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John Reed, co-principal investigator, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, points to the Oculina Banks, a marine protected area, 20 miles offshore of the east coast of Florida. A team of scientists will deploy an underwater robot, a seafloor sampler, and the Passive Acoustic Monitoring System (PAMS), on an undersea expedition to characterize the condition of the deep-sea coral reefs and reef fish populations in the Oculina Banks. The PAMS was originally developed by NASA to monitor the impact of rocket launches on wildlife refuge lagoons at KSC. The research is sponsored by NOAA Fisheries and will take place onboard the Liberty Star. The ship departed from Port Canaveral April 29 and will return May 9.