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How do you monitor scalding hot seawater off an active lava flow? Send in the robots. Our engineers are using wave gliders to track and measure the ocean fronts and plumes generated from the lava flows at the Kilauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawai‘i. In the image, you can see one of the two Wave Gliders monitoring ocean conditions offshore of an active lava flow on the island of Hawai`i. Image courtesy of @LiquidRobotics. #lava #Kiluea #Kilaueavolcano #volcano #volcaniceruption #oceantech #oceanscience #geology #marinetech #autonomousvehicle #wavegilder #thebigisland #Hawaii #lava #lavaflow #oceanography #STEM #engineering #scienceandengineering #geologyrocks #MBARI

Gossamer worms are common, mesmerizingly beautiful, segmented worms found only in the midwater. While the distinctive, paired-down features of the group make them easy to identify as tomopterids, telling one species from another was nearly impossible… until now. After almost 10 years of collecting, observing, and sequencing, we can now distinguish with confidence the 18 species found in the waters of Monterey Canyon. In the first four days of the R/V Western Flyer midwater ecology expedition, researchers collected eight different species of which several are undescribed (i.e., new to science). MBARI Collaborator Karen Osborn (curator at @smithsoniannmnh) photographed two tomopterid specimens. At first glance they look similar, but compare this photo with the next photo (be sure to swipe⬅️) and you can see big differences in the number of legs and the shape of their heads and their tails. . . . #worm #worms #polychaete #deepsea #deepsealife #ocean #oceanlife #invertebrates #invertebratezoology #marinebiology #mbari #montereybau #montereycanyon #pelagic #pelagicworm #midwater #mesopelagic #ecology #taxonomy #systematics #biology

The vast Southern Ocean has a huge influence on Earth's climate. But new research suggests that it may not influence climate in quite the way scientists thought. Over the past four years, the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling @soccomproject has used a network of robotic floats carrying high-tech sensors to give marine chemists a year-round, big-picture view of carbon cycling in the vast, stormy, and little-studied Southern Ocean. Data from these floats suggests that the Southern Ocean may take up much less carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than expected. These findings were published this week in a paper in Geophysical Research Letters. If these findings are confirmed, scientists may need to reassess how the Southern Ocean affects the Earth’s climate. 📸 @soccomproject ・・・ Taken by Hannah Zanowski, Jan 10, 2015 aboard the Polarstern. The research vessel will be docking soon in Cape Town, South Africa, concluding its 2-month trip to Antarctica and back, successfully deploying 12 SOCCOM floats. . . #SOCCOM #SOCCOMfloats #argo #argofloat #SouthernOcean #climate #climatechange #ocean #oceanscience #chemistry #oceanography #chemicaloceanography #tech #technology #oceantechnology #engineering #stem #science #antarctica #antartic #blueplanet #carbonfootprint #polarscience #southpole #ourblueplanet #ourocean

What treasures do we find in a midwater trawl? . . When our researchers look closely, we find jellies, crustaceans, fish and even some plankton! This larval crab was collected with a trawl net on the Midwater Ecology R/V Western Flyer expedition this week. Many larval species look completely different from their adult stage. This larva is only a few millimeters across, but collaborator Karen Osborn of the @smithsoniannmnh shot this photo with her camera system. Even while the ship rocks and rolls, she can get shots like this one! . . #larva #crablarvae #larvae #plankton #midwater #RVWesternFlyer #midwater #midwatertrawl #trawl #marinebiology #larvalecology #invertebratezoology #ocean #oceanlife #sealife #zooplankton #MBARI #MontereyBay

Black-footed albatross chilling on Monterey Bay. They breed in the Hawaiian Archipelago in winter and spring, then wander across the North Pacific the rest of the year. This is the only albatross seen regularly off the Pacific coast of North America. Jared Figurski an MBARI marine operations engineer who is often out on the bay captaining the R/V Paragon, shot the photo on a beautiful, glassy day on the Monterey Bay. #Mondaymotivation #MontereyBay #Albatross #squadgoals #seabirds #sealife #birdsofinstagram #pacificocean #ocean #oceanlife #seabird #blackfootedalbatross #migration #chillin

MBARI researchers were diving deep in the Gulf of California when they saw an amazing squid in the genus Heliocranchia. They nicknamed it the “piglet squid” because of its small round body and wiggling tail. But last month, MBARI researchers saw this one 900 meters (2,950 feet) deep off the Monterey Bay! These squid, like many other deep-sea squid, have light-producing organs (photophores) underneath their eyes. It is a sluggish swimmer, usually hanging motionless in the water and has ammonium ions in its body fluid that help keep it bouyant.⠀ ⠀ #pigletsquid #squid #deepseasquid #cephalopod #deepsealife #deepsea #ocean #oceanlife #sealife #midwater #pelagic #mesopelagic #MBARI #underwaterphotography #marinebiology #helicocranchia