The first-ever video images from submersible dives on southern California seamounts revealed wave-cut rock surfaces, eroded beach sand, and rounded pebbles—clues that these undersea volcanoes were once islands.
Market squid (Loligo opalescens) are currently the largest commercial fishery in California, yet scientists know little about the early life history of these heavily-fished animals. A new research technique developed by MBARI postdoctoral fellow Louis Zeidberg promises to help fill this information gap.
In an unusual test arrangement, MBARI’s remotely operated vehicle Ventana has been carrying an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) during a series of recent dives in Monterey Canyon. These dives are designed to test a new multibeam sonar mounted inside the AUV.
An important part of MBARI’s mission is to develop new cutting-edge research tools for the oceanographic community. One such tool is the “OsmoSampler,” developed by MBARI research specialist Hans Jannasch.
Using cutting-edge materials and engineering, MBARI collaborator Jeff Drazen has built a better fish trap. Of course, human beings have been building fish traps for thousands of years, but Drazen’s is different.
On October 2nd, MBARI opened its doors to the general public for its annual Open House. Dozens of MBARI employees, including ROV pilots, ships’ crews, scientists, engineers, and expert machinists, shared their excitement about the work they do here at MBARI.
MBARI scientists deployed the second in a series of scientific moorings, not in the deep sea, but in the shallow, often muddy waters of the Salinas River. This mooring is part of the “Land/Ocean Biogeochemical Observatory” (LOBO), a multi-year effort that uses a network of sensors to measure the transport of nutrients within Elkhorn Slough continuously and in nearly “real time.”
Using a new type of DNA analysis, researchers at MBARI and the Joint Genome Institute have shown how some microbes in deep-sea sediments could consume methane, an important contributor to global warming.
Scientists studying a whale carcass in Monterey Canyon recently announced the discovery of two new species of unique worms that feed on the bones of dead whales.
Within a large bend in Monterey Canyon known as the Shepard Meander, MBARI scientists recently installed a cluster of instruments that they hope will shed light on an oceanographic mystery—a case of missing carbon.
On June 3, 2004, MBARI operations staff deployed a new oceanographic mooring in Monterey Bay that is designed specifically to monitor the physical, chemical, and biological effects of upwelling.
Scientists studying a whale carcass in Monterey Canyon recently announced the discovery of two new species of unique worms that feed on the bones of dead whales.
David Packard, MBARI’s founder, often exhorted his researchers, “Go deep. Stay long. Take risks…” The MOOS test mooring embodies all three of these goals, as well as the remarkable persistence of MBARI engineers.
A remarkable expedition to the waters of Antarctica suggests that iron supply to the Southern Ocean may have controlled Earth’s climate during past ice ages.
In late March, MBARI engineers and scientists used a specially adapted laser to measure the chemical properties of sediment, rocks, and carbon dioxide in the deep waters of Monterey Bay.
From fisheries management to methane hydrates and ocean observatories, when members of Congress and federal agencies want advice on ocean-science issues, they come to the Ocean Studies Board. This week the board will be coming to MBARI for its annual west coast meeting.
In the March 2004 issue of Geology, MBARI Postdoctoral Fellow Jody Webster presents new evidence for rapid sea-level rise based on studies of drowned Hawaiian coral reefs.
A score of MBARI researchers are presenting papers and posters this week at the 2004 Ocean Research Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. The MBARI presentations cover a wide variety of oceanographic research topics, from large-scale ecological studies to designs for new oceanographic sensors.
This week at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, two MBARI scientists have been invited to present talks that link the ocean to global climate change. A third MBARI scientist will explain how new tools provide a big-picture view of ocean processes on Earth and may be useful for studying oceans—and possible life—on other planets.
Wart-like bumps of stinging cells cover the feeding arms and bell of a newly described deep-sea jelly. The description was published by MBARI biologists in this month’s issue of the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.
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.