What is DeepPIV? You may have asked yourself this question as you’ve read our expedition posts. DeepPIV is an instrument that we are using extensively during our ROV dives, and it was developed and built at MBARI. DeepPIV allows us to measure fluid motion in the deep sea in unprecedented detail. It is based on a …

On this expedition we are using two different remotely operated vehicles (ROV). The main one, ROV Doc Ricketts, is always deployed from R/V Western Flyer, while the smaller one, MiniROV is what we call a “flyaway” vehicle because it can be launched from any research vessel anywhere in the world. We can ship the vehicle …

MBARI Collaborator Katie Thomas How do we catch black fish? Three members of the team (Sonke Johnsen, Katie Thomas, and Karen Osborn) are working on figuring out how deep-sea fish make themselves super black to disappear into their dark surroundings. While many deep-sea animals can be collected in beautifully pristine condition with ROVs, fish are …

MBARI Collaborator Sonke Johnsen Art and science go hand in hand, and the animals of the deep sea are particularly inspiring to both worlds. I still remember the excitement I felt when I saw the paintings from the very first trip humans took into the deep ocean—not only because because they opened so many questions …

My name is Joost, and I am a research engineering technician in MBARI’s Bioinspiration Lab. This is my first cruise on the Western Flyer, and in the coming days I hope to share with you some of my amazement and excitement about this expedition. Having the biggest ship in the harbor can be both a …

What are we going to study in the ocean twilight zone? The Bioinspiration Lab and collaborators will be conducting ROV dives, DeepPIV measurements, trawls, animal collections, laboratory measurements of animal biomechanics, and measurements of optical properties of various tissues and materials to answer one question: What secrets do animals in the ocean twilight zone possess …