Tracy Wurth and Antonette Gutierrez from NOAA Fisheries conduct atoll counts to get a “snapshot” of the monk seal population at Kure Atoll.
Photo: Patricia Greene

 

A close up of the kahala, with the black line visible.
Photo: Paulo Maurin

 

A “sunbow,” a rainbow without the rain, was the show of the night. Note the large arc of light around the sun.
Photo: Paulo Maurin

 

At the end of the sunset, the last part of the sunset became a single ray of light shining straight up from the sun.
Photo: Paulo Maurin

 

A bathymetry map showing a 15-meter drop off from several angles. Colors indicate relative depth. Photo: NOAA Fisheries Coral Reef Ecosystem Division

 

Looking out a window at 45 meters (150 feet) underwater, everything inside the submarine turns blue.
Photo: Paulo Maurin

 

A recently completed bathymetry map superimposed with satellite imagery of Kure atoll. Red indicates lowest depth, and blue deepest. Satellite image has white around edge indicating the exposed reef ring.
Photo: NOAA Fisheries Coral Reef Ecosystem Division

 

The research vessel Ahi operating in Kure atoll. Note the AC cabin to operate the computer equipment required for the sonar.
Photo: Claire Johnson/NOAA

 

A NOAA ship using the sonar system. Photo: NOAA

 

Large metal structures, showing the inside of the bottom hull section of the ship.
Photo: Paulo Maurin

 

Another large section of the Dunnottar Castle, now home to a lively marine ecosystem.
Photo: Paulo Maurin

 

Standing upright on one of its flukes, the anchor of the Dunnottar Castle seems to have been carefully positioned on the seafloor. Photo: Paolo Maurin.

Dolphins from the large Kure Atoll pod.
Photo: Paulo Maurin

A diver armed with a camera is towed from a boat, obtaining many pictures that will be used to groundtruth mapping data. Credit: NOAA Fisheries Coral Reef Ecosystem Division

 

A backscatter map, indicating substrate characteristics. Dark areas represent a harder seafloor, while lighter areas are indicative of a soft, sandy bottom. Credit: NOAA Fisheries Coral Reef Ecosystem Division

A map integrating backscatter map with bathymetry, showing the seafloor in rich detail.
Credit: NOAA Fisheries Coral Reef Ecosystem Division

Backscatter showing on top, each of the blue dots shown across represent points were image data was taken to ground-truth the backscatter map. Red dots have the image showing below it, and the topography profile at the bottom. Note how images show first a mix of hard and soft substrate, a sandy bottom, and a hard substrate, each shown on backscatter as gray, light, and dark areas, respectively.
Credit: NOAA Fisheries Coral Reef Ecosystem Division

Old fishing nets get piled up on the pier on Green Island at Kure Atoll waiting for the marine debris crew to pick up.
Photo: Patricia Greene

An old Coast Guard anchor sits deep within the Verbesina, a bright yellow flowering plant in the sunflower family that is an exotic, invasive plant on many of the atolls. Photo: Patricia Greene

 

The remoteness of the area does not protect the islands from the prevailing ocean currents and man’s trash.
Photo: Patricia Greene.