gov.noaa.ncei.oer:HiddenOcean2005 eng; USA utf8 collectionSession collection-level metadata NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information ncei.info@noaa.gov https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact NCEI Contact Information Information for contacts at NCEI. information pointOfContact 2026-03-23T19:39:41 ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata - Part 2: Extensions for Imagery and Gridded Data ISO 19115-2:2009 The Hidden Ocean: Explorations Under the Ice of the Western Arctic - The Pelagic Fauna: Phase II 2005 publication https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/maps/oer-digital-atlas/mapsOE.htm OER Digital Atlas information pointOfContact NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research author NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information publisher In June/July 2005, an international team of 45 scientists from the United States, Canada, China and Russia participated in a collaborative effort to explore the frigid depths of the Canada Basin, located in one of the deepest parts of the Arctic Ocean. This expedition is named "The Hidden Ocean" because this part of the Arctic Ocean is covered with sea ice for most of the year and thus difficult to reach. Therefore very little information is currently available about the diversity of life in this region of the world although this information is urgently needed to build a baseline of data to evaluate the impacts of changing environmental conditions, including warming and ice melt in the Arctic over the last four decades. Operating from the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy and funded by NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration, scientists examined the hidden world of life in these extreme conditions with the aid of divers, photographic platforms and a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) specially designed to operate under ice and at great depth. More traditional techniques like ice coring, plankton nets and bottom trawls supported these efforts. The scientific sampling approach covers the microscopic organisms found in the sea ice (sea ice biota) and in the sea water (mainly phytoplankton), as well as larger animals in the sea water (zooplankton) and at the sea floor (zoobenthos). The studies will try to understand linkages that exist between ice, water and sea floor in this harsh environment from the surface of the ice to the bottom of the deep sea. Dr. Rolf Gradinger University of Alaska Fairbanks Professor 907-474-7407 University of Alaska Fairbanks 252 O'Neill Fairbanks AK 32358 USA rrgradinger@alaska.edu principalInvestigator https://data.noaa.gov/docucomp/image/5abab464-7994-49fc-8a2f-ec337a11bfd4 NOAA logo PNG EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans theme Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords 2025 revision 22 Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords GCMD Keyword Forum Page Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 22. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords information custodian Ocean Exploration rov scuba arctic census of marine life sea ice USCG Healy ice corer ice diver theme expedition exploration explorer marine education noaa ocean ocean discovery ocean education ocean exploration ocean exploration and research ocean literacy ocean research science scientific research sea stewardship systematic exploration technology transformational research undersea underwater theme Arctic Ocean Canada Basin Northwind Ridge Northwest Abyssal Plain Chukchi Plateau place otherRestrictions otherRestrictions Data use shall be credited to NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. No data access constraints, unless data are protected under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. eng; USA oceans -163.502166667 -151.589833333 71.2645 76.4578333333 2005-06-27 2005-07-26 https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/05arctic/welcome.html asNeeded