Earlier this month, engineers from MBARI’s CoMPAS Lab and LRAUV Team participated in the 2026 IEEE OES AUV Symposium (AUV2026), sharing new developments from their work in autonomous robotics with peers in the ocean engineering community.

Last month, MBARI researchers participated in an expedition to deploy advanced imaging systems to study marine snow and ocean carbon transport in the Gulf of Guinea. Part of the Ocean Margins Initiative, this fieldwork is helping to reveal the oceanographic processes in a productive and economically important ecosystem.

From stationary cameras and moorings to drifting instrument arrays and autonomous robots, the expedition team will deploy diverse tools to get a comprehensive picture of ocean carbon transport.

During a recent expedition to study seamounts offshore of Central California, MBARI scientists and NOAA collaborators encountered the rarely seen deep-sea bigfin squid (Magnapinna sp.). This exciting encounter was only MBARI’s second sighting of Magnapinna and the first confirmed live observation of this remarkable squid in the Northeastern Pacific Ocean.

Last month, MBARI President and CEO Antje Boetius joined global thought leaders, entrepreneurs, scholars, and experts for a roundtable discussion about ocean science and climate at the Thomas Mann House Los Angeles, highlighting the role of science in society and policy.

MBARI biological oceanographer John Ryan shares how a team of researchers used bio-logging tags and satellite data to learn how blue whales find dense swarms of krill.

This week, MBARI welcomed experts from a wide range of scientific disciplines to discuss the latest research on ctenophores, also known as comb jellies. The Ctenopalooza Ctwo workshop helped foster new collaborations aimed at advancing an integrative understanding of ctenophore biology.

Last month, MBARI hosted the 2026 EARTH workshop, welcoming 25 educators to our research facilities to learn how ocean science, engineering, and data can provide a foundation for classroom lesson plans.

A new imaging system inspired by the deep-sea anglerfish helps the team visualize particle flow around corals.

The Bioinspiration Lab embarks on our first expedition aboard MBARI’s new flagship vessel with a suite of imaging technologies to understand the morphology and movement of deep-sea animals.

This summer, MBARI welcomed students and early-career scientists from The Lawrence Hall of Science, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Minorities in Shark Sciences to our research facilities to hear firsthand from our team about career opportunities in ocean exploration.

MBARI interns participate in hands-on ocean research, experiencing careers in marine science, engineering, and education firsthand and helping transform ocean exploration.

R/V David Packard returns to Moss Landing with a lighter deck and a huge trove of data about the ecology of Davidson Seamount.

Deep-sea work at the Octopus Garden explores the reproductive biology of pearl octopus and their place in the broader ecosystem.

Work at Davidson Seamount investigates mysterious furrows in the seafloor and their possible connection to foraging beaked whales.

Internship programs at MBARI and the California Academy of Sciences provide undergraduate students with hands-on research experience. Last month, MBARI hosted the Academy’s research interns to learn about ocean science and engineering careers, then MBARI summer interns visited the Academy’s research facilities and museum to explore opportunities in museum-based research.

The Seamount Hotspots expedition continues a long history of collaboration between MBARI and NOAA.

Innovative technologies will help scientists collect detailed data about deep-sea corals and monitor life at Sur Ridge long after this expedition ends.

Planning for this ambitious expedition has been underway for more than a year, as diverse teams assembled the supplies and technology.

This month, researchers from MBARI’s Seafloor Mapping Lab completed a 10-day expedition on the research vessel David Packard to conduct high-resolution mapping surveys with the remotely operated vehicle Doc Ricketts in Monterey Canyon and a deep-sea octopus nursery near Davidson Seamount. The expedition included the 1,500th dive for Doc Ricketts.