OceanX Science
Translating discovery into action
Fueled by boundary-pushing technology and worldwide collaboration, we explore the uncharted to translate discovery into lasting change.
Fueled by boundary-pushing technology and worldwide collaboration, we explore the uncharted to translate discovery into lasting change.
OceanX Science explores the ocean’s unknown depths to illuminate its promise and inform decision-making that protects it. Together with our global partners, we collect critical data and translate knowledge into action that helps restore ocean health, enrich human lives, and safeguard our collective wellbeing.
Delivering data and tools that support scientists and decision-makers in establishing and managing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which are key to preserving biodiversity and promoting food security and climate resilience.
Generating critical fishery data to guide policy, protect biodiversity, and secure food systems for the future.
Supporting research and innovation in areas such as marine biotechnology, regenerative aquaculture, blue carbon, and renewable energy to uncover and accelerate new ways to responsibly harness the ocean’s bounty.
Co-designed with local researchers, governments and institutional partners, OceanX Missions conduct meaningful, place-based science that informs both local action and global knowledge. Mission teams deploy advanced technologies to map uncharted regions, study marine ecosystems in unprecedented detail, and bridge critical gaps in data and capacity.
Meet the OceanXplorer: the most advanced exploration vessel ever built. Featuring pioneering scientific and storytelling technologies, mobile research labs, and immersive education spaces, it’s where exploration, learning, and global collaboration come together to catalyze a better and bluer world.
Coral reefs are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet and are essential to human and ocean health, but they are rapidly declining due to climate change and human activity. The OceanXplorer gives researchers unprecedented access to these fragile environments equipping them with precision sonar, hyperspectral imaging, dive teams, and onboard labs to study, map, and monitor reefs in real time.
The deep ocean's ecosystems are critical to understanding global biodiversity, climate processes, and life’s resilience in extreme environments, but they are largely unexplored. With two Triton submersibles, rugged d ROVs, and high-dexterity sampling tools, scientists can explore depths up to 6,000 meters to examine deep-sea life, collect samples, and illuminate habitats few have ever seen.
To protect and manage ocean environments effectively, we first need to understand how different habitats function and connect to one another, from shallow reefs to deep-sea trenches. OceanX uses high-resolution sonar, LiDAR, photogrammetry, and visual surveys to create detailed maps of marine ecosystems to reveal ecosystems’ structure, biodiversity, and environmental dynamics.
Many ocean species are difficult to observe directly, but understanding their presence and movements is essential for ecosystem monitoring, fishery management, and conservation. Scientists aboard the OceanXplorer collect and analyze environmental DNA from water and sediment, using onboard sequencing technology to detect and identify marine life across ecosystems without using invasive methods.
Genetic data offers deep insight into how ocean organisms function, adapt, and evolve—vital for understanding biodiversity, resilience, and the effects of a changing climate. The OceanXplorer’s onboard labs are equipped with genome sequencing and bioinformatics tools that allow scientists to study marine DNA, conduct whole-genome analyses, and catalog new species at sea.
Publishing our findings signals more than “mission complete;” it reflects our commitment to collective progress alongside scientists worldwide. Ocean science is a collaborative global effort, and by sharing our data and discoveries, we help advance understanding, inspire innovation, and inform solutions that reach far beyond any single organization.
Gaëlle Duchâtellier, Amanda M. Oehlert, Hannah Shernisky, Clément G.L. Pollier, Peter K. Swart, Bolton Howes, Sam J. Purkis, Sedimentary porewaters record regional tectonic and climate events that perturbed a deep-sea brine pool in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea, Science of The Total Environment, Volume 912, 2024, 168804, ISSN 0048-9697
Work TM, Aeby GS, Hughen KA. Gross and Microscopic Lesions in Corals from Micronesia. Veterinary Pathology. 2016;53(1):153-162.
Weber, L., DeForce, E. & Apprill, A. Optimization of DNA extraction for advancing coral microbiota investigations. Microbiome 5, 18 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-017-0229-y
