Watch live: NOAA explorers help unlock mysteries of undersea mountains

Join us online July 2 through July 28
Pink bubblegum coral and a sea star

Corals, like this pink bubblegum coral, provide important habitat for other deep-sea animals like the yellow zoanthids and sea star seen here while exploring the Atlantis II Seamounts in the New England Seamount Chain during the 2014 Our Deepwater Backyard expedition. (Image credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration)

Download Image

Imagine a world of undersea mountains inhabited by unusual and often unexpected animals. A world that no human has ever seen. 

This summer, NOAA invites you to virtually join an ocean exploration expedition to the New England and Corner Rise seamounts off the U.S. East Coast. 

Be among the first people to ever lay eyes on some of these unknown deep-water wonderlands and observe the mysterious animals that live there — LIVE!

There are so many questions about these isolated mountains in the sea. How did they form? What animals live on them? Do seamounts in a chain serve as “stepping stones” of habitat for deep-sea animals? During the 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones expedition, the team on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer will collect information to help scientists answer these questions and more, so we can maintain the health of our ocean, sustainably manage our marine resources and build a better appreciation of the value and importance of the ocean in our everyday lives. 

Mark your calendars

Meet the explorers

NOAA is hosting two virtual events to introduce the expedition and some of its explorers and take questions from the public:

July 1, 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. EDT: NOAA Ocean Exploration on Facebook

July 14, 7 p.m. EDT:  

Find out more about NOAA’s 20 years of ocean exploration. See where we’ve been and where we’re heading next ...

Related Features //