§ SurveyNV5 Contract · 2026February–April

Mapping the abyss
off our shores.

From February through April 2026, NOAA and partners ran a hydrographic survey of federal waters off American Sāmoa — covering more than 30,000 square nautical miles with ship-based multibeam sonar, autonomous underwater vehicles, and 36 successful box-core samples from the deep seabed. Every station below is a real coordinate, a real depth, and a real photograph from a place most people will never see.

Data published by NOAA Ocean Exploration. Seafloor imagery courtesy of NOAA; shipboard imagery courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.

30,000+

sq. nautical miles surveyed

box-core stations

samples successfully collected

−5,193–5,779 m

depth range

Feb–Apr

2026 operations window

About the work

How they’re looking

Two layers of imaging. Ship-based multibeam sonar paints a wide picture of the seafloor’s shape. Autonomous underwater vehicles fly closer to the bottom for higher-resolution mapping and imagery. Box cores — a 0.75 m × 0.75 m (≈ 2.46 ft square) sediment grab — bring back the actual material so it can be analysed onshore.

When the data lands

Ship-based bathymetry is posted in near real-time on the NOAA Hydrographic Survey Projects portal. Quality-controlled bathymetry will enter NOAA’s public archives after project completion. AUV data follows within 90–120 days. Results from onshore sample analysis will be made publicly available.

§ Stations37 sites · most recent first

Box-core stations, station by station.

Each card pairs the seafloor photograph taken at the bottom with the sediment that came back to the deck. Coordinates are the actual lat/lon recorded by the vessel; depths are measured to the metre.

Station BX38
Apr 28, 01:06 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
13.17091°S
Longitude
167.86094°W
Depth
−5,193 m (3.23 mi)
Station BX37
Apr 28, 08:47 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
14.02754°S
Longitude
166.73176°W
Depth
−5,539 m (3.44 mi)
Station BX36
Apr 27, 19:47 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
14.45901°S
Longitude
166.36376°W
Depth
−5,420 m (3.37 mi)
Station BX35
Apr 27, 13:33 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
14.20799°S
Longitude
166.17642°W
Depth
−5,482 m (3.41 mi)
Station BX34
Apr 27, 05:36 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
14.08375°S
Longitude
165.99011°W
Depth
−5,432 m (3.41 mi)
Station BX33
Apr 26, 21:18 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
14.19802°S
Longitude
165.80447°W
Depth
−5,432 m (3.38 mi)
Station BX32
Apr 26, 13:13 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
14.36846°S
Longitude
165.61983°W
Depth
−5,504 m (3.42 mi)
Station BX31
Apr 26, 01:23 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
15.10518°S
Longitude
165.62162°W
Depth
−5,619 m (3.49 mi)
Station BX30
Apr 25, 14:57 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
15.45017°S
Longitude
165.62234°W
Depth
−5,619 m (3.49 mi)
Station BX29
Apr 25, 05:40 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
15.46440°S
Longitude
165.99623°W
Depth
−5,513 m (3.43 mi)
Station BX28
Apr 24, 20:37 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
15.64847°S
Longitude
165.80995°W
Depth
−5,544 m (3.44 mi)
Station BX27
Apr 24, 12:14 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
15.80130°S
Longitude
165.62353°W
Depth
−5,588 m (3.47 mi)
Station BX26
Apr 24, 01:50 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
16.10663°S
Longitude
165.62431°W
Depth
−5,731 m (3.56 mi)
Station BX25
Apr 23, 17:14 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
16.01150°S
Longitude
165.81141°W
Depth
−5,650 m (3.51 mi)
Station BX24
Apr 23, 08:20 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
16.18131°S
Longitude
166.00024°W
Depth
−5,431 m (3.37 mi)
Station BX23
Apr 22, 23:13 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
15.82934°S
Longitude
165.99801°W
Depth
−5,635 m (3.50 mi)
Station BX22
Apr 22, 12:07 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
16.00534°S
Longitude
166.56193°W
Depth
−5,594 m (3.48 mi)
Station BX21
Apr 22, 02:31 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
16.37013°S
Longitude
166.56459°W
Depth
−5,719 m (3.55 mi)
Station BX20
Apr 21, 15:37 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
16.18131°S
Longitude
166.00024°W
Depth
−5,431 m (3.37 mi)
Station BX19
Apr 21, 07:21 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
16.37395°S
Longitude
165.81294°W
Depth
−5,680 m (3.53 mi)
Station BX18
Apr 21, 00:34 UTC
Not collected
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
16.37395°S
Longitude
165.81294°W
Depth
−5,680 m (3.53 mi)
Station BX17
Apr 20, 15:45 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
16.51520°S
Longitude
166.00153°W
Depth
−5,562 m (3.46 mi)
Station BX16
Apr 20, 04:21 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
16.73255°S
Longitude
166.56682°W
Depth
−5,580 m (3.47 mi)
Station BX15
Apr 19, 17:41 UTC
Not collected
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
17.03596°S
Longitude
166.97288°W
Depth
−5,592 m (3.47 mi)
Station BX14
Apr 19, 06:33 UTC
Not collected
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
16.54338°S
Longitude
166.94020°W
Depth
−5,580 m (3.47 mi)
Station BX13
Apr 18, 20:58 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
16.36286°S
Longitude
167.31582°W
Depth
−5,704 m (3.54 mi)
Station BX12
Apr 18, 11:04 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
16.18838°S
Longitude
166.93333°W
Depth
−5,691 m (3.54 mi)
Station BX11
Apr 18, 01:06 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
15.82092°S
Longitude
167.12134°W
Depth
−5,779 m (3.59 mi)
Station BX10
Apr 17, 14:22 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
15.46210°S
Longitude
166.74218°W
Depth
−5,497 m (3.42 mi)
Station BX09
Apr 17, 04:46 UTC
Not collected
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
15.46485°S
Longitude
166.37020°W
Depth
−5,482 m (3.41 mi)
Station BX08
Apr 16, 19:14 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
15.10228°S
Longitude
166.36780°W
Depth
−5,544 m (3.44 mi)
Station BX07
Apr 16, 09:54 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
14.79937°S
Longitude
166.36590°W
Depth
−5,570 m (3.46 mi)
Station BX06
Apr 16, 00:16 UTC
Not collected
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
14.39356°S
Longitude
166.36330°W
Depth
−5,594 m (3.48 mi)
Station BX05
Apr 15, 14:41 UTC
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
14.04159°S
Longitude
166.36119°W
Depth
−5,498 m (3.42 mi)
Station BX04
Apr 15, 04:40 UTC
Not collected
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
13.46947°S
Longitude
166.54230°W
Depth
—
Station BX03
Apr 14, 19:00 UTC
Not collected
Seafloor
On deck
Latitude
13.46947°S
Longitude
166.54230°W
Depth
—
Station BX02
Apr 14, 09:44 UTC
No image
Seafloor
On deck (no sample)
Latitude
13.46947°S
Longitude
166.54230°W
Depth
—
No sample collected

Sources & data