Local Teacher Selected to Join Deep Ocean Exploration Mission Aboard the Exploration Vessel Nautilus

(Clarksville, TN) —  Devon Avrigian Jones, a 6th grade Science Instructor from Kirkwood Middle School, has been selected as a 2024 Lead Science Communication Fellow (SCF) and will sail aboard Ocean Exploration Trust’s Exploration Vessel (E/V) Nautilus. Devon will join the team aboard E/V Nautilus for a 26 day expedition in September and into October as they explore and map the seafloor around Howland and Baker Islands in the Pacific Ocean.  This expedition will use the mapping capabilities of E/V& Nautilus& to acquire high-resolution bathymetry in areas where no or little mapping data exists. Crossing the International Date Line, the team will prioritize seamounts, guyots, ridges, and margins around atolls and islands, supporting priorities of Seabed 2030 and the& US National Strategy for Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization. This expedition begins in Pago Pago, American Samoa, and concludes in Koror, Palau.& Devon originally sailed as a Science Communication Fellow during the 2023 Ocean Exploration through Advanced Imaging (NA156) in Hawaiian waters. This year, she is joining& the 2024 Nautilus Exploration Program expedition& as a lead expedition communicator. Returning Corps of Exploration members, Lead Science Communication Fellows, serve as mentors to the 2024 first-time SCF cohort and are key advisors to the...