New study highlights major step forward in monitoring ocean health
May 18, 2022 – Autonomous underwater robots carrying MBARI technology use eDNA to survey biodiversity.
Press release
Mapping reveals rapid changes to the Arctic seafloor as ancient submerged permafrost thaws
March 14, 2022 – Repeated mapping of the Arctic seabed finds rapid changes to seafloor terrain from the degradation of submarine permafrost.
Researchers recover ancient mammoth tusk during deep-sea expedition
November 22, 2021 – During an expedition this summer, MBARI recovered the ancient tusk of a mammoth for further study.
Autonomous robotic rover helps scientists with long-term monitoring of deep-sea carbon cycle and climate change
November 3, 2021 – A robotic rover has provided long-term data about deep-sea carbon cycling and climate change.
MBARI shares trove of acoustic data on the Amazon Web Services cloud
October 11, 2021 – MBARI makes its extensive archive of acoustic data accessible to researchers around the world via the Amazon Web Services cloud.
Robotic floats provide new look at ocean health and global carbon cycle
August 16, 2021 – MBARI researchers demonstrated how a fleet of robotic floats can revolutionize our understanding of ocean primary productivity.
MBARI to livestream expedition to deep-sea coral and sponge gardens off Big Sur coast
June 15, 2021 – On Wednesday, June 30, at 11:00 a.m. (Pacific), MBARI will livestream its expedition to deep-sea coral and sponge gardens off Big Sur coast.
MBARI announces construction of new state-of-the-art research ship, R/V David Packard
April 20, 2021 – MBARI is embarking on a new chapter in its ocean research with the construction of a state-of-the-art ship named in honor of MBARI’s founder.
Risso’s dolphins balance holding their breath and finding food
December 12, 2019 – Using advanced echosounders, MBARI researchers are measuring the distribution, abundance, type, size, and movement of predators and their prey in the deep sea.
Tracking down the whale-shark highway
Aug 30, 2017 – MBARI oceanographer John Ryan and his colleagues discovered that whale sharks swim across the Eastern Tropical Pacific following fronts—dynamic boundaries between warm and cold ocean waters.
Larvaceans provide a pathway for transporting microplastics into deep-sea food webs
Aug 16, 2017 – A new paper by MBARI researchers shows that filter-feeding animals called giant larvaceans can collect and consume microplastic particles, potentially carrying microplastics to the deep seafloor.
New study challenges prevailing theory about how deep-sea vents are colonized
Jul 24, 2017 – Despite their close proximity, two recently discovered hydrothermal vent fields in the Gulf of California host very different animal communities. This finding contradicts a common scientific assumption that neighboring vents will share similar animal communities.
Undersea robot reveals “schools” of animals in deep scattering layers
Jul 10, 2017 – Throughout the world ocean, animals congregate at certain depths. A new paper in Limnology and Oceanography shows that, rather than consisting of a random mixture of animals, these deep-scattering layers contain discrete groups of squids, fishes, and crustaceans.
What caused the most toxic algal bloom ever observed in Monterey Bay?
Jun 5, 2017 – In the spring of 2015, Monterey Bay experienced one of the most toxic algal blooms ever. A new paper shows that this bloom became particularly toxic because of an unusually low ratio of silicate to nitrate in Bay Waters.
Lasers shed light on the inner workings of the giant larvacean
May 3, 2017 – New laser technology is allowing MBARI scientists to look into the structure of giant larvaceans–tadpole-like marine animals that are important players in ocean ecosystems.
New study shows that three quarters of deep-sea animals make their own light
Apr 10, 2017 – In the first quantitative analysis of deep-sea bioluminescence, MBARI researchers Séverine Martini and Steve Haddock show that three quarters of the animals in Monterey Bay from the surface down to 4,000 meters deep can produce their own light.
MBARI’s seafloor maps provide new information about 2015 eruption at Axial Seamount
Dec 15, 2016 – Axial Seamount, a large underwater volcano off of the Oregon coast, is one of the most active volcanoes in the world, having last erupted in 2015. At the Fall 2016 meeting of the American Geophysical Union, MBARI researchers unveiled a new seafloor map that reveals previously undocumented lava flows from the 2015 eruption.
US government approves $11 million grant for “eyes on the ocean” off Central and Northern California
Nov 30, 2016 – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently approved a five-year, $11 million grant to the Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS). On December 5-6, 2016, CeNCOOS will hold its annual meeting to discuss recent discoveries and future plans for monitoring the coast using funds from their new federal grant.
Researchers design new camera tag for white sharks
Jun 29, 2016 – Each winter, large white sharks leave the California coast and swim halfway to Hawaii, congregating in an area known as the “White Shark Café.” By attaching a miniature video camera tag to a white shark’s fin, researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) hope to collect video footage that shows—for the first time ever—exactly what the sharks are doing out there.
Underwater microphone provides tantalizing new perspective on Monterey Bay
Feb 18, 2016 – Researchers at MBARI have learned a lot about Monterey Bay using robotic submersibles to look deep below the bay’s surface. Now they can listen to the bay as well, using an ultra-sensitive underwater microphone.
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About MBARI
Research programs at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) encompass the entire ocean, from the surface waters to the deep seafloor, and from the coastal zone to the open sea. The need to understand the ocean in all its complexity and variability drives MBARI's research and development efforts.