‘New Insights from Papahanaumokuakea Seafloor’

Dr. Kelley will present the amazing discoveries on the seafloor of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands found by the research ship Falkor. Courtesy Maui Ocean Center.

By Maui Now Staff

Maui Ocean Center’s Sea Talk Series will continue with “New Insights from Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument Seafloor,” presented by Dr. Christopher Kelley on Thursday, March 26, at 6 p.m.

Dr. Kelley will present the amazing discoveries on the seafloor of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands found by the research ship Falkor. Falkor mapped the seafloor with high resolution multibeam sonar.

Dr. Christopher Kelley will present images of extinct volcanoes,, drowned reef terraces, giant undersea landslides, huge long ridges, and other mysterious features that exist within the monument. Courtesy Maui Ocean Center.

Photo courtesy Maui Ocean Center.

The biologist will share the incredible near-photographic quality images of extinct volcanoes (seamounts), drowned reef terraces, giant undersea landslides, huge long ridges and other mysterious features that exist within the monument.

Dr. Kelley will discuss these features, including the fact that not all of the seamounts in the Hawaiian archipelago are Hawaiian. They are actually sunken islands that were once at the surface during the age of the dinosaurs, thousands of years before the Hawaiian atolls and seamounts began to form.

Dr. Kelley will also describe the upcoming summer project with the ship Okeanos Explorer. He will explain how viewers can see live streaming video from its remotely operated vehicle.

Sea Talks are held in the Open Ocean exhibit at Maui Ocean Center. Admission is complimentary; entry is through the aquarium’s front gate.

Doors open 5:30 p.m. and close promptly at 6 p.m. The presentation starts at 6 p.m.

Reservations are recommended; seating is limited.

Call (808) 270-7088 to make reservations. For information about Maui Ocean Center, go online.

Dr. Christopher Kelley. Photo courtesy Maui Ocean Center.

About the Speaker

Dr. Kelley has been the program biologist for the Hawaiʻi Undersea Research Laboratory at the University of Hawaiʻi for the last 15 years. He is also graduate faculty for the Oceanography Department and affiliate faculty at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology.

As a biologist, his primary responsibilities are the identification and documentation of deep-water fish and invertebrates recorded during HURL’s submersible and remotely operated vehicle operations, and overseeing the extraction of video annotations for inclusion in HURL’s deep-water animal database and online photo guide.

Dr. Kelley recently accepted a new position as the lead scientist and coordinator for the NOAA Office of Exploration and Research’s new three-year program in the Pacific involving the use of NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer. This ship has a state of the art multibeam sonar mapping system and 6,000-meter Remotely Operated Vehicle that will be used to explore deep water habitats across the Pacific.