Tiny microbes play a big role in the open ocean, powering oxygen production and the ocean’s biogeochemical cycling. Studying the physical and biological processes that affect microbial populations is challenging in such a dynamic and variable environment far offshore. 

A team of researchers from MBARI, the University of Montana, and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa recently shared how autonomous robots can provide scientists new means for unveiling microbial activity in remote areas. Their new study in Nature Communications reveals how microbial communities and ocean biogeochemistry vary over daily cycles in response to physical and chemical ocean processes.

MBARI’s long-range autonomous underwater vehicle (LRAUV) is a powerful and versatile tool for ocean science. Equipped with advanced instruments and intelligent algorithms, an LRAUV can detect and follow temperature and salinity fronts, as well as phytoplankton blooms. When outfitted with MBARI’s Environmental Sample Processor, the vehicle can collect samples for advanced genomics analyses, revealing the metabolic activity of microbes over time as they drift through the sea.

During a 2018 expedition led by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, researchers deployed two LRAUVs to autonomously track and sample deep phytoplankton blooms in the productive, twilight waters of cyclonic eddies offshore of the northern Hawaiian islands. MBARI technology gave researchers an unprecedented view of gene expression and biogeochemistry over hourly to weekly time scales.

Autonomous robots can operate continuously across vast and remote regions, helping scientists uncover previously hidden patterns and processes to better understand the role of marine life in Earth’s climate system. MBARI technology is transforming our ability to monitor ocean health, moving from sporadic snapshots of marine life and processes to a persistent presence in the ocean.