# Ocean Exploration (11.011)

Source: https://welltoldgrants.com/programs/11-011-ocean-exploration/  
Publisher: Well Told Grants. Data: USAspending.gov and Grants.gov, updated November 7, 2026.

Ocean Exploration is run by Department of Commerce. From fiscal 2021 to 2025 it awarded $34.1 million in 35 grants, about $974,967 per award.

## Objectives

To explore the Earth’s largely unknown oceans in all their dimensions for the purpose of discovery and the advancement of knowledge, using state of the art technologies in evolutionary and revolutionary ways within Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR).

## Funding by fiscal year

| Year | Amount | Awards |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $9.7 million | 12 |
| 2022 | $11.1 million | 14 |
| 2023 | $10.1 million | 11 |
| 2024 | $2.6 million | 5 |
| 2025 | $550,000 | 1 |

## Largest recipients

| Recipient | State | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| The Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration, Inc | Connecticut | $17.4 million |
| National Marine Sanctuary Foundation | Maryland | $2.6 million |
| University of Washington | Washington | $2.2 million |
| University of California San Diego | California | $1.3 million |
| Oregon State University | Oregon | $883,898 |
| Florida Atlantic University | Florida | $750,000 |
| Integral Consulting Inc. | Colorado | $749,787 |
| Sunfish Inc | Texas | $746,671 |
| University of Alaska Fairbanks | Alaska | $739,660 |
| Regents of the University of Michigan | Michigan | $732,471 |
| Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute | California | $715,490 |
| East Carolina University | North Carolina | $707,330 |
| University of Miami | Florida | $669,934 |
| Smithsonian Institution | District of Columbia | $575,121 |
| Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution | Massachusetts | $503,931 |
| University of Florida | Florida | $460,455 |
| Florida State University | Florida | $415,393 |
| Ships of Exploration & Discovery Research | New Mexico | $397,763 |
| The Rockefeller University | New York | $377,875 |
| Carnegie-Mellon University | Pennsylvania | $374,145 |