. This report was produced by an internal NOAA Ocean Exploration working group tasked with identifying the types of oceanographic data recommended for collection during the initial exploration of an area (exploration variables).1 The working group consisted of cross- division staff with expert knowledge in NOAA Ocean Exploration data collection through our operations on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. They took the following multitiered approach to the task to produce recommendations that address data usability and enhance data