Dead whales that sink down to the seafloor provide a feast for deep-sea animals that can last for years. Previous research suggested that such “whale falls” were homes for unique animals that lived nowhere else.
Over the past decade, the undersea robots known as autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have become increasingly important in oceanographic research.
The deep sea is a pretty spooky place. It’s pitch black, freezing cold, and inhabited by a lot of weird animals. Here are five videos showing some of the spooky animals we’ve seen down where the sun never shines.
The Environmental Sample Processor (ESP), a robotic biochemistry laboratory, proved its versatility once again during the summer of 2010, when it detected bacteria at an undersea methane seep off the coast of Southern California.
Last summer, podcaster Ari Daniel Shapiro visited MBARI and compiled some insightful interviews with several MBARI researchers.
Video describes three new species of coral-eating sea stars including Sthenaster emmae as a new genus and species from the tropical Atlantic and two new Evoplosoma species, Evoplosoma claguei, and Evoplosoma voratus sp. from seamounts in the North Pacific.
A small fleet of ships and robotic submersibles are performing a kind of water ballet in northern Monterey Bay this month, observing and following the evolution and consequences of algal blooms as part of MBARI’s CANON (Controlled, Agile, and Novel Observing Network) project and the multi-institutional BloomEx field trials.
In mid-September a small fleet of ships and robotic submersibles performed a novel experiment about 160 kilometers (100 miles) off the Central California coast. The vessels spent most of their time circling around a floating robotic DNA lab, which drifted southward in the California Current.
Paper by microbiologist Alex Worden and collaborator Andrew Allen featured on cover of Current Opinion in Microbiology.
Experts hope to use sonar images of a sunken ship off California’s coast to determine whether the vessel is at risk of leaking oil. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) sent a robotic submersible down to the wreck of the S. S. Montebello last week in an effort to assess the condition of the ship.
On August 14, 2010, MBARI staff and volunteers shared their knowledge and enthusiasm with the public during our once-a-year Open House. The photos below show just a few of the displays and activities available to visitors.
Since 2005, MBARI researchers have worked with colleagues at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Spyglass Biosecurity to add functionality and marketability to MBARI’s Environmental Sample Processor.
This new video on MBARI’s YouTube Channel illustrates some of the many ways that deep-sea animals hide in plain sight.
June 29, 2010 – Squids are some of the most fascinating and diverse deep-sea animals. In this collection of short video clips, MBARI biologists highlight some of their favorite video clips of deep-sea squids.
For almost three decades, oceanographers have been puzzled by the ability of microscopic algae to grow in mid-ocean areas where there is very little nitrate, an essential algal nutrient. In this week’s issue of Nature, MBARI chemical oceanographer Ken Johnson, along with coauthors Stephen Riser at the University of Washington and David Karl at the University of Hawaii, show that mid-ocean algae obtain nitrate from deep water, as much as 250 meters below the surface.
Images related to the MBARI News Release
Researchers discover source of essential nutrients for mid-ocean algae
A new video created by the San Francisco public television station KQED captures the elegance and mystery of jellies. The program was created as part of the award-winning multimedia science series, QUEST. It premiered on May 25, 2010 on public television stations in the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas.
MBARI’s Division of Marine Operations, under an agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), sent a high-tech robotic submersible to the oily waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The goal is to collect information about the oil plume from the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig accident for NOAA.
Images related to the MBARI News Release
MBARI sends underwater robot to study Deepwater Horizon spill
MBARI’s 2009 Annual Report highlights not only the institution’s accomplishments during 2009, but also some of the cutting-edge projects planned or in progress during 2010.
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.