During yesterday's forty mile ride to Monterey, we took a detour to deepen our knowledge of the ocean at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Our friend Brian was gracious enough to give us a full tour of MBARI at Moss Landing. We explored the spectacular facility and spoke with scientists and engineers who shared their work with us. We met with biologists, engineers, electricians, and chemists about their research and expeditions into the deep ocean. We covered topics like what types of invertebrates feed on whale carcasses that drift to the deep, how increasing CO2 levels in the ocean and atmosphere are changing the biology of marine organisms, the research and tracking of algal blooms, the relationship between benthic and pelagic organisms and all of the awesome technology they use to conduct this research.
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| Western Flyer, a research vessel we toured that was full of fun instruments and vehicles |
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| An ROV vehicle used to study the ocean floor |
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| AOV used to study the sea floor |
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| Lunch stop outside MBARI |
We are grateful to have had this opportunity to talk to the scientists who are at the cutting edge of ocean research and even brainstormed how we can study plankton back home at Howlands Landing. Thanks to all the lovely folks at MBARI for this unique experience!
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