Spatial Representation of NOAA’s Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) Dive Tracks

The oceans make up about 70% of the earth’s surface and serve as habitats for many deep and shallow creatures. In depths of about 50 meters and more, deep-sea corals and sponges occur mostly along seamounts, continental margins, undersea canyons and ridges. They, deep-sea corals and sponges, play a key role in supporting the health of the ocean as they preserve the biodiversity and long-term sustainability of commercial and recreational fish species. With the many benefits that are attached to deep-sea corals and sponges, the Deep-Sea Corals and Research Technology Program (DSCRTP) has been collecting coral and sponge location data from hundreds of remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys. However, DSCRTP does not have a spatial representation of the area covered by each ROV while searching for corals and sponges in the deep-sea. A spatial representation would provide critical information to researchers and managers to understand where a survey for corals and sponges has happened, and where a survey is yet to be done in the deep-sea. Therefore, the goal of this study is to create a spatial representation of the ROV surveys that have been collected in Monterey Bay and Hawaii sections of the deep-sea.