Explore the Blue: 360° Cordell Bank Adventure

This is just the first product of a years-long project by NOAA’s Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary staff to bring the Sanctuary to the public. Getting public awareness and engagement is challenging due to the remoteness, offshore conditions, and no terrestrial platform to view Cordell Bank. Last year, Lee Oceans Foundation, BAUE – Bay Area Underwater Explorers with support from Cordell Marine Sanctuary Foundation and NOAA, obtained 360-degree video footage that was used to create this immersive experience right from your computer! This is just the beginning. The next phase will be to create a truly immersive virtual reality experience, so stay tuned. In the meantime, you can take a virtual dive on Cordell Bank with the BAUE divers and see for yourself what makes Cordell Bank worthy of our support to learn, educate, and protect all we can of this unique ocean oasis. In addition to watching the video, NOAA has lesson plans available for this video here.