With a new flagship research vessel joining our fleet, the opening of a new robotic technology lab, and the arrival of a new president and CEO, 2025 marked the start of an exciting chapter for MBARI. The 2025 MBARI Annual Report provides an immersive review of our scientific discoveries, technology innovations, and international collaborations over the past year.

Collaboration was key to the success of the Deep Sea 3D expedition and opened the door for exciting new discoveries about deep-sea coral communities.

Calmer winds and swells provided the all-clear for dives at Sur Ridge, so the team got to work surveying a large rock formation covered in corals.

At MBARI, scientists and engineers work side by side to advance ocean exploration. The CoMPAS Lab’s innovative mapping tech is helping biologists study deep-sea invertebrates in Monterey Bay.

MBARI’s flagship research vessel is the home away from home for scientists, engineers, and marine operations crew during the Deep Sea 3D expedition.

When the weather was unfavorable at Sur Ridge, the team returned to the sheltered waters of Monterey Bay to map two research sites teeming with sponges and corals.

CoMPAS Lab engineers have outfitted the MiniROV with advanced sensors and software to help the vehicle survey its surroundings and map complex seafloor terrain.

Before heading to sea, the Deep Sea 3D expedition team conducted a series of test dives with the MiniROV and the CoMPAS Lab’s Portable Mapping System.

Last week, more than 30 scientists and engineers from MBARI attended the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. MBARI staff shared the institute’s latest developments in ocean science, technology, education, and communications with peers from around the world to help facilitate new global collaborations.

This week, MBARI President and CEO Antje Boetius participated in the Arctic Circle Rome Forum – Polar Dialogue: From Glaciers to Seas. She took part in panel discussions about international cooperation in research and infrastructure, from the UN Decade program Antarctica InSync to the upcoming Fifth International Polar Year in 2032–33.

This week, MBARI President and CEO Antje Boetius participated in the Monaco Polar Symposium, bringing her extensive experience in polar sciences to international discussions about the challenges facing polar environments and communities.

MBARI scientists and engineers have joined an expedition with MARUM aboard the German research vessel Sonne to study the seafloor offshore of Southern California. Using MBARI’s autonomous robots, the expedition team will map fluid seeps in the San Clemente Basin for further study with MARUM’s remotely operated vehicle.

During a scientific cruise in Monterey Bay aboard MBARI’s research vessel Rachel Carson last month, biologists from our education and conservation partner, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, encountered a baby glass squid (family Cranchiidae).

MBARI researchers and collaborators conducted the first controlled-source electromagnetic surveys in Antarctica to understand how a rapidly warming polar environment impacts groundwater systems under the seafloor.

MBARI researchers and their collaborators used advanced underwater robots to map and sample three extraordinarily large lava flow fields near Axial Seamount, an active volcano offshore of Oregon. The team recently published their findings in the scientific journal Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems.

A team of MBARI scientists and engineers shared their latest findings in seafloor science and mapping at a symposium organized by Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and Doerr School of Sustainability. The two-day event showcased cutting-edge research in seafloor processes and explored new pathways for collaboration.

The Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) has named MBARI Senior Scientist Kelly Benoit-Bird a 2025 Sustaining Fellow. Each year, ASLO honors select members for their contributions to the scientific community. Sustaining Fellows are recognized as having sustained excellence in their contributions to ASLO and the aquatic sciences.

The three-day workshop, Towards Sustainable Global Marine Omics Observation and Coordination, brought together international experts in eDNA research and technology to discuss strategies for using a variety of genomics tools to survey marine biodiversity across the global ocean.

MBARI President and CEO Antje Boetius received an honorary doctorate from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) in recognition of her contributions to deep-sea and polar research.

Developed in partnership with USGS READI-Net, FIDO uses DNA to detect threats like invasive species, pathogens, and parasites.