MBARI engineers develop a new low-cost way to connect deep-sea instruments
January 13, 2020 – Deep-Sea Connect provides a new and relatively inexpensive method for connecting instruments to MBARI’s MARS ocean observatory.
MARS
Seafloor cable used to detect earthquakes, faults, and storm waves
November 28, 2019 – In a new paper in Science magazine, researchers describe an experiment that turned the seafloor cable on MBARI’s MARS ocean observatory into the equivalent of 10,000 seismic stations on the ocean floor.
Underwater microphone provides tantalizing new perspective on Monterey Bay
Feb 18, 2016 – 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.
MARS biology
Eye in the Sea – This low-light camera sits quietly and looks for shy creatures by the eerie glow of their bioluminescence – a feature shared by 90 percent of deep-sea life. So far, we’ve studied the deep using loud subs with bright lights. Eye in the Sea uses a stealthier approach.
MARS instrument deployment
The MARS observatory (and other cabled ocean observatories) provide oceanographic instruments with a full-time power and data connection to shore. Such observatories allow instruments to operate indefinitely, and to perform more power-hungry measurements than would be possible under battery power.
MARS Science Experiments
Eye in the Sea – This low-light camera sits quietly and looks for shy creatures by the eerie glow of their bioluminescence – a feature shared by 90 percent of deep-sea life. So far, we’ve studied the deep using loud subs with bright lights. Eye in the Sea uses a stealthier approach.
About MARS
The MARS observatory (and other cabled ocean observatories) provide oceanographic instruments with a full-time power and data connection to shore. Such observatories allow instruments to operate indefinitely, and to perform more power-hungry measurements than would be possible under battery power.
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About MBARI
Research programs at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) encompass the entire ocean, from the surface waters to the deep seafloor, and from the coastal zone to the open sea. The need to understand the ocean in all its complexity and variability drives MBARI's research and development efforts.