Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Selected from a worldwide pool of applicants to join a cohort of 13 from across Oceania and North America, Samoana High School Earth & Space and Physical science teacher Lottie Haleck set sail this week as a Science Communication Fellow in a deep ocean exploration expedition.

She joins Ocean Exploration Trust’s (OET), Palau International Coral Reef Center, NOAA Ocean Exploration, and other collaborators to conduct an expedition to explore deep-sea habitats within Palau National Marine Sanctuary.

The deep- water regions surrounding Palau host rich and diverse marine resources, including over 225 underwater mountain seamounts and extremely deep ecosystems in the Palau Trench.

“It’s my first time going to Palau! I’m super excited to be a part of the Nautilus team exploring Palauan waters using advanced technologies such as ROVs, sonar systems and amazing telepresence tech. When I was reading on Palau National Marine Sanctuary, I found very little information about what’s in the benthic habitats of Palau. [A benthic habitat is the physical environment on the bottom of a body of water where organisms live, and the organisms that live there are known as benthos.]

“That unknown feeds into my excitement because when you’re exploring ocean waters with little information, you never know what you’re going to find or see out there,” says Ms. Haleck. “I know these amazing opportunities will help me grow into a better educator by bringing everything I have learned back into the classroom. I can tell my students I was in these spaces and they can be too. I only hope to inspire our young students to pursue careers in the STEM fields.“

The American Samoan community and people worldwide can engage with Haleck and the explorers onboard via Error! Hyperlink reference not valid., a 24-hour live-streaming web portal bringing expeditions from the field to explorers on shore via telepresence technology and social media. Local schools, summer programs, and community groups are encouraged to schedule free, live one-on-one Q&A sessions with explorers on the ship available daily. While onboard from October 29 to November 8, Haleck is also available to host connections in Samoan.

Haleck was selected from a worldwide pool of applicants to join a cohort of 13 Fellows from across Oceania and North America. While at sea, Fellows participate in live remotely operated vehicle dives from the control room, host connections from an onboard broadcast studio, and embed among the diverse team of professionals onboard. Fellows also bring their experiences home, developing classroom and community connections to share lessons learned from the expedition. 

The expedition was named Lebuu’s Voyage by Palauan stakeholders as part of a strategic effort to advance traditional knowledge and best practices in tandem with scientific understanding.