In 1995, an oil-field work boat sank suddenly off Southern California. Twenty-three years later, an MBARI ROV pilot who worked on that boat helped find the wreck.

Ocean researchers propose a new "pole-to-pole" Marine Biodiversity Observation Network

Marine biologists recently discovered five new species of colorful nudibranchs on the deep seafloor offshore of California and Baja California.

Adopt-A-Float program lets grade-school students participate in a major scientific study of the vast Southern Ocean.

  Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Research Coordinator Andrew DeVogelaere Two of the many nice things about being at sea are being rocked to sleep in your bunk by waves and the short, 30-step commute from your stateroom to the lab. This morning, launch prep began at 6:00, with a remotely operated vehicle dive starting …

Pulses of sinking debris carry large amounts of carbon to the deep seafloor, but are poorly represented in global climate models.

Postdoctoral Fellow Amanda Kahn Yesterday we left Moss Landing Harbor on the morning’s high tide and made the five-hour trip to Sur Ridge. The winds and waves were extreme so we could not do any research operations. Instead, we stayed near the coastline and waited for conditions to improve, which happened this morning. Our first …

Deep in the Gulf of California MBARI researchers watched shrimp "play dead" by hanging motionless in the water. They speculate that the shrimp do this to avoid being eaten.

Scientists know that the ocean is taking up a lot of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Marine chemist Andrea Fassbender is bringing this process into focus by studying how carbon moves between the atmosphere, upper ocean, and deep sea.

Oceangoing robots are taking on ever-more complicated tasks and ushering in a technology revolution in oceanography, transforming the everyday work of ocean researchers.

dun dun…. dun dun…… DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN DUN! We had a white tip shark visit the @MBARI_News mini ROV during tonight’s #DEEPCHawaii2018 dive to 300 meters to look for ctenophores. @NSF_bio pic.twitter.com/2PeDy0Z4fI — Darrin Schultz (@conchoecia) November 11, 2018 Our new favorite instrument is the MiniROV. The Mini has significantly increased our view …

Learning about the respiration and metabolism of deep midwater animals is a priority of the Midwater Ecology Group. Studying an animal’s respiration (how much oxygen it consumes), helps us better understand how much energy (food) it needs to live. Understanding this relationship between oxygen consumption and energy requirements for different organisms gives scientists a better …

As mentioned in the first log entry of the expedition, the midwater contains much of the ocean’s biodiversity and MBARI’s use of ROVs to study this huge and unknown habitat has led to many discoveries. Some of the most surprising discoveries made by MBARI’s midwater biologists involve giant larvaceans (Bathochordaeus). These pelagic tunicates thrive in …

We got these stunning close-up shots of this viperfish, Chauliodus macouni, this week with ROV Doc Ricketts. This fish is over 500 meters (1,640 feet) below the surface and no longer than your forearm. The fact that we can fly a large underwater robot in the deep midwater, spot and zoom in on an amazing deep-sea fish, watch …

Exploring the midwater with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) gives us a unique perspective of the communities living there. Traditional methods for studying the midwater involved trawling—dragging a net behind the boat and then sorting through the haul. That haul can be filled with fish, squid, crustaceans, and LOTS of jelly parts. Due to their …

Between the ocean surface and the seafloor lies a vast, fluid universe, Earth’s least-known environment. That habitat, commonly called the midwater, contains much of planet Earth’s biodiversity. Using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to study the animals living there gives us a unique perspective of this ecosystem. Regular investigations of midwater ecology with ROVs has led …

Senior Research Technician Shannon Johnson, Postdoctoral Fellow Manabu Bessho, and Graduate Research Assistant Jacob Winnikoff This year we are lucky to be able to participate in the blue-water scuba diving operations. It’s hard to describe the experience, but it’s kind of like floating in the most beautiful, ethereal, warm blue water. We use lines and clips …

If you are a fan of nature documentaries, you may have come across a strange, gelatinous creature floating through the water with its many-colored glimmering comb rows. These luminescent animals are not, in fact, aliens or robots, but ctenophores (the “c” is silent, so it is pronounce “tee-no-fors”), commonly called comb jellies. Ctenophores are gelatinous …

Building on their 2015 expedition, MBARI researchers will be mapping the Pescadero Basin and searching for hydrothermal vents.

The cruise activities don’t end when we get back to shore. Next, comes the data analyses, interpretation, and communication through peer-reviewed research papers, social media, and press releases. The sediment traps and Sedimentation Event Sensor recorded another period during which large amounts of marine snow reached the seafloor. Interestingly, data from the Benthic Rover, time-lapse …