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Happy Earth Day! The deep sea is the largest habitat on Earth, yet we know more about the surface of Mars than we do about the world's deep ocean.⠀ ⠀ Explore the ocean with MBARI to celebrate this beautiful blue planet!⠀ ⠀ #EarthDay #BluePlanet #ocean #oceandiscovereis #discoveryandexploration #biodiversity #deepsea #depsealife #sealife #oceanlife #deepocean #sciencematters #MBARI #earthday2018

Since its inception, MBARI has made a serious commitment to the exploration and study of the ocean midwaters, the vast habitat between the ocean’s sunlit upper layers and the dark floor of the deep sea. Prior to the creation of MBARI, no ROV-based midwater research program had ever been attempted. Midwater research and ROV technology are interactive systems that have evolved in tandem and as a result of each other’s changes. Midwater expeditions represent about one quarter of dives made by MBARI’s remotely operated vehicles, each of which reached milestones in 2017—4,000 dives for ROV Ventana and 1,000 dives for the newer ROV Doc Ricketts. Learn more about this research and the highlights from MBARI's work in our 2017 Annual Report (link in bio). ⠀ ⠀ The vampire squid, Vampyroteuthis infernalis, is found lurking in the midwater (~500 to 700 meters deep) in the Monterey Bay. It is able to thrive in this harsh environment by feeding on mostly “marine snow”—a mixture of dead bodies, poop, and snot. Vampire squid don’t have to expend much energy avoiding predators, because they live at depths where there is so little oxygen that few other animals can survive.⠀ ⠀ #MBARIAnnualReport #MBARI #midwater #ROV #underwaterphotography #underwaterrobot #MontereyBay #vampiresquid #Vampyroteuthis⠀ #deepsealife #deepsea #ocean #oceanlife #sealife #pelagic #plankton #mesopelagic #marinebiology⠀ #mbari2017ar

Sometimes its not until you look back at events that you realize how decisions and values set down long before have made a real impact. MBARI President and CEO Chris Scholin reflects on the profound impact of decisions made by MBARI Founder David Packard in our 2017 Interactive Annual Report. If you look closely at the stories highlighted in this year’s annual report through the lens of MBARI’s 30-year history, you will notice traces of the institute’s past and see “how certain events, seemingly unimportant at the time, had a profound effect” on shaping the MBARI of today. Learn more in our 2017 Annual Report (link in bio). ⠀ ⠀ David Packard was proud to christen the prototype of the remotely operated vehicle Tiburon in 1994.⠀ ⠀ ⠀ #MBARI #MBARI2017AR #AnnualReport #MBARIAnnualReport #AUV #ROV #marinetechnology #ocean #oceanscience #STEM #oceanengineering #engineering #ship #researchvessel #expedition #oceanography #Marinebiology #tech #DavidPackard #TheHPWay #SiliconValley #PackardFoundation #HewlettPackard #technology

The ocean’s midwaters comprise the largest living space on Earth and within this vast habitat are the planet’s largest and least known major animal communities. At MBARI, midwater research and ROV technology have evolved in tandem and as the technology matured, the scope, scale, and complexity of the research has also advanced, particularly in such areas as observing animal behavior and in situ experimentation, which were virtually impossible before scientists gained direct access to this environment.⠀ ⠀ Atolla wyvillei, a wide-ranging gelatinous predator is the next target for the midwater ecology group's in situ respiration studies with the midwater respirometry system. By studying an animal’s respiration (how much oxygen it consumes), scientists can better understand how much energy (food) it needs to live. The rate at which an animal expends energy is called its “metabolic rate.” “If you want to understand how an organism is consuming and utilizing energy to live its life, its metabolic rate is a vital measurement to have,” said Bruce Robison, an MBARI marine biologist. Learn more in our 2017 Annual Report (link in bio). ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ #jellies #gelatinousanimals #Plankton #midwater #Atolla #jellyfish #MBARI #MBARI2017AR #AnnualReport #MBARIAnnualReport #AUV #ROV #marinetechnology #ocean #oceanscience #STEM #oceanengineering #engineering #ship #researchvessel #expedition #oceanography #Marinebiology #tech⠀

Do you want to read the latest developments from our deep-sea research and technology projects? Check out our just-released 2017 Annual Report, full of stories about bone-eating worms, testing technology under icebergs, the movement in deep-sea canyons, and so much more. The report includes lots of videos, photos, and in-depth articles. Check it out by clicking the ink in our bio. ⠀ ⠀ #MBARI #MBARI2017AR #AnnualReport #MBARIAnnualReport #AUV #ROV #marinetechnology #ocean #oceanscience #STEM #oceanengineering #engineering #ship #researchvessel #expedition #oceanography #Marinebiology #tech #iceberg

Siphonophores are colonial animals, arranged in chains that in some species can be dozens of meters long. The members of a colony specialize at different tasks. Some form swimming bells, which pulse slowly, pulling the colony through the water like a long, fluid freight train. Others specialize in feeding and sport stinging tentacles. The section you see here is the tail of a siphonophore called Apolemia. The long, thin pieces are the tentacles, which capture prey with sticky cells, and the bigger, white bulbs are the stomachs where the prey is digested! Most siphonophore species are found in the deep-sea, yet they are poorly known due to the difficulty in sampling these delicate animals from the deep sea. ⠀ ⠀ #siphonophore #colonialanimal #gelata #jellies #Apolemia #invertebratezoology #deepsealife #deepsea #ocean #oceanlife #sealife #midwater #pelagic #plankton #mesopelagic #MBARI #underwaterphotography #marinebiology