The Okeanos Explorer is federal ocean exploration vessel equipped with a sophisticated multibeam mapping sonar, a 4000-m-rated remotely operated vehicle (ROV) suite and high-bandwidth satellite communication system.

The vessel is used to map little or unknown parts of the ocean floor and then characterize underwater sites using the ROV's HD video cameras and other sensors.

"All video and sensor data are streamed to shore in real-time, allowing active participation from scientists on shore as well as passive observers via the Internet,” explains Webb Pinner of NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration. “The RTS gear allows us to easily communicate between stations throughout the vessel and with participating scientists on shore. The RTS system is also used as the primary audio source for all streaming and recorded video.”

See the live video streams and learn more about the Okeanos Explorer here:

http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/media/exstream/exstream.html

http://www.moc.noaa.gov/oe/