"The answer to the greatest question of life, the universe, and everything is...42." #towelday 🛸💫 ⠀ Gelatinous deep-sea animals often have parasites. This lobate ctenophore (comb jelly) has a hitchhiking, parasitic amphipod living on it. These little amphipods live on, feed on and even brood their young on the jellies. ⠀ ⠀ #hitchhikersguide #hitchhiker #parasite #deepsealife #isopod #jellyfish #deepseajellyfish #deepsea #ocean #oceanlife #sealife #midwater #pelagic #plankton #mesopelagic #MBARI #underwaterphotography #marinebiology⠀ ⠀

Given the urgent threat of climate change, the development of clean energy alternatives is essential. Surveying the stability of the seafloor is critical for possible installation of offshore wind farms. The robotic tools MBARI has developed, like our autonomous underwater vehicles (pictured aboved), are well-suited for documenting the present environmental conditions and providing high-resolution information about dynamic processes that might threaten the wind farm installation. Data gathered with these tools will help assure that the design is engineered appropriately to account for the character of the seafloor in this area. This project helps provide the necessary science data for policy makers to determine if an area is safe for an offshore wind farm. 🌬 ⠀ #AUV #robots #windfarm #cleanenergy #mapping #seafloormapping #MBARI #deepseatechnology