After decades of research and a year of pushing for its protection, a Connecticut-sized seascape of underwater canyons and mountains is slated to become the first Marine National Monument in the Atlantic Ocean.

According to press releases from the Mystic Aquarium and Pew Charitable Trust, President Obama is expected to designate the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument Thursday. The protected area is located on the southern edge of Georges Bank, about 150 miles south of Cape Cod.

The aquarium is one of 12 organizations in the Protect New England's Ocean Treasures Coalition, which pushed for the designation. Mystic senior research scientist Peter Auster worked extensively with New England Aquarium researcher Scott Kraus and other scientists to make the case for the vibrant marine habitat.

"As a scientist I certainly look forward to all that we will learn from this area, protected in perpituity, but the President's action today is so much more than that," Auster said in the release. "It is a gift to the American people, to all of humanity. This ocean wilderness and all of the wildlife it contains will inspire young and old with the wonders of the sea, of the deep sea regions of the Earth, for current and future generations to come."

The monument's submerged volcanoes and canyons are home to a high concentration of marine animals including sea turtles, corals, whales and unusual deep sea creatures like bioluminescent jellies.

Mystic Aquarium President and CEO Stephen Coan praised the president's decision and Connecticut's role in leading the campaign.

"This is a vital frontier for scientific exploration, with expeditions revealing more each year," Coan said in the release. "It's designation as a Marine National Monument gives our children and grandchildren the opportunity to continue to study and learn from this truly spectacular living laboratory for generations to come."

The campaign to get the monument designation was supported by the state's congressional delegation and several environmental groups. However, it also faced opposition from commercial fishing organizations, which claimed it would hurt an already stressed local fishing industry and circumvent the public input process for fishing regulations.

In August, President Obama also expanded the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument off the northwest coast of Hawaii. The size of the monument more than quadrupled with the expansion to become the largest protected area on Earth at 582,578 square miles.