Deep-sea Exploration under Wake
The Ocean Exploration Trust is scheduled to begin its exploration of Wake Island’s deep sea between August 20 and September 18, 2026. The team is currently underway to Wake from Guam, where it regrouped after two missions to the Mariana Islands. An exciting feature of the explorations is public access to a live feed of the E/V Nautilus through the course of each expedition and the opportunity to ask questions via their website: https://nautiluslive.org .
I for one will be glued to the feed. A US Navy captain once described Wake Island as a giant toadstool on a slender stem – and image that has stayed with me over the years. In 2011 I had the opportunity to dive on Wake’s south reef and peer over the drop-off into the deep blue. The sea floor lies twelve thousand feet below. The Nautilus website introduction says the seafloor beneath Wake measures 407,241 square kilometers that has never been mapped or characterized. I anticipate the exploration will locate all manner of trash from nearly a century of human presence above and possibly parts of bombed ships and downed planes from the Second World War.
Partnering with numerous scientific organizations and communities, the Ocean Exploration Trust is embarking on five expeditions in the Central and Western Pacific from June to October this year, including the Hawaiian archipelago that stretches far northwest of the populated islands we call Hawaii, Wake, and the deep trenches of the Mariana Islands. Wake Island is a unique location, given its extreme isolation. Throughout the expeditions the team will conduct extensive mapping, investigate deep ocean habitats and diversity, and explore seamounts and other geological formations.
Take some time to do your own exploration of the Nautiluslive.org website and read about the team members and the technology and tools, including ROV Hercules and two others, remotely operated vehicles with manipulator arms, for the ocean floor work. Telepresence technology aboard the Nautilus enables the live feed as well as scientific collaboration. I hope you enjoy the journey ahead!
