SURF Center OverviewTeamPublicationsLatest NewsTechnologiesData The oceans are vast soups, rich with microbial life. To study the ingredients in this soup, researchers need to concentrate microbes, oftentimes by filtering large quantities of water. What remains on the filter — e.g., single-cell organisms, cellular debris, environmental DNA, can be subjected to molecular biology techniques and provide a window into who or what lives in that particular ecosystem. Thus, all understanding starts with the simple act of filtering water. Yet, filtering water for later microbial analysis is surprisingly difficult to perform without a human to change filters or clean lines between samples.More difficult still is to take those filters and robotically apply molecular biology techniques in order to identify particular organisms or the substance they might produce.In the SURF Center (Sensors: Underwater Research of the Future), we work on developing robots that can repeatedly sample water volumes and preserve what is collected. Additionally, we have developed robots that can perform molecular biology analysis on these samples, providing near real-time results to questions of who/what is present in the environment. This instrument, called the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) is a robotic water sampler and processor and has been deployed in various configurations around the world. Originally developed for the detection of harmful algae blooms and the toxins they produce, the ESP has been shown to reliably collect and preserve environmental DNA. Team Directory Christopher A. Scholin Outgoing President and Chief Executive Officer/Senior Scientist Principal Investigator James Birch Director of the SURF Center Project Manager Scott Jensen Senior Electrical Engineer Brent Roman Senior Software Engineer Christina Preston Research Specialist Bill Ussler Senior Research Specialist/Chemical Safety Officer Kevan Yamahara ESP Senior Research Specialist Nadia Allaf Mechatronics Technician Chloe Weinstock Research Technician Enoch Nicholson Mechanical Engineer Projects All Projects Sorry, no results were found. Publications All Publications Zhang, Y., B. Kieft, B.W. Hobson, B.Y. Raanan, S. Urmy, K.J. Pitz, C.M. Preston, B. Roman, K.J. Benoit-Bird, J.M. Birch, F.P. Chavez, and C.A. Scholin. 2021. Persistent sampling of vertically migrating biological layers by an autonomous underwater vehicle within the beam of a seabed-mounted echosounder. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, 46: 497–508. https://doi.org/10.1109/JOE.2020.2982811 Chavez, F.P., M. Min, K. Pitz, N. Truelove, J. Baker, D. LaScala-Grunewald, M. Blum, K. Walz, C. Nye, A. Djurhuus, R.J. Miller, K.D. Goodwin, F.E. Muller-Karger, H.A. Ruhl, and C.A. Scholin. 2021. Observing life in the sea using environmental DNA. Oceanography, 34: 102–119. https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2021.218 Kiene, R.P., B. Nowinski, K. Esson, C. Preston, R. Marin III, J. Birch, C. Scholin, J. Ryan, and M.A. Moran. 2019. Unprecedented DMSP Concentrations in a Massive Dinoflagellate Bloom in Monterey Bay, CA. Geophysical Research Letters, 46: 12279–12288. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL085496 Nowinski, B., C.B. Smith, C.M. Thomas, K. Esson, R. Marin III, C.M. Preston, J.M. Birch, C.A. Scholin, M. Huntemann, A. Clum, B. Foster, B. Foster, S. Roux, K. Palaniappan, N. Varghese, S. Mukherjee, T.K.B. Reddy, C. Daum, A. Copeland, I.M.A. Chen, N.N. Ivanova, N.C. Kyrpides, T. Glavina del Rio, W.B. Whitman, R.P. Kiene, E.A. Eloe-Fadrosh, and M.A. Moran. 2019. Microbial metagenomes and metatranscriptomes during a coastal phytoplankton bloom. Scientific Data, 6: 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-019-0132-4 Nowinski, B., J. Motard-Cote, M. Landa, C.M. Preston, C.A. Scholin, J.M. Birch, R.P. Kiene, and M.A. Moran. 2019. Microdiversity and temporal dynamics of marine bacterial dimethylsulfoniopropionate genes. Environmental Microbiology, 21: 1687–1701. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.14560 Latest News All News News MBARI research and technology play integral role in new Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences Press Release 06.09.25 News New robotic technology lab expands MBARI’s capacity for ocean exploration and technology innovation News 03.12.25 News MBARI’s advanced technology transforms the monitoring of aquatic ecosystems News 12.18.24 Technologies All Technologies Instrument Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) Technology Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) This “lab in a can” provides on-site collection and analysis of water samples from the ocean, identifying the presence of organisms and/or biological toxins. Data All Data Data ESP Data The ESP provides in situ collection and analysis of water samples from the subsurface ocean
Christopher A. Scholin Outgoing President and Chief Executive Officer/Senior Scientist Principal Investigator
Zhang, Y., B. Kieft, B.W. Hobson, B.Y. Raanan, S. Urmy, K.J. Pitz, C.M. Preston, B. Roman, K.J. Benoit-Bird, J.M. Birch, F.P. Chavez, and C.A. Scholin. 2021. Persistent sampling of vertically migrating biological layers by an autonomous underwater vehicle within the beam of a seabed-mounted echosounder. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, 46: 497–508. https://doi.org/10.1109/JOE.2020.2982811
Chavez, F.P., M. Min, K. Pitz, N. Truelove, J. Baker, D. LaScala-Grunewald, M. Blum, K. Walz, C. Nye, A. Djurhuus, R.J. Miller, K.D. Goodwin, F.E. Muller-Karger, H.A. Ruhl, and C.A. Scholin. 2021. Observing life in the sea using environmental DNA. Oceanography, 34: 102–119. https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2021.218
Kiene, R.P., B. Nowinski, K. Esson, C. Preston, R. Marin III, J. Birch, C. Scholin, J. Ryan, and M.A. Moran. 2019. Unprecedented DMSP Concentrations in a Massive Dinoflagellate Bloom in Monterey Bay, CA. Geophysical Research Letters, 46: 12279–12288. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL085496
Nowinski, B., C.B. Smith, C.M. Thomas, K. Esson, R. Marin III, C.M. Preston, J.M. Birch, C.A. Scholin, M. Huntemann, A. Clum, B. Foster, B. Foster, S. Roux, K. Palaniappan, N. Varghese, S. Mukherjee, T.K.B. Reddy, C. Daum, A. Copeland, I.M.A. Chen, N.N. Ivanova, N.C. Kyrpides, T. Glavina del Rio, W.B. Whitman, R.P. Kiene, E.A. Eloe-Fadrosh, and M.A. Moran. 2019. Microbial metagenomes and metatranscriptomes during a coastal phytoplankton bloom. Scientific Data, 6: 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-019-0132-4
Nowinski, B., J. Motard-Cote, M. Landa, C.M. Preston, C.A. Scholin, J.M. Birch, R.P. Kiene, and M.A. Moran. 2019. Microdiversity and temporal dynamics of marine bacterial dimethylsulfoniopropionate genes. Environmental Microbiology, 21: 1687–1701. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.14560
News MBARI research and technology play integral role in new Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences Press Release 06.09.25
News New robotic technology lab expands MBARI’s capacity for ocean exploration and technology innovation News 03.12.25
Instrument Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) Technology Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) This “lab in a can” provides on-site collection and analysis of water samples from the ocean, identifying the presence of organisms and/or biological toxins.
Data ESP Data The ESP provides in situ collection and analysis of water samples from the subsurface ocean