Expeditions and Explorers

Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern: 2008 Habitat Restoration Mission: April 2008
The NASA ship Freedom Star will support technical scuba divers on April 1-10 as they revisit coral habitat restoration experiments deployed in the past decade. Artificial reef structures were deployed in the Sebastian Pinnacles area of the Oculina Bank to stimulate new coral growth and provide structure for reef fish. A dive team, equipped with scooters and digital cameras, will document the concrete structures and surrounding habitat. The divers will also deploy a bio-observatory designed to stay out for six weeks and capture images and sounds on a living Oculina reef.

Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern (OHAPC): 2006 Seafloor Mapping and Habitat Characterization Mission: October 2006
Meet the explorers, read summaries about the research, view images and read daily logs, all at the cruise Web site.

Oculina Bank: Sidescan Sonar and Sediment Data from a Deep–Water Coral Reef Habitat off East–Central Florida: August 1995
Meet the explorers, read summaries about the research, view images and read daily logs, all at the cruise Web site.

Islands in the Stream — Oculina Bank Leg: August 29 — September 3, 2001
Meet the explorers, read summaries about the research, view images and read daily logs, all at the cruise Web site.

Mapping the Oculina Bank Marine Protected Area: Acoustic mapping, benthic habitat characterization, and integration into GIS: October 16 — 23, 2002
Meet the explorers, read summaries about the research, view images and read daily logs, all at the cruise Web site.

Exploring the Sights and Sounds of a Deepwater Coral Marine Protected Area Off Florida: April 29 — May 8, 2003
Meet the explorers, read summaries about the research, view images and read daily logs, all at the cruise Web site.

Protecting a National Treasure: Florida’s Oculina Deepwater Coral Reefs: October 12 – 18, 2005
Meet the explorers, read summaries about the research, view images and read daily logs, all at the cruise Web site.