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MBARI is excited to announce the start of a new chapter for our work as we begin construction of a new research ship, the R/V David Packard. 🚢🎉⁠ ⁠ The new vessel will be named in honor of MBARI’s founder, David Packard, to recognize his vision for fostering the next generation of groundbreaking science and innovation and his legacy of ocean research, technology, and conservation.⁠ ⁠ When it arrives in 2023, the new 50-meter (164-foot) ship will be capable of accommodating diverse expeditions in Monterey Bay and beyond to further MBARI’s mission to explore and understand our changing ocean.⁠ ⁠ Read the full news release on our website. #linkinbio⁠

Deep-sea discoveries that defy belief 😮⁠ ⁠ During the past three decades, MBARI has emerged as a leader among the world's oceanographic institutions in the discovery of organisms that are new to science. To date, the institute has discovered more than 200 species, of which 170 have been formally described and named. These discoveries have greatly increased public awareness of how little we know about our planet. Each discovery provides one more piece to the puzzle of life, how organisms may rely on each other to survive, or how they are impacted by a changing ocean.⁠ ⁠ One of these discoveries, the unusual pigbutt worm (Chaetopterus pugaporcinus), is the size and shape of a marble. ⁠ ⁠ Even as MBARI scientists and their taxonomy collaborators painstakingly analyze and describe more species, science cannot keep up with many animals newly encountered at sea. Scientists estimate hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of species in the ocean are yet to be discovered. Continued exploration and diligence will help bring more of these animals to light.

Transforming data into pixels.⁠ ⁠ Monterey Canyon is a magnificent submarine geologic feature rivaling the Grand Canyon in both its size and beauty. But exploring Monterey Canyon is far more challenging, requiring teams of scientists and engineers, a fully-staffed research vessel, and a variety of autonomous robots.⁠ ⁠ As a result, most people have never had a chance to see the majesty of Monterey Canyon. In 2020, we merged art with science to drain away the water and reveal the stunning topography of the geologic feature sitting right in our backyard.⁠ ⁠ The seafloor mapping team at MBARI worked closely with the team @frame.48 to layer the 25-meter (82-feet) resolution ship-based multibeam data and the one-meter mapping AUV data into a seamless landscape.⁠ ⁠ Learn more about this project and how we brought a deep-sea canyon to life in this year's Annual Report. #linkinbio⁠ ⁠

Mask up! ⁠😷⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Last September, an ambitious expedition to Northern California and Southern Oregon on the research vessel Western Flyer focused on research into the earthquake recurrence interval along the Cascadia Subduction Zone.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Chief Scientist Charlie Paull reduced his usual science team of 11 to just himself and three others, leaving the team quite shorthanded when processing samples. For the crew and science team aboard the Flyer, pandemic safety protocols meant social distancing, wearing masks for 18 hours a day, and eating in quasi-isolation instead of enjoying the usual camaraderie at mealtime.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Despite the limited number of scientists and pilots and the constraints imposed by the safety procedures related to COVID-19, the cruise was extremely successful as measured by the number of samples collected: 387 push cores and 167 vibracores. Paull said he was very pleased and proud of how this cruise proceeded, especially considering the COVID pandemic.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Read more about MBARI's ongoing ocean research in the 2020 Annual Report. #linkinbio

Tentacles up if you want to learn to speak squid!⁠ ⁠ Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) are formidable predators whose group foraging behaviors often resemble a feeding frenzy. Despite this free-for-all appearance while feeding, Humboldt squid generally avoid direct contact or physical competition for prey. MBARI researchers suggest that, as they hunt, these squid communicate with each other using changing patterns of light and dark pigments on their skin. The squid exhibit changing color patterns most often when they are interacting with one another in groups. These changes in pigmentation may be an effective means of communication, analogous to humans using turn signals in traffic. Though the meanings of these signals remain unknown, this research suggests that Humboldt squid use changes in body patterns as a consistent and effective means of communication in the deep.⁠ ⁠ This Humboldt Squid was photographed by MBARI's remotely operated vehicle Tiburon at a depth of about 300 meters (nearly 1,000 feet) over Davidson Seamount, off the coast of Central California.⁠ ⁠ Learn more about how researchers are decoding the secret language of squid in this year's Annual Report. #linkinbio

Finding life in all the nooks and crannies. ⁠👀⁠ ⁠ These siboglinid tubeworms were discovered growing from a small notch in a wall at Monterey Canyon. Chemosynthetic animals like this live off hydrogen sulfide in the sediment, which would be toxic to most other animals. Below the tubeworms are several anemones attached to the canyon wall.⁠ ⁠ Diverse life can be found in several different habitats throughout Monterey Canyon, including the sandy canyon floor, the mud-draped rocks on the canyon walls, and the dark midnight zone. Although most of these species aren’t only found in Monterey Canyon, their proximity to shore enables MBARI researchers to observe them in their natural habitat more readily.⁠ ⁠ Read more about Monterey Canyon in the 2020 MBARI Annual Report. #linkinbio