NOAA to map mineral-rich seafloor off American Samoa
NOAA’s National Ocean Service has announced a new hydrographic survey project to map and characterize more than 30,000 square nautical miles of federal waters off American Samoa. This initiative is part of a broader effort to implement a national plan for mapping offshore critical minerals, aiming to support domestic supply chains and sustainable resource management.
The project underscores NOAA’s commitment to advancing economic resilience through research that promotes sustainable deep-sea mining practices and enhances understanding of marine environments.
NOAA contractor NV5, a hydrographic and geospatial survey services vendor, is due to commence survey work in February 2026. NOAA has allocated approximately USD20 million from fiscal year 2025 funding to produce publicly accessible maps, images and samples of the marine environment off the coast of American Samoa. These resources will provide valuable information to NOAA, other federal agencies and stakeholders regarding critical mineral deposits and the potential of the surveyed area. The effort will generate high-quality, transparent deep-ocean data, increasing baseline knowledge of the region’s deep-ocean environment and encouraging further exploration, research and management activities, including those related to deep-sea minerals.
