MBARI’s seafloor mapping robot has had a busy year. It documented a huge lava flow from a three-month-old volcanic eruption off the Oregon coast; it charted mysterious three-kilometer-wide scour marks on the seafloor off Northern California; and it unearthed data that challenge existing theories about one of the largest offshore faults in Central California.
Marine researchers want to know the effects of an increasingly acidic ocean, and have turned to two tide pool dwellers for some insight. It appears that mussels and purple sea urchins could tell scientists how marine life might adapt to changes in ocean acidity (pH).
Acorn worms have historically been thought of as shallow-water animals that live in burrows in muddy-bottom areas. Only four species were known to live in deep water. However, a recent paper by MBARI collaborator Karen Osborn and her coauthors shows that acorn worms live in the deep ocean environments around the world.
After six years of design and testing, MBARI scientists have a sophisticated new tool for studying the effects of ocean acidification on deep-sea animals. This complex system, the Free-Ocean Carbon Enrichment (FOCE) experiment, is the only experiment in the world that allows researchers to study ocean-acidification impacts on deep-sea animals in their native habitat, using free-flowing seawater.
It’s hard to imagine two fields of endeavor that have less in common than ocean research and contemporary dance. But an unusual melding of the two in the Monterey Bay area are addressing a grave concern: The ocean’s health.
Ken Johnson uses chemistry to study biology. This unusual approach is helping him understand why and how much microscopic algae grow in different parts of the world ocean. With the entire ocean as his sample bottle, Johnson’s challenge is determining where to monitor. Ideally, to get enough data, he needs to sample everywhere, simultaneously and continuously. By enlisting the help of some robotic floats, Johnson is on track to doing just that—and all from the comfort of his office chair.
Most of the squid we know as “calamari” are shallow-water species that live near the shore. These species have short lives. Once they mature, after about a year, they experience a single brief breeding period then die. But many more squid species live in deep water and the details of their lives, particularly their mating behavior, are shrouded in mystery.
On June 6, 2011 the ALOHA Cabled Observatory (ACO) “went live,”returning data from instruments on the deep seafloor, about 60 nautical miles north of Oahu, Hawaii, and 4,800 meters below the ocean surface. Funded by the University of Hawaii and the National Science Foundation (NSF), the ALOHA observatory uses a retired telecommunications cable to provide data and electrical connections for a variety of research instruments.
On June 25, 2011, MBARI hosted its annual open house, providing the public with a once-a-year opportunity to visit the MBARI campus and talk with scientists, engineers, and marine operations crews about their work. These photos show some of the displays and activities that captivated kids and adults alike.
In late May of 2011, MBARI and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) installed a new ocean-monitoring buoy about 30 miles offshore of Monterey Bay. This collaborative effort, brokered by the Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (CeNCOOS), could pave the way for similar buoys maintained by NDBC around the country, providing a wealth of new scientific information.
MBARI’s 2010 Annual Report is a “must read” for anyone interested in the institute’s cutting-edge expeditions, inventions, and scientific discoveries. It includes beautifully illustrated summaries of MBARI’s research projects during 2010.
The first comprehensive study of the biological effects of Antarctic icebergs shows that they fertilize the Southern Ocean, enhancing the growth of algae that take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and then, through marine food chains, transfer carbon into the deep sea.
Getting heavy objects down to the seafloor is pretty easy—in a best-case scenario, you just drop them over the side of a ship, and hope that they land right side up on the ocean bottom. However, getting those same objects back to the surface can be problematic. MBARI Marine Operations Technician Mike Conway recently developed a new device called a “line elevator” that will make this process easier.
On April 11, 2011, a team of researchers installed a small but high-tech ocean-monitoring buoy in Tasman Bay, at the northern end of New Zealand’s South Island. This buoy, along with additional instruments in the water column and on the seafloor, comprise the TASCAM (TASman Bay, CAwthron, and MBARI) system.
A new study by scientists at MBARI, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Occidental College is painting a more complete picture of an extraordinary sea worm that makes its living in the depths of the ocean on the bones of dead animals.
Biologists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) use remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to observe marine life behavior in the deep sea.
Each year, an estimated 10,000 shipping containers fall off container ships at sea. Although many of these containers float at the surface for months, most eventually sink to the seafloor. No one knows what happens to these containers once they reach the deep seafloor.
Nature rarely hands over her secrets without a fight. Solving our planet’s mysteries means doggedly following clues that may only reveal a small part of the story.
The velvety red of a drifting jelly, the brick red of a vampire squid…many deep-sea creatures exhibit the colors of Valentine’s Day. When pursuing the prey object of their desire, deep-sea creatures may use red as camouflage.
Do you enjoy keeping up on the latest fascinating animal videos, undersea robots, and deep-sea expeditions at MBARI? You can now find out about all of these and more on MBARI’s new Facebook page.
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.