In 2001, the National Marine Sanctuary Programs "Islands in the
Stream" expedition explored deep-water habitats from North
Carolina to the coast of Belize. Building on this work, the NOAA
Office of Ocean Explorations "Islands in the Stream 2002:
Exploring Underwater Oases" will host four scientific
investigations geared toward learning more about high-relief
areas along the continental shelf break and slope from the
eastern coast of Florida to North Carolina an area known as the
South Atlantic Bight. These important and understudied habitats
peppered throughout the region provide critically important
habitat for a wide variety of marine organisms. The expedition
will use the R/V Seward Johnson and the Johnson-Sea-Link
submersible, owned and operated by the Harbor Branch
Oceanographic Institution (HBOI), to provide researchers direct
access to this rarely seen underwater world. Investigators also
will use a variety of sampling techniques to complement the
videotape and still images collected by the submersible