Today marks the 75^th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. To commemorate the anniversary of this historic event, NOAA is diving live on the wrecks of two Japanese mini submarines, the first of which was sunk by the USS Ward prior to the attack.

The dives are being livestreamed by a team of maritime archaeologists and scientists from NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. A remotely operated vehicle deployed off of the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer will send back images of the wreck site. The livestream begins at 6:30 a.m. HST (8:30 a.m. PST, 11:30 a.m. EST) at http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/
media/exstream/exstream.html. This is the first time the public will be able to view live underwater exploration of the submarines in real time.

James Delgado, director of maritime heritage, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and Frank Cantelas, marine archaeologist, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research are on board, describing the exploration.

"Until now, only a handful of explorers and scientists have seen these relics of the war in the deep sea," notes James Delgado, director of maritime heritage at the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. “But thanks to technology, anyone and everyone can now dive with us in the first live exploration of the 'midget' submarines that represent the beginning of the war in the Pacific."

On the morning of December 7, 1941, U.S. naval vessels and aircraft on patrol outside Pearl Harbor spotted a partially submerged submarine trying to enter the harbor, but alerts were not immediately sent. Ninety minutes before Pearl Harbor was bombed by air, the destroyer USS Ward fired on the mini submarine, sinking the sub. The event marks the first U.S. shots fired and the country's entry into World War II in the Pacific. The NOAA team will dive on the wreck of this submarine.

The second submarine to be explored during the dive disappeared on the morning of December 7, 1941. It was discovered in shallow waters in 1951, raised by the U.S. Navy, and taken out to sea to be dumped in deeper water. In 1992, the University of Hawaiʻi's Undersea Research Laboratory rediscovered it. It has been periodically visited by the university's submersibles, the last time in 2013. 

This blog is a part of a monthly series highlighting the contributions of the Commerce Department’s agencies to the Open for Business Agenda. This month’s focus is Environment.