Why Mapping Matters
Emil Petruncio
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Emil's Early Years
Emil grew up exploring the natural wonders of a small creek in southern New Jersey, and later Chesapeake Bay on the East Coast of the United States. Family vacations to the Jersey shore during his youth inspired his curiosity for oceanography, and thanks to his persistence and the encouragement of some of his teachers, he decided to pursue this as a career.
Image: Emil leads remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operations in the control van on the NA134 expedition to Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.
Credit left image: OET
Credit right image: GMRT
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Life at Sea
Emil obtained an undergraduate degree in oceanography at the US Naval Academy, after which he served in the US Navy for over three decades. When he began his work, there were no digital seafloor maps. Instead, navigators used paper-based maps and charts of the seafloor to plan out their operations. During his time with the Navy, Emil also used deep sea bathymetric charts as he supported the development of the first ever digital nautical charts for submarine navigation.
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Graduate School
Emil pursued a Masters Degree in Meteorology and Physical Oceanography and a PhD in Physical Oceanography at the Naval Postgraduate School. During this time, Emil had the opportunity to increase his understanding of the seafloor and the complex ocean currents that form at the surface, in the mid layers of the water column, and on the bottom. High resolution maps of the Monterey Bay Submarine Canyon became a key tool for his research determining how underwater geological features, such as mountains, ridges, and canyons, impacted the flow of ocean water. Emil used these maps to identify sampling areas where certain underwater currents and waves might be developing in the canyon. This work went on to inform his work creating models of water flow in the region.
Image credit: GMRT
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Powerful Models
At first glance, the image on the right may look like a lion fish, but it is actually a representation of internal tidal flow in the region surrounding the Hawaiian Archipelago.
Accurate models of water flow depend on accurate maps of the seafloor. Models of water flow are critical for navigation, ecology, and energy flow related to climate change. Internal waves in the ocean are major factors in the mixing of water layers, which have huge impacts on nutrient and heat content of water. Nutrient content in near-surface waters determines phytoplankton growth, and energy flow determines how much thermal energy the seawater will be able to absorb. This is so important that NASA has begun studying this in depth .
Image credit: NASA
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Nine Years and Counting on Nautilus
Emil's decades of experience led to his inclusion as a member of the OET Corps of Exploration since 2013, with expeditions spanning the Pacific, from the Cascadia Margin in Northwestern US to the Galapagos and Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. When on board, he often works as a watch lead during ROV dives, collaborating with a team of scientists, navigators, mappers and ROV pilots to ensure mission success.
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Exploring Cascadia Margin
"The Cascadia Margin is such an interesting area. Seafloor maps there reveal the ridges of sediment which are being scraped off of the Juan de Fuca plate as it subsides beneath the North American plate. Those sediment ridges harbor methane hydrate deposits, which we were able to locate by observing methane plumes in the water column data of our multibeam sonar."
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Learning from the Past
The discovery of caves along the prehistoric coastline of California has helped scientists gain a greater understanding of the pace of previous climate change events.
Image credit (left): GMRT
Image credit (right): OET
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Personal Favorites
Having explored so many places in his career, Emil shared a few of his favorite sea floor locations:
"Monterey Submarine Canyon will always be a favorite, and having explored the Galapagos Rift and the hydrothermal vent communities there, that spreading center and the nearby Galapagos Islands are now a favorite. I also find the coastline of Chesapeake Bay, with the many small tributaries feeding the Bay, to be fascinating... the watershed consists of over 100,000 streams and rivers."
Image credit (left): OET
Image credit (right): GMRT
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Using Maps for Conservation
Emil highlights that he would like to see more deep sea mapping in the US Exclusive Economic Zone, particularly in protected areas, which will facilitate further explorations with ROVs. This allows for habitat assessment and analysis of various biological communities. These analyses will inform management practices in these areas and drive decision-making regarding the potential establishment of new or expanded protections. In recent seasons Nautilus has collaborated with a number of agencies to explore unique geological structures in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM).
Image credit: GEBCO Seabed 2030
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Why Mapping Matters to Emil?
At first, maps mattered to Emil in his Navy career because of the need for safe submarine navigation. Later, his work shifted towards modeling complex currents in the ocean. Accurate models of ocean currents require accurate maps. These models help scientists understand nutrient and heat flows in the ocean, which in turn increase our understanding of biological communities and climate change. Stay connected with NautilusLive.org to see where Emil explores next !