Expeditions
Why Offshore Expeditions Matter
While ocean models and satellite data provide vital global insights, there is no substitute for going out to sea. Direct fieldwork and research expeditions are essential to ground-truth our understanding of the deep and open ocean.

By sending oceanographic vessels, submersibles (ROVs), and robotic seabed landers into international waters (Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction), OceanSOS researchers can:
  • -1-
    Measure the Biological Carbon Pump in real time
    Track how carbon fixed by surface plankton sinks into the twilight (mesopelagic) and abyssal depth zones, helping to lock atmospheric carbon away for centuries.
  • -2-
    Map unexplored deep-sea habitats
    Discover and record fragile benthic ecosystems—such as glass sponge aggregations and deep seamount communities—that provide critical nurseries for ocean life.
  • -3-
    Observe bentho-pelagic coupling
    Study how surface productivity, dynamic mesoscale eddies, and deep-sea floor features physically and biologically link together across thousands of metres of depth.
  • -4-
    Collect baseline environmental data
    Assess the impacts of emerging human activities (such as potential mesopelagic fisheries and seabed extractions) alongside warming ocean temperatures before critical ecological tipping points are crossed.
Research Hotspot Regions
OceanSOS focuses its research campaigns on three of the most dynamic, energetic, and biologically productive ocean biomes on Earth:
The Agulhas Current System (Agulhas Bank & Africana Seamount)
Located off South Africa, this region features powerful western boundary currents and energetic mesoscale eddies. The interaction between these swirling currents and deep underwater features like the Africana Seamount creates high productivity, fueling rich food webs that link surface predators to deep-sea abyssal ecosystems.
The NACES Marine Protected Area (North Atlantic Current & Milne Seamount Complex)
Spanning nearly 600,000 sq.km of the high seas in the North Atlantic, NACES is a globally unique convergence zone where warm subtropical and cold subpolar waters mix. Driven by mesoscale eddies, this region harbours one of the densest mesopelagic fish populations ("Deep Scattering Layers") on the planet, serving as a vital feeding ground for millions of seabirds, whales, sharks, and deep-sea floor fauna.
The Brazil-Malvinas Confluence Zone (Southwestern Atlantic)
Where the warm, salty Brazil Current meets the cold, nutrient-rich Malvinas Current, intense ocean fronts and eddies form. This dynamic mixing zone creates a biological hotspot for open-ocean biodiversity and drives massive vertical fluxes of carbon into the deep sea.
OceanSOS Expeditions
Stay tuned - cruise reports, and live updates will be published on our news feed and social channels during active operations.