# NOAA opens a new pathway to deep-sea records

> NOAA Ocean Exploration's July 9 announcement opens a larger window onto life far below the ocean surface. The agency has placed biological occurrence annotations from NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer expeditions into the Ocean Biodiversity Information System, called OBIS and the Global Biodiversity...

Canonical URL: https://www.argo.net/noaa-opens-a-new-pathway-to-deep-sea-records/
Byline: NOAA Ocean Exploration
Published: 2026-07-24T02:40:48+00:00
Categories: News, Oceans

![Video captured during NOAA Ocean Exploration’s remotely operated vehicle dives provides a glimpse into life in the deep sea. Annotations help us better understand that life. In this screenshot from a dive on Surveyor Seamount during the Seascape Alaska 5 expedition (Dive 05), annotators identified a variety of marine life, including a red rockfish ( Sebastes melanostictus ), two pink nudibranchs ( Dendronotus sp.), an anemone ( Actinostola sp.), some rare unknown demosponges, and more. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Seascape Alaska. Download largest version (jpg, 7.6 MB) .](https://www.argo.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/NOAA_opens_a_new_pathway_to_deep-sea_records.jpg)

NOAA Ocean Exploration's [July 9 announcement](https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/news/pathways-to-discovery/) opens a larger window onto life far below the ocean surface. The agency has placed biological occurrence annotations from NOAA Ship **Okeanos Explorer** expeditions into the Ocean Biodiversity Information System, called OBIS and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, or GBIF. The July release brings observations and samples from three 2023 expeditions into systems where researchers can search alongside records gathered by many other groups.

The update centers on the often hidden work that follows a deep-sea dive. Video can show a coral garden, a fish, or a sponge in a few seconds. An annotation turns that sighting into a record with a name or a broader taxonomic label, a time, a location and related scientific details. A camera frame becomes much more useful when users can connect it to an expedition, a spot on the seafloor and the context of the observation. That extra context makes the observation far easier to find, compare and reuse.

## Three expeditions, one July release

The July data drop contains more than **60,000 biological observations** from three expeditions completed in 2023. They are Shakedown + EXPRESS West Coast Exploration, Seascape Alaska 3 and Seascape Alaska 5. Together, those projects made 34 remotely operated vehicle dives in deep waters off the U.S. West Coast and Alaska. The release also includes nearly 400 biological samples collected during those dives. Its scope shows how much information a small group of expeditions can produce once observations are prepared for wider search.

Those figures describe the newly published set of expedition data. NOAA's broader contribution to OBIS and GBIF has now passed **740,000 georeferenced organism records**, a total that also includes recent environmental DNA submissions. Keeping the two totals separate matters because the larger number reflects NOAA Ocean Exploration's accumulated sharing across multiple contributions, while the July release describes three specific 2023 expeditions.

The datasets hold more than a list of organisms. Each record carries taxonomic information drawn from the World Register of Marine Species, along with a date, place and other scientific measurements where available. NOAA says those details can include salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen and occasionally observations of behavior. Fields vary from one record to another because some observations have more associated information than others. The release also includes 245 water samples collected for **environmental DNA** analysis during ROV dives and CTD rosette deployments.

The nearly 400 **biological samples** are a separate part of the July package. Samples can give specialists material for later examination, while an observation documents what an ROV camera saw at a particular moment. NOAA also provides links to information about access to physical samples. A paired visual record, annotation and sample can make later checks more informative, especially when an image supports only a broad initial identification.

![Fields of tubeworms ( Lamellibranchia sp.) dominated Dive 04 of the Seascape Alaska 3 expedition. Given their abundance at the site — a newly discovered cold seep on the Aleutian Arc — a sample was collected to represent the site’s biological context. Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Seascape Alaska. Download largest version (jpg, 1.7 MB).](https://www.argo.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/NOAA_opens_a_new_pathway_to_deep-sea_records-1.jpg)

## How a video sighting becomes useful data

Hours of ROV video form a visual record of a dive, yet a video file alone is difficult to search for one animal, habitat, or location. NOAA Ocean Exploration worked with Ocean Networks Canada on **SeaTube**, a web-based tool that lets scientists record observations while a mission is underway. The information can link an organism seen on screen with the moment and conditions of the sighting. It also gives scientists a practical way to organize many observations made during a long dive.

Since 2023, the **Deep Sea Animal Research Center** at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa has reviewed, revised and expanded NOAA's benthic annotations. Benthic describes life associated with the seafloor. Careful review is especially valuable in the deep ocean, where many animals are hard to identify from images and scientific names can change as evidence accumulates.

For researchers, an annotation supplies a bridge between a striking image and a usable observation. A record for a squat lobster, a branched coral, or a sponge can be searched with its place and date. It can also be checked against later identifications and related specimens. That structure supports careful follow-up work while preserving the original observation and its limits.

One value of **taxonomic annotations** is that they keep the label close to the evidence. A user can see whether a sighting was identified to species, genus, or a broader group. Such detail matters because a deep-sea image may show features that distinguish a group without showing every trait needed for a final species name. The published data therefore support searching and comparison while leaving room for expert revision.

![Among the marine species observed and identified during the 2023 Shakedown + EXPRESS West Coast Exploration were this squat lobster ( Munidopsis depressa ), branched tree coral ( Parastenella ramosa ), and shrimp ( Lebbeus sp.), which were seen in Nitinat Canyon (Dive 08). Image courtesy of 2023 Shakedown + EXPRESS West Coast Exploration. Download largest version (jpg, 2.4 MB).](https://www.argo.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/NOAA_opens_a_new_pathway_to_deep-sea_records-2.jpg)

## Why location changes the value of a record

A **georeferenced record** includes a location that can be placed on a map. Paired with a date and an organism label, it lets users ask focused questions about where an animal was observed and which conditions were recorded nearby. Scientists can filter records by area, depth-related expedition information, or taxonomic group, then examine the evidence behind a result.

That approach can help researchers look for patterns in distribution, diversity and abundance. Managers and policymakers can find observations that relate to a particular place. Educators can trace a sighting back to an expedition. The records provide a starting point for those uses, while each question still requires review of identification quality, sampling methods and the limits of where dives occurred.

Several entries also connect to physical samples, additional data resources and selected images on GBIF. Those connections make it easier to move from a map point to the material and documentation behind it. The goal is greater visibility for the observations, with the underlying details available for users who need to assess them closely.

Geographic context also helps users compare records collected on different expeditions. A cluster on a map may point to a place worth examining, yet it does not by itself measure every animal living there. Dive routes, camera coverage and identification confidence shape what the record set can show. A map can therefore support a focused next question, such as where an organism was observed or what related information is available. NOAA's release makes those observations easier to locate, then gives users a clearer path to the expedition data needed for careful interpretation.

## From NOAA archives to global biodiversity networks

NOAA's [National Centers for Environmental Information](https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/ocean-exploration-and-research-oer-data-management) already archives expedition-related material, including video and data products from ocean exploration. NCEI says its work with NOAA Ocean Exploration follows FAIR principles, which aim to keep data findable and accessible, interoperable and reusable. Its ocean exploration pages also provide access tools for expedition data and describe a video portal with thousands of hours of underwater footage. Publication through biodiversity networks extends the route by which people can encounter the occurrence records.

[OBIS](https://obis.org/about/visionmission/) concentrates on marine-life data. [GBIF](https://www.gbif.org/what-is-gbif) is an international network and data infrastructure that provides open access to information about life across Earth. Under their partnership, marine records supplied to OBIS can also reach GBIF, putting NOAA's deep-sea observations beside a much wider range of biodiversity data.

The three 2023 packages have their own persistent dataset identifiers, including the [EX2301 dataset DOI](https://doi.org/10.15468/adse9x) for the West Coast expedition. NOAA plans to make submission of biological data from future Okeanos Explorer expeditions a regular part of its workflow and to revisit earlier expeditions. That continuing work can give scientists, decision makers and public users more ways to locate records that were once scattered across video archives and expedition files. It can also help a future search lead back to a stable dataset description.

Regular publication gives the records a more consistent route from expedition to reuse. The **FAIR data principles** described by NCEI emphasize information that people and computers can find and work with across systems. Persistent identifiers, descriptive fields and linked archives help users cite a dataset and return to it later. For deep-sea science, that kind of infrastructure can make the evidence collected on one dive available to many future questions.