Dec 16, 2016 – MBARI’s Benthic Rover, an autonomous seafloor crawler, recently broke it’s own world record, spending over a year autonomously crawling across the deep seafloor and collecting scientific data without any help from humans.
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.
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.
Nov 21, 2016 – A century after its first discovery, the existence of the giant larvacean, B. charon, was confirmed by MBARI scientists when a routine sample collection turned extraordinary.
Nov 14, 2016 – A new MBARI robot will add to the midwater observations researchers have been making with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for nearly two decades.
Nov 4, 2016 – An unusual deep-sea fish that was previously identified in the Southeastern Pacific has recently been found to live around the Hawaiian Islands and off the coast of Central California as well.
Oct 27, 2016 – A recent paper shows that some juvenile king crabs hitch rides on wandering sea cucumbers, perhaps as a way of evading predators.
Oct 7, 2016 – MBARI’s newest senior scientist, Kelly Benoit-Bird, uses sound to observe animals such as seabirds and dolphins as they chase their prey underwater.
Oct 5, 2016 – Over 40 ocean technologists attended a workshop at MBARI to review the state of performance of engineering infrastructure of ocean observatories and science sensors.
Oct 3, 2016 – During a recent mission, MBARI’s Wave Glider Tiny ran into some problems. When MBARI engineers went to sea to recover the Wave Glider, they discovered major damage to the fiberglass hull, mast, and solar panels.
Sept 27, 2016 – MBARI Postdoctoral Fellow Anela Choy, who studies the impacts of plastic debris on ocean food webs, has been selected as one of five recipients of the L’Oreal Women in Science Fellowship for 2016.
Sept 27, 2016 – What happens when you merge dance and science? SpectorDance and MBARI have done it again with Ocean Trilogy.
Sept 22, 2016 – This week, the Oceanic Engineering Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) presented MBARI with an award for the Institute’s “consistent presence and efforts towards the goals of the society to advance ocean research for the science and technology community.”
Sept 22, 2016 – MBARI Adjunct Victoria Orphan has been named a 2016 MacArthur Fellow, in recognition of her work on microbial communities in extreme environments and their impact on the cycling of nutrients and energy through the oceans.
Aug 31, 2016 – Cannibalism is not so unusual in the deep sea, especially for squid, but until recently the diet of Gonatus squid was largely unknown. Remotely operated vehicle observations of these squid in their natural habitat have enabled scientists to learn a great deal more about their feeding behavior.
Aug 25, 2016 – From August 24 to 28, 2016, researchers from MBARI and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary conducted research on the deep seafloor of the Sanctuary. The public can read daily notes on these dives on the Sanctuary’s web site.
Aug 12, 2016 – MBARI’s Tethys long-range autonomous underwater vehicle recently travelled to one of the world’s largest freshwater ecosystems—the Great Lakes. This operation is a collaborative effort between MBARI and the Great Lakes Science Center, and is this vehicle’s first-ever freshwater deployment.
Aug 10, 2016 – Peering into the insides of a machine can be a useful way to learn about how it works. MBARI researchers Ken Johnson and Hans Jannasch created a transparent version of a profiling float, an instrument that makes biogeochemical measurements in the ocean, for educational purposes.
Aug 10, 2016 – In 2014, MBARI researchers discovered a jet engine on the floor of Monterey Bay. Since that time, MBARI Deputy Director of Marine Operations Chris Grech has been gathering clues as to how this engine arrived on the muddy seafloor of the bay.
Jul 27, 2016 – A newly designed seawater sampler promises to automate monthly water sample collection, freeing up ship and personnel resources for other research projects.
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.