MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)

New video alert! Meet the engineering team behind one of MBARI’s new underwater imaging systems 🤖 🔧

16 hours ago (edited) | [YT] | 46

MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)

New technology reveals the hidden world of marine snow 🌊❄️🔬

The ocean and its inhabitants remove carbon from the atmosphere, playing a key role in regulating Earth’s climate. A big part of the ocean’s carbon calculus still remains a mystery: How much carbon do sinking bits of organic material lock away in the deep sea?

MBARI’s new SINKER imaging system provides real-time observations of the tiny particles of marine snow that drive carbon storage in the deep sea. Equipped with advanced microscopes and cameras, this innovative imaging system will help scientists better understand the ecological and biological processes that help carbon sink to the deep sea and fill critical gaps in our understanding of Earth’s carbon cycle.

Learn more: www.mbari.org/news/new-mbari-technology-reveals-oc…

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6 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 273

MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)

Returning to the Arctic ❄️

For more than two decades, MBARI scientists and engineers have been part of an international team working to answer questions about the processes that shape the seafloor in the Arctic.

Last month, researchers from MBARI’s Continental Margin Processes Team, Seafloor Mapping Lab, CoMPAS Lab, and Seafloor Processes Team participated in a 30-day leg aboard the ice-breaking research vessel Araon with longtime collaborators from the Korea Polar Research Institute and the Geological Survey of Canada.

This year’s expedition enlisted a diverse array of MBARI technologies to better understand the dynamics of underwater permafrost formation and decomposition in the Canadian Beaufort Sea. Our research is gathering information that will help communities, resource managers, and policymakers make decisions about underwater infrastructure in this region.

Learn more: www.mbari.org/news/mbaris-advanced-technology-play…

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1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 287

MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)

Monitoring our changing ocean 🌡️

The ocean and its inhabitants play an important role in cycling carbon and regulating Earth’s climate. Understanding how rising temperatures impact the ocean’s ability to lock away carbon is critical to modeling our changing climate.

A new study from researchers at MBARI and the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, with an interdisciplinary team of collaborators from the Hakai Institute, Xiamen University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Southern Denmark, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, aimed to understand the impacts of marine heatwaves on the foundation of the ocean food web.

Pairing data from robotic floats deployed as part of the Global Ocean Biogeochemical Array with eDNA samples from plankton surveys, the team found that marine heatwaves can reshape ocean food webs, which in turn can slow the transport of carbon to the deep sea and hamper the ocean’s ability to buffer against climate change.

With climate change contributing to more frequent and intense marine heatwaves, this work underscores the need for sustained, long-term ocean monitoring of our ocean to understand and predict how future marine heatwaves will impact ecosystems, fisheries, and climate. The GO-BGC project, led by MBARI and funded by the US National Science Foundation, is a critical part of this effort, with a global network of floats monitoring ocean health with data publicly available for scientific research.

Learn more: www.mbari.org/news/marine-heatwaves-have-hidden-im…

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4 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 254

MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)

Microbes are tiny but mighty organisms that play an essential role in ecosystem function across our planet. Now, these invisible communities finally have a seat at the global conservation table. 🌍🦠

The new IUCN Microbial Conservation Specialist Group seeks to elevate microbial perspectives within global conservation and policy. They will also develop a microorganism-specific Red List, a globally recognized system for classifying species at high risk of extinction.

MBARI President and CEO Antje Boetius, whose expertise has provided vital insight into the impacts of climate change on marine microbial communities, is a part of the working group. By combining voices from across the world, including Indigenous knowledge experts, early-career scientists, and researchers from regions often overlooked, the group will build better criteria and tools to identify and protect threatened microbial ecosystems.

Read more: scripps.ucsd.edu/news/new-species-survival-commiss…

1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 279

MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)

Some of our favorite snailfish sightings to celebrate our most recent video!

Most snailfishes (family Liparidae) live near the seafloor, riding the currents that sweep along the bottom. A hungry snailfish may swim against the currents to hover above the seafloor while searching for snacks buried in the mud. In some species, frilled fins probe the seafloor for hidden morsels of food.

Snailfishes make their homes in a variety of ocean habitats, from shallow tide pools to deep-sea trenches. In fact, a snailfish holds the record for the deepest-dwelling fish.

Scientists have described more than 450 different species of snailfish worldwide. Snailfishes have a large head, a jelly-like body covered in loose skin, and a narrow tail. Many have fins on their belly modified into a disk that can hold on tight to rocks, seaweed, or even larger animals like deep-sea crabs for shelter. Most are small and feed on tiny invertebrates.

Our observations have revealed the mysterious lives of deep-sea snailfishes. MBARI’s work helps resource managers and policymakers understand how threats like climate change, mining, and pollution affect deep-sea animals and ecosystems. What we learn can help guide their decision-making about the future of the ocean.

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1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 655

MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)

Did you see the newest (and cutest) addition to the snailfish family? 🐟

MBARI collaborators at SUNY Geneseo, with scientists from the University of Montana and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, have described three new deep-sea snailfishes, including one first discovered using MBARI’s remotely operated vehicle Doc Ricketts.

Snailfishes make their homes in a variety of ocean habitats—from shallow tide pools to deep-sea trenches. The newly described bumpy snailfish (Careproctus colliculi), observed in the depths of Monterey Canyon nearly 3,300 meters (10,800 feet) underwater, has a distinctive pink color and a bumpy texture.

MBARI’s technology is helping researchers document deep-sea biodiversity, and our collaborations with expert taxonomists around the world are helping to advance the discovery of life in the largest living space on Earth. What we’ve learned can help resource managers and policymakers make informed decisions about the future of the ocean to safeguard marine life and environments from threats like climate change and mining.

Learn more: www.mbari.org/news/mbaris-advanced-underwater-tech…

1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 477

MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)

Using robots and AI to unlock the secrets of a remote ocean 🌊🤖🌊

Robotic floats outfitted with advanced sensors developed at MBARI collect robust data on oceanographic conditions in the Southern Ocean. Applying machine learning algorithms to this trove of data has improved estimates of ocean productivity and carbon export in the Southern Ocean.

A new study led by MBARI Postdoctoral Fellow Guillaume Liniger, in collaboration with the University of Washington Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies (CICOES) and the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling (SOCCOM) project, has revealed that this remote region may absorb more carbon than previously estimated.

The Southern Ocean plays an important role in global climate and carbon cycling. Understanding carbon export in this region is critical for modeling Earth’s changing climate and evaluating potential ocean-based climate interventions. Using innovative technologies from state-of-the-art research vessels to advanced AI, MBARI researchers are working to explore the integral role of the ocean in Earth's carbon cycle and climate.

Learn more: www.mbari.org/news/new-ai-approach-sharpens-pictur…

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2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 241

MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)

MBARI researchers last encountered the giant phantom jelly (Stygiomedusa gigantea) in November 2021 during a dive in Monterey Bay. While exploring the midnight zone, this ghostly giant emerged from the darkness. The bell of this jelly reaches more than one meter (3.3 feet) across and trails four ribbon-like oral (or mouth) arms that can grow more than 10 meters (33 feet) long.

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2 months ago | [YT] | 1,472

MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)

First mission in the books ✅

MBARI’s flagship research vessel David Packard has returned home to Moss Landing from a successful expedition to map the deep seafloor of the coast of Oregon. This 17-day expedition was the ship’s first science and engineering mission since its arrival at MBARI’s headquarters in March.

The David Packard is outfitted with several state-of-the-art systems for studying the ocean, including an advanced multibeam echosounder that can visualize the deep seafloor in remarkable detail. During the expedition, MBARI researchers produced a high-resolution map of Oregon’s Rogue Canyon system—an undersea landscape in the Cascadia Subduction Zone that holds vital clues to predicting future earthquakes and tsunamis.

MBARI engineers and marine operations crew will continue to adapt, test, and fine-tune the ship’s systems to meet MBARI’s unique needs, and we look forward to more science missions in the coming months.

🔗 Read the full story: www.mbari.org/news/mbaris-new-flagship-research-ve…

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2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 269