Software developed by MBARI engineers guided a sea-going robot as it monitored the plume of hot seawater created by an active lava flow in Hawai`i.

Our mission today was to fill and deploy the MRS at our deep mooring site (2,800 meters). Locating target animals is a challenge at this food-limited depth, but as the ROV flew closer to the seafloor we were able to successfully fill the chambers with a mysid shrimp, an eelpout, and several snailfishes. Respiration rates will be measured in the field over the next 48 hours, …

The Society for Sedimentary Geology recently awarded MBARI Geologist Charles Paull the Francis P. Shepard medal for marine geology.

MBARI welcomed visitors to its annual Open House on July 21st. Visitors got the opportunity to speak to staff about their work and learn about the research and development conducted at MBARI.

A recent paper in ScienceRobotics describes a new bio-inspired sampling system that was tested using MBARI's remotely operated vehicle Ventana.

For 15 years, EARTH workshops have brought scientists and teachers together to develop lesson plans using real science data.

A team of MBARI scientists is monitoring abalones under carefully controlled environmental conditions for two months to learn more about how these animals will fare in future ocean conditions.

A new paper in Nature Microbiology describes cutting edge experiments and genomic techniques showing how microscopic marine algae acclimate to changing ocean conditions.

What is DeepPIV? You may have asked yourself this question as you’ve read our expedition posts. DeepPIV is an instrument that we are using extensively during our ROV dives, and it was developed and built at MBARI. DeepPIV allows us to measure fluid motion in the deep sea in unprecedented detail. It is based on a …

On this expedition we are using two different remotely operated vehicles (ROV). The main one, ROV Doc Ricketts, is always deployed from R/V Western Flyer, while the smaller one, MiniROV is what we call a “flyaway” vehicle because it can be launched from any research vessel anywhere in the world. We can ship the vehicle …

MBARI Collaborator Katie Thomas How do we catch black fish? Three members of the team (Sonke Johnsen, Katie Thomas, and Karen Osborn) are working on figuring out how deep-sea fish make themselves super black to disappear into their dark surroundings. While many deep-sea animals can be collected in beautifully pristine condition with ROVs, fish are …

MBARI Collaborator Sonke Johnsen Art and science go hand in hand, and the animals of the deep sea are particularly inspiring to both worlds. I still remember the excitement I felt when I saw the paintings from the very first trip humans took into the deep ocean—not only because because they opened so many questions …

My name is Joost, and I am a research engineering technician in MBARI’s Bioinspiration Lab. This is my first cruise on the Western Flyer, and in the coming days I hope to share with you some of my amazement and excitement about this expedition. Having the biggest ship in the harbor can be both a …

What are we going to study in the ocean twilight zone? The Bioinspiration Lab and collaborators will be conducting ROV dives, DeepPIV measurements, trawls, animal collections, laboratory measurements of animal biomechanics, and measurements of optical properties of various tissues and materials to answer one question: What secrets do animals in the ocean twilight zone possess …

A monthlong research cruise revealed that the “White Shark Café” supports much more abundant and diverse marine life than scientists expected.

We had a successful 24 hours yesterday sampling with the R/V Ruben Lasker during the day at the front and then following them at night along the Davenport line while they conducted their traditional trawl sampling. The Wave Glider Tiny that is following the 3G ESP LRAUV Makai has a very bright light and during night sampling …

Bringing to light an urgent message of ocean conservation to the public, leaders of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and Monterey Bay Aquarium wrote a column that was published in the New York Times today.

We’re beginning our joint sampling with the R/V Ruben Lasker today. We want to explore how fronts affect the aggregations of different organisms. Last night and this morning we took a Pairovet sample at our time series station, which is currently located within the frontal region. Some of the organisms we found during last night’s …

In honor of World Oceans Day, MBARI researchers highlight the discovery of over 200 deep-sea animal species over the last 30 years.

Cranes are integral to MBARI’s marine operations, including moving massive pieces of equipment on and off ships.