I hitched a ride on the Oscar Elton Sette as it set sail last fall on a three-week cruise in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
The team of state and federal scientists on board the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s research ship were heading out to survey the reefs of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
We traveled 2,600 miles roundtrip, stopping for 386 dives along the way. The experience was humbling, exhilarating, depressing, inspiring and exhausting — not necessarily in that order.
Here’s a look behind the scenes.
Guardians of the Deep explores the work of marine scientists in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument who study the good, the bad and the ugly found in these protected waters.
Finding new species, protecting native species and researching invasive species were all part of the job on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s three-week cruise this fall. The dive trip spanned the entire 1,200-mile length of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, a remote string of islands and atolls enveloped by coral reefs and open ocean.
Stories in the series:
