(a) In general

In carrying out the program authorized by section 3402 of this title, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in consultation with the Ocean Policy Committee established under section 8932 of title 10, shall—

(1) conduct interdisciplinary expeditions or other scientific activities in conjunction with other Federal and State agencies, Tribal Governments, private industry, academia (including secondary schools, community colleges, and universities), and nongovernmental organizations, to map, explore, and characterize little known areas of the marine environment, inventory, observe, characterize, and assess living and nonliving marine resources, and report such findings;

(2) give priority attention to deep ocean regions of the exclusive economic zone, with a focus on deep water marine systems that hold potential for important scientific discoveries, such as hydrothermal vent communities and seamounts;

(3) conduct scientific expeditions to locate, define, and document historic shipwrecks, submerged sites, and other ocean exploration activities that combine archaeology and oceanographic sciences;

(4) develop and implement a transparent, competitive process for merit-based peer-review and approval of proposals for activities to be conducted under this program, taking into consideration advice of the Board established under section 3405 of this title;

(5) support technological innovation of the United States marine science community by promoting the development and use of new and emerging technologies for research, communication, navigation, and data collection, such as sensors and autonomous vehicles;

(6) establish an ocean exploration forum, in consultation with the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council established under section 5405 ¹ of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, to encourage partnerships and promote communication among experts and other stakeholders in order to enhance the scientific and technical expertise and relevance of the national program.²

(7) provide guidance, in consultation with the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council, to Federal and State agencies, Tribal Governments, private industry, academia (including secondary schools, community colleges, and universities), and nongovernmental organizations on data standards, protocols for accepting data, and coordination of data collection, compilation, processing, archiving, and dissemination for data relating to ocean exploration and characterization; and

(8) coordinate with applicable ocean mapping, ocean monitoring, and ocean observation programs to maximize coordination and collaboration opportunities, prevent duplication of such activities and identify gaps in data.

(b) Donations

For the purpose of mapping, exploring, and characterizing the oceans or increasing the knowledge of the oceans, the Administrator may—

(1) accept monetary donations, which shall be credited as discretionary offsetting collections to the currently applicable appropriation, account, or fund of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and shall be made available for such purposes only to the extent and in the amounts provided in advance in appropriations Acts;

(2) accept donations of property, data, and equipment; and

(3) pay all necessary expenses in connection with the conveyance or transfer of a gift, devise, or bequest.

(c) Definition of exclusive economic zone

In this section, the term “exclusive economic zone” means the zone established by Presidential Proclamation Number 5030, dated March 10, 1983 (16 U.S.C. 1453 note).