The MBARI 2017 Annual Report has been released in digital format, providing an online, multimedia view of the institute’s ever-more sophisticated underwater robots, newly discovered deep-sea animals, and research expeditions around the globe.

Instead of a traditional printed report, MBARI’s Web and Print Project Manager Nancy Barr and her team developed a website filled with dramatic photographs, maps, slide shows, and video clips. Over a dozen articles highlight projects ranging from long-term studies of deep-sea food webs to a robot that can map the submerged portions of icebergs.

The report features in-depth articles about recent and ongoing MBARI research projects, as well as previews of some exciting collaborative projects that will extend MBARI’s technological and geographic reach in the coming year. As in years past, a “Weird and Wonderful” section includes photos, video, and stories about intriguing and unusual animals and other natural phenomena that MBARI researchers have documented during their deep-sea dives.

The newly released report also includes an interactive map that shows where MBARI researchers worked around the world in 2017. These international efforts include research on ocean chemistry off the coast of Peru and the design and deployment of dozens of oceanographic floats in the turbulent waters of the Southern Ocean.

Barr noted that placing the entire report online allows users to search, share, or link to individual articles on specific research projects that interest them. A brief summary of the annual report has also been printed, but all the full stories are online. By printing smaller summary books this year—and fewer of them—the project resulted in a substantial saving in paper usage.

The 2017 annual report is a must-read for anyone interested in underwater robotics, deep-sea habitats, and cutting-edge approaches to studying and protecting the ocean.

See the full report

Article by Kim Fulton-Bennett

For additional information or images relating to this article, please contact: Kim Fulton-Bennett
831-775-1835, kfb@mbari.org