A newly designed seawater sampler promises to automate monthly water sample collection, freeing up ship and personnel resources for other research projects.

39o 44.8′ N 125o 29.55′ W at 1800 in the evening The wind picked up all day and with it the swells. This evening we are now SW of Cape Mendocino and heading NNW at about five knots. It is overcast; the wind is blowing 35 knots from the north and “it has definitely gotten …

121o 47’ 13” W, 36o 48’ 16” N Our departure was timed with the high tide and we slipped from the sleepy, foggy, calm waters of the harbor into Monterey Bay right on schedule. We are eagerly anticipating exciting science on the ROV dives ahead, but we’re not at all excited about the windy weather …

Last Thursday, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) awarded the prestigious Maurice Ewing Medal to MBARI marine chemist Peter Brewer. This medal is given annually to recognize “significant original contributions to the ocean sciences."

Each winter, large white sharks leave the California coast and swim halfway to Hawaii, congregating in an area known as the “White Shark Café.” By attaching a miniature video camera tag to a white shark’s fin, researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) hope to collect video footage that shows—for the first time ever—exactly what the sharks are doing out there.

During MBARI’s annual Day of Engineering, Science, and Technology, the staff presented new research and development to the institute’s board of directors. Wide-ranging presentations and a “tools of the trade” walking tour comprised this year’s special day, which focused on the theme “extending our reach”.

This week MBARI joins the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Science Friday, and other organizations in celebrating Cephalopod Week 2016.

In early June researchers from MBARI and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary traveled to Sur Ridge to study the corals and sponges that grow on this fascinating underwater mountain.

This unusual hydrothermal vent is one of many discoveries from a Gulf of California expedition highlighted in the 2015 Annual Report. The publication also features several science and engineering projects conducted close to home in Monterey Bay and includes a preview of some of the institute's emerging technologies.

Engineer Thom Maughan created a lot of buzz at MBARI when he left a blue fiberglass shark fin in the upstairs lobby.

Five axes are better than three when it comes to milling parts for complex technology. Ray Thompson, MBARI’s machine shop supervisor, remarked that a 5-axis machine allows our scientists and engineers to “design around the technology”.

The smallest member of the MBARI seagoing fleet, the R/V Paragon, often runs multiple missions in a day.

Over the past week, a team of engineers from the Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) have been testing their new remotely operated vehicle (ROV), SuBastian, in MBARI’s test tank.

About a week ago, MBARI marine chemists Hans Jannasch and Ken Johnson went on a little boat ride, chasing an open-ocean profiling float that was drifting in the California Current, about 100 miles offshore.

MBARI Scientist Ken Johnson and his Chemical Sensors Group are part of a large collaborative effort to place sensors in the Southern Ocean to monitor changing conditions. The video explains the technology used in this project.

A large piece of surplus MBARI equipment will go a long way to helping some local students. In early March, MBARI donated a mill from its machine shop to nearby Monterey High School.

Some sea cucumbers may experience huge population booms following deep-sea “feasts.”

Researchers at MBARI have learned a lot about Monterey Bay using robotic submersibles to look deep below the bay’s surface. Now they can listen to the bay as well, using an ultra-sensitive underwater microphone.

The deep sea is full of strange and little-known worms. A new paper coauthored by MBARI molecular biologist Robert Vrijenhoek describes four newly named species of worms in the genus Xenoturbella that have mouths, but no eyes, brains, stomachs, or anuses.

MBARI research vessel Western Flyer will spend the first few months of 2016 in dry dock while two of its engines are rebuilt as part of their scheduled service.