MBARI’s advanced underwater robots are revealing the amazing animals that thrive in the depths of Monterey Bay. Cameras on our robotic submersibles have captured stunning images and video of giant jellies, towering corals, and other denizens of the deep. Now, this imagery is helping raise awareness about the deep sea in Santa Cruz County.

A new collaboration between MBARI and the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) introduces bus riders to the amazing animals of the deep. METRO’s acclaimed environmental awareness campaign, One Ride at a Time, now includes a bus wrapped in images of deep-sea animals taken by MBARI’s robotic submersibles.

“MBARI’s underwater robots have revealed the stunning diversity of life that thrives in the depths of Monterey Bay. These are our neighbors that dwell in our blue backyard. We hope meeting these amazing animals inspires us all to think about our connection to the ocean and how we can help protect deep-sea animals and environments from threats like climate change,” said MBARI Science Communication and Content Manager Susan von Thun.

One Ride at a Time seeks to showcase the environmental benefits of transit, encourage bus ridership, and protect Santa Cruz County’s extraordinary natural resources, including its unique and fragile deep-sea ecosystem just offshore in Monterey Bay.

“We are so fortunate to welcome MBARI to the ‘One Ride at a Time’ team,” said Danielle Glagola, METRO Marketing and Communications Director. “Their technology allows everyone in Santa Cruz County to have an unparalleled glimpse into the beautiful and fascinating deep-sea world that lives in our blue backyard.”

Monterey Bay and its deep underwater canyon teem with life, but Central Coast residents rarely get to see these neighbors that live in the bay’s inky depths. MBARI’s remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are illuminating life in the deep sea. Operated from a control room in the heart of one of MBARI’s research ships, a team of pilots and scientists steers the submersible as it explores the depths below. MBARI’s ROVs have completed more than 7,300 scientific dives in Monterey Bay and beyond, and recorded more than 28,400 hours of video. Cameras on MBARI’s ROVs film deep-sea animals and communities in stunning 4K ultra high-definition detail.

METRO’s new bus features larger-than-life images of some of the remarkable residents of Monterey Bay’s deep submarine canyon, from a crimson comb jelly discovered by MBARI scientists to a living fossil that dwells in the twilight zone.