Expedition team meets with President and Council of Chiefs as Lebuu’s Voyage begins

On Monday, October 28th, as the Palau National Marine Sanctuary (PNMS) marked its ninth anniversary, the Palau-based expedition team for Lebuu’s Voyage, alongside a team from the Ocean Exploration Trust (OET), met with President Surangel Whipps, Jr. and the Council of Chiefs.

Lebuu’s Voyage refers to two offshore expeditions that are taking place in the PNMS from October 28 to November 22, which seek to map and record the extraordinary biodiversity and geological features that exist within the Sanctuary. The expeditions are onboard E/V Nautilus, an exploration vessel operated by the OET, which is equipped with high-resolution deep-sea mapping technology and Remotely Operated Vehicles that can descend to 13,000ft. These expeditions are funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute as the first step in fulfilling the US Government commitment to support ocean mapping of the PNMS made at the 7th Our Ocean Conference. 

Dr. Daniel Wagner, Chief Scientist at OET, presented to both groups about the plans for Lebuu’s Voyage and highlighted that ROV dives would take place in previously unexplored areas in the PNMS, including seamounts and ridges. The Palau-based expedition team members introduced themselves to the President and the Council of Chiefs and discussed the scope of Lebuu’s Voyage.

The expedition team consists of 11 members split between the two expeditions. Researchers from the Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC) include Dr. Piera Biondi, Maikani Mereng Andres, Elsei Tellei, and Greta Sartori. Filling the roles of Science Communication Fellows are PICRC’s Director of Outreach, Imade Tellei, Palau Community College (PCC) Researcher, Elchung Gladys Hideyos, and Former Principal of John F. Kennedy Elementary School, Blodak Quichocho. Research Assistant at the Coral Reef Research Foundation, Meangeldil Ayla Azuma Malsol, and PCC STEM student, Quinlan Sikt Yaoch, are participating as Ocean Science Interns. Finally, Elany Joseph from OneReef Micronesia and Manzel Ngirmeriil from the National Security Coordination Office are joining the expeditions as Cultural Liaisons. PICRC’s Chief Researcher, Ikelau Otto, is involved in the expeditions as Palau’s onshore science lead.

Anyone can tune in to the live feed from the ROVs at NautilusLive.org to discover the animals and geological features of the deep ocean alongside the expedition team. Groups are encouraged to sign up for live ship-to-shore interactions for special Q&A sessions directly with the ocean explorers at NautilusLive.org/education.