The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is a private, non-profit oceanographic research center in Moss Landing, California. MBARI was founded in 1987 by David Packard and Jane Watson to do innovative research and technology development to explore the ocean environment for the benefit of society.
Since its inception, MBARI has grown rapidly, now employing over 200 people with an annual budget of over $40 million. The institute’s primary focus is on developing new technologies for oceanographic research and conducting scientific studies that advance our understanding of the oceans.
To achieve these goals, MBARI operates three main programs:
(1) the Technology Development Program, which invents and develops new underwater vehicles and sensors;
(2) the Data Management Program, which manages MBARI’s large data sets and makes them available to scientists worldwide; and
(3) the Science Department, which conducts original scientific research using MBARI’s unique facilities.
Technology Development Program:
The goal of MBARI’s Technology Development Program is to develop new observational tools and techniques to help researchers study hard-to-reach areas of the ocean. This program inventing and developing remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), imaging systems, moorings, sampling devices, chemical sensors, acoustic recorders ,and other types of equipment. One example of a successful technology developed by this program is MARS (Multiple Autonomous Robotics System), an undersea observatory that allows real-time monitoring of deep-sea habitats 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. MARS consists of a network of seafloor instruments connected by fiber-optic cable to shore stations at MBARI or at partner institutions .
Data Management Program: The Data Management Program oversees all aspects of data management for MBARI—from acquiring data from instruments in the field to processing it into useful information products and making it available to scientists worldwide through online databases such as PANGAEA (Publishing Network for Geoscientific & Environmental Data). In addition to managing vast quantities of numeric data ,this program also archives video footage taken by ROVs and AUVs ,as well as still images captured by cameras mounted on these vehicles or lowered down on tethers .This video footage often provides invaluable documentation not only for scientific research but also for educational outreach efforts .
Science Department: The Science Department at MBARI conducts basic and applied research using state-of-the art instrumentation and facilities .Current areas of active scientific investigation include seafloor mapping and exploration; seamount ecology; deep sea corals; fisheries biology; benthic community dynamics ; microbial ecology ; geochemistry ; physical oceanography ; seafloor hydrothermal vents ; plankton dynamics ; climate change impacts on marine ecosystems; remote sensing ; coastal zone science; toxic algae blooms; invasive species; submarine canyons; whale falls; deep sea mining impactsMany members of the Science Department also participate in public education programs designed to increase awareness about issues facing our oceans today .