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      MBARI creates and globally scales the visionary technologies required to explore, map, and understand our changing ocean.

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      Resources for educators, students, and anyone aspiring to learn how science and technology brings us closer to the ocean.

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      • EARTH Curriculum

        Integrate MBARI data with lesson plans and workshops.

      • Animals of the Deep

        Discover deep-sea critters, including exclusive footage and info.

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        Dive into topics about ocean health and its fascinating features.

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        Explore deep-sea observations with this interactive guide.

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    • About

      MBARI is a non-profit oceanographic research center advancing marine science and engineering to understand our changing ocean.

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      • Mission & Vision

        Learn about MBARI’s mission, vision, and values.

      • Strategic Roadmap

        Learn about our strategic priorities for the years ahead.

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        Explore MBARI’s rich history spanning over three decades.

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  • Our Work
    • Our Work

      MBARI creates and globally scales the visionary technologies required to explore, map, and understand our changing ocean.

    • Our Work Sub
      • Research & Development
        • Focus Areas
        • Teams
        • Projects
        • Data & Repositories
        • Publications
        • Expeditions
      • Technology
        • All Technologies
        • Instruments
        • Observatories
        • Software
        • Vehicles
        • Tech Transfer
      • Marine Operations
        • Monterey Bay Today
        • Ships
        • Schedules
  • Education
    • Education

      Resources for educators, students, and anyone aspiring to learn how science and technology brings us closer to the ocean.

    • Education Sub
      • EARTH Curriculum

        Integrate MBARI data with lesson plans and workshops.

      • Animals of the Deep

        Discover deep-sea critters, including exclusive footage and info.

      • Know Your Ocean

        Dive into topics about ocean health and its fascinating features.

      • Deep-Sea Guide

        Explore deep-sea observations with this interactive guide.

      • Library

        Learn about the MLML/MBARI Research Library at SJSU.

      • More Resources

        Access more educational resources from the teams at MBARI.

  • News
  • About
    • About

      MBARI is a non-profit oceanographic research center advancing marine science and engineering to understand our changing ocean.

    • About Sub
      • Mission & Vision

        Learn about MBARI’s mission, vision, and values.

      • Strategic Roadmap

        Learn about our strategic priorities for the years ahead.

      • Leadership & Staff

        Meet our staff, leadership, and board of directors.

      • Careers

        Find job openings and postdoc and internship opportunities.

      • Connect with Us

        Follow MBARI on social media and stay updated.

      • Events

        See upcoming seminars, lectures, and public events.

      • Reports & Financials

        Access the latest annual reports and financial information.

      • History

        Explore MBARI’s rich history spanning over three decades.

      • For Media

        Get media-specific information and assets.

  • Publications
  • Data
  • Directory
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  • Job Openings

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  • Internships

    Learn about our summer internship program.

  • Staff Directory

    Meet our leadership and staff.

  • Animals of the Deep

    Discover deep-sea critters of all types.

  • Data & Repositories

    Search MBARI’s library of data.

  • Technologies

    Learn about our technologies.

Projects

MBARI researchers conduct research on a variety of projects to better understand our changing ocean. Our scientists and engineers collaborate to build cutting-edge tools that are transforming how we observe, monitor, and interact with the ocean.

  • Current Projects
  • Past Projects

Acoustic Community Ecology

Project

Acoustic Community Ecology

Acoustical analysis of different layers of animals in our ocean.

Acoustic Fingerprinting

Project

Acoustic Fingerprinting

Matching acoustic signatures to animals by cataloging the signatures of organisms like fish, squid, and gelatinous creatures.

Age and Growth Studies

Project

Age and Growth Studies

Studying the pace of life of deep-sea animals to better understand their recovery rates and resilience.

Arctic Shelf Edge

Project

Arctic Shelf Edge

Investigating rapid changes in the seafloor morphology that have been discovered to occur under the Arctic Ocean.

Axial Seamount Volcanic Processes

Project

Axial Seamount Volcanic Processes

Mapping the hydrothermal sites, lava flows, and geodetics of this active volcano.

Baleen Whale Behavioral Ecology

Project

Baleen Whale Behavioral Ecology

Integrating passive acoustic monitoring of baleen whales with other methods of observing whales, their environment, and their prey.

Behavior Studies

Project

Behavior Studies

Behavior patterns of deep-sea animals have long been a subject of mystery and speculation. Because of access provided by MBARI’s ROVs, detailed observations of the behavior of these animals have become possible for the first time.

Biogeochemical Gliders

Project

Biogeochemical Gliders

Working to equip biogeochemical sensors on underwater gliders.

Biological response to upwelling in Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems

Project

Biological response to upwelling in Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems

Developing satellite-based products to investigate what drives biological productivity in productive upwelling systems around the world—from phytoplankton to ecosystems.

Bioluminescence and Fluorescence

Project

Bioluminescence and Fluorescence

Bioluminescence (the ability of an organism to make light), and fluorescence (special pigments that convert blue light to other colors) are common in marine animals. We are studying how and why organisms use these optical phenomena.

Blue Whale Observatory

Project

Blue Whale Observatory

Exploring the behavioral ecology of Earth’s largest animal species—the blue whale—and the krill that sustain them.

Cascadia Subduction Zone

Project

Cascadia Subduction Zone

Deciphering the geologic records left by earthquake stimulated turbidity currents along the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

Controlled, Agile, and Novel Observing Network (CANON)

Project

Controlled, Agile, and Novel Observing Network (CANON)

MBARI’s Controlled, Agile, and Novel Observing Network (CANON) Initiative is an interdisciplinary effort that utilizes smart, autonomous devices designed to cooperate with each other to collect oceanographic information.

Coordinated Canyon Experiment (CCE)

Project

Coordinated Canyon Experiment (CCE)

The Coordinated Canyon Experiment (CCE) is an extensive long-term effort to monitor turbidity currents in situ and at multiple locations simultaneously. Here you can find all the data and relevant metadata collected throughout this groundbreaking study.

Coral Reef Metabolism

Project

Coral Reef Metabolism

Developing autonomous systems to measure coral reef metabolism.

Deep-Sea Coral and Sponge Community Studies

Project

Deep-Sea Coral and Sponge Community Studies

Studies of deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems at Sur Ridge and Davidson Seamount focus on oceanographic and biological factors influencing their diversity and abundance.

Detecting Episodic Export Events

Project

Detecting Episodic Export Events

Ecology of Marine Snow

Project

Ecology of Marine Snow

Environmental Genomics

Project

Environmental Genomics

Food Web Dynamics

Project

Food Web Dynamics

Explaining the complex structure and functioning of the deep-sea food web off Central California.

Genomics and Transcriptomics

Project

Genomics and Transcriptomics

Studying the genes of an organism can amplify our ability to learn about rare deep-sea species which are difficult to collect. Sometimes obscure animals can even help answer fundamental questions in biology.

Global Ocean Biogeochemistry Array (GO-BGC)

Project

Global Ocean Biogeochemistry Array (GO-BGC)

The Global Ocean Biogeochemistry (GO-BGC) Array is a project to build a global network of chemical and biological sensors that will monitor ocean health.

Gulf of California Tectonics and Hydrothermal Systems

Project

Gulf of California Tectonics and Hydrothermal Systems

Mapping and multidisciplinary investigations in the southern Gulf of California.

Integrated View of Surface-to-Seafloor Biological Communities

Project

Integrated View of Surface-to-Seafloor Biological Communities

Integrating time series of surface, midwater, and benthic communities to identify processes connecting them with each other and with environmental variability.

Land/Ocean Biogeochemical Observatory (LOBO) in Elkhorn Slough and Monterey Bay

Project

Land/Ocean Biogeochemical Observatory (LOBO) in Elkhorn Slough and Monterey Bay

The Land-Ocean Biogeochemical Observatory (LOBO) consists of robust moorings that can withstand tidal currents and weather.

Large-scale climate variability and impacts on biology

Project

Large-scale climate variability and impacts on biology

Utilizing global satellite products to study global physical and biological variability from interannual to decadal scales, and the processes connecting them.

Lost Shipping Container Studies

Project

Lost Shipping Container Studies

An estimated 10,000 shipping containers fall from ships each year, ultimately sinking to the seafloor where their ecological effects are largely unknown.

Low Altitude Survey System

Project

Low Altitude Survey System

Bringing mapping systems closer to the seafloor to achieve precision-controlled centimeter-scale bathymetry and millimeter-scale imagery.

Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON)

Project

Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON)

MBON is a global collaborative initiative that contributes to the effective management of marine biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Midwater Time Series

Project

Midwater Time Series

Providing specific data to investigate the natural and climate-change-caused variability of oceanic communities at depths below the mixed layer.

Monterey Bay Time Series (MBTS)

Project

Monterey Bay Time Series (MBTS)

Morro Bay Windfarm Pockmarks

Project

Morro Bay Windfarm Pockmarks

Understanding the origins and activity of the pockmarks and submarine channels offshore of Morro Bay is paramount to developing a proposed floating wind farm.

Ocean Noise

Project

Ocean Noise

Anthropogenic noise can have far reaching effects on the health of marine life. This project examines anthropogenic noise in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Open Acoustic Data

Project

Open Acoustic Data

Enabling global open access to MBARI’s passive acoustic monitoring data and associated analysis tools, through a partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Physiology

Project

Physiology

One of the enduring mysteries of life in the deep-sea is how organisms can function under high-pressures and at near freezing temperatures. We are beginning to find clues about the trade-offs for life in the deep.

Public Exhibits

Project

Public Exhibits

Enriching public education about the ocean soundscape through resident and mobile exhibit deployment.

Respiration Studies

Project

Respiration Studies

Investigating the ecological effects of Central California’s expanding oxygen minimum zone (OMZ).

Soundscape Listening Room

Project

Soundscape Listening Room

Access a live stream and a library of sounds recorded using a hydrophone (underwater microphone) off the Central California coast.

Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling (SOCCOM)

Project

Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling (SOCCOM)

SOCCOM is an NSF-sponsored program focused on unlocking the mysteries of the Southern Ocean and determining its influence on climate.

Station M Long-term Time Series

Project

Station M Long-term Time Series

The Station M study is one of the most detailed investigations of any abyssal area in the world ocean. Over this 25-year study, we have continuously monitored the amount of sinking particulate matter through the benthic boundary layer.

Terrain Relative Navigation

Project

Terrain Relative Navigation

Improving vehicle navigation in real-time by localizing relative to an existing map.

The Octopus Garden

Project

The Octopus Garden

Octopus (Muusoctopus robustus) breeding at deep-sea hydrothermal springs at the base of Davidson Seamount are a current focus of ecological research.

Understanding the Effects of a Changing Ocean

Project

Understanding the Effects of a Changing Ocean

Focusing on how marine animals will respond to shifting ocean conditions caused by climate change and other human activities.

Vertical Migration Studies

Project

Vertical Migration Studies

Vertically migrating animals comprise a large and active component of the ocean’s biological pump, and when compared with passively sinking detritus, the vertical migrators contribute significantly to the overall flux of particulate organic carbon.

Zooplankton Biodiversity and Species Relationships

Project

Zooplankton Biodiversity and Species Relationships

The deep-sea is a diverse habitat, but it is turning out to be even more diverse that we imagined.

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