A February 23 paper in the Public Library of Science (PLoS ONE) describes how researchers from four different organizations combined their expertise to figure out why over 200 seabirds died in Monterey Bay during November 2007.
Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute recently solved the half-century-old mystery of a fish with tubular eyes and a transparent head. Ever since the “barreleye” fish Macropinna microstoma was first described in 1939, marine biologists have known that it’s tubular eyes are very good at collecting light.
Over the last two decades, marine biologists have discovered lush forests of deep-sea corals and sponges growing on seamounts (underwater mountains) offshore of the California coast.
Armchair explorers can now become virtual Jacques Cousteaus with the latest release of Google Earth. The new version of this popular 3-D mapping program features an Ocean layer, thanks to the addition of data and information from many oceanographic and conservation organizations, including MBARI and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
In May 2008, over one hundred scientists and decision makers gathered in Monterey to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing the oceans. The key issues, discussions, and proposals for future actions from this conference are summarized in a new report, 2008 Ocean Science Summit Report: Climate Change and Ocean Health.
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.