Overview
The R/V OceanXplorer is one of the most advanced exploration vessels afloat. It has two crewed submersibles, Neptune and Nadir (each rated to 1,000 meters), and the Chimaera ROV (rated to 6,000 meters). Using OceanXplorer‘s submersibles and remotely operated vehicle, scientists will explore and document marine environments up to a potential depth of 3,500 meters, subject to operational conditions, while divers sample the shallow reefs. On board, wet labs keep specimens alive in chilled seawater and dry labs equipped for eDNA and genetic sequencing allow DNA to be read at sea.
Mission Brief
Core science priorities are species discovery, community-level species information, in situ sequencing, and specimen collection. The focus is on invertebrates, from macrofauna to megafauna, with some meiofauna potentially collected using core sampling.
Sampling will include:
- Coral heads, for the cryptofauna living inside them
- Corals (Scleractinia, Antipatharia, Octocorallia, Stylasteridae) and sponges, as habitat for invertebrate fauna
- Benthic invertebrate fauna
- Seagrass and sediments, for invertebrate infauna
Why Timor-Leste?
Timor-Leste lies within the Coral Triangle, the global center of marine biodiversity, and in Wallacea, the biogeographic crossroads between Asia and Australia. Deep-water straits have isolated the island for millions of years, giving rise to species found nowhere else. Its reefs are among the richest ever recorded: a 2016 Conservation International survey off Atauro Island found an average of 253 reef fish species per site, potentially the highest average documented anywhere.
Offshore, the Ombai and Wetar Straits are among the deepest passages in the region, with the Ombai exceeding 3,000 meters. They carry part of the Indonesian Throughflow, the current that moves Pacific water into the Indian Ocean, and form a migratory corridor for blue whales, sperm whales, dolphins, and manta rays.
Yet much of this marine life remains undocumented, particularly below diving depths. This expedition builds on OceanX’s 2025 mission along the north coast and around Atauro, which mapped around 5,000 square kilometers of seabed, and turns the focus to species discovery: documenting marine biodiversity and identifying species that may be new to science, supporting future taxonomic research.
Expedition Objectives
- Collect and identify specimens across a range of taxa that are, or are likely to be, new to science, as confirmed by relevant taxonomic experts.
- Analyze community-level species information to inform Timor-Leste’s marine management planning.
- Support the development of accessible scientific collections that enable future species identification and taxonomic research.
- Promote knowledge exchange and capacity development in marine field skills and taxonomic techniques, and encourage future collaboration on species discovery in the region.
- Obtain high-resolution underwater images of species in situ to support scientific and public engagement.
- Contribute to regional biodiversity databases and global data repositories such as OBIS.
- Generate data on Timor-Leste’s under-surveyed marine biodiversity and habitats to generate scientific data to support Timor-Leste’s marine spatial planning and biodiversity conservation priorities.
- Using OceanXplorer‘s submersibles and remotely operated vehicle, scientists will explore and document marine environments up to a potential depth of 3,500 m, subject to operational conditions.
