Salps are gelatinous animals that live in the open ocean, but are closely related to the “sea squirts” (tunicates) seen in tidepools. Colonial salps such as this one in the genus Heliosalpa often form long chains, with new animals budding off from others in the chain. By rhythmically contracting their bodies, salps propel themselves through the water and pump water through their guts, filtering out microscopic algae and other tiny organisms for food. This allows them to swim and eat at the same time. With such a simple feeding strategy, salps can multiply very rapidly when they have plenty of food. Most salps are found within 100 meters of the sea surface, where there is enough sunlight for algae to grow. Along the Central California coast, salps are typically seen in fall, when warm, open-ocean water flows toward shore.

This squid, Taonis borealis, is one of the many interesting deep-sea organisms MBARI’s Midwater Ecology group observed on their research expedition in October 2012. You can learn more about their research and see more of the interesting animals they found by reading the group’s cruise logs.

MBARI researcher Rob Sherlock took this photograph of a very large iceberg in the Weddell Sea (designated A-52), which was about 5 kilometers (3 miles) wide and 21 kilometers (12 miles) long. Because of rising temperatures, an increasing number of icebergs have been breaking off from Antarctic glaciers and ice sheets to drift around the Southern Ocean. In December 2005, Sherlock and several other MBARI biologists joined anexpedition headed by biologist Ken Smith to study how these drifting icebergs affect the distribution of marine animals and algae in Antarctic waters. For more on MBARI’s research in the Antarctic http://www.mbari.org/news/news_releases/2011/icebergs/icebergs-dsr-release.html

In 2011-2012, a research team led by Ken Smith traveled to the area of the western North Atlantic known as the Sargasso Sea to study the effects of climate variation on surface Sargassum and deep-sea ecosystems. In this sample, feathery hydroids are interspersed with the fronds and floats of Sargassum seaweed. Today the team embarks on their last cruise in the Sargasso Sea on R/V Walton Smith, the Rosenstiel School at University of Miami’s primary research vessel. To read more about the research Smith’s group conducted in the Sargasso sea, see these cruise logs from the previous expedition: http://www.mbari.org/expeditions/Sargasso3/index.htm. Photo: Debbie Nail Meyer

MBARI engineers perform tests on the environmental sample processor (ESP) before sealing it inside its pressure housing. The ESP automatically collects water samples and can process them in a variety of ways, such as identifying the microorganisms contained in the water samples. The researchers tested the ESP inside of a refrigerated van to make sure that it would work in temperatures similar to those found in the deep sea (within a few degrees of freezing). Photo: Todd Walsh © 2009 MBARI 

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are robot submarines that are programmed at the surface, then released to follow a specific path underwater, collecting data as they go. MBARI’s scientists use AUVs to study ocean currents, detect blooms of marine algae, and map the seafloor. This photograph shows a bright yellow AUV approaching part of a prototype docking station in the MBARI test tank.

MBARI staff, scientists, and engineers will share their knowledge and enthusiasm about oceanographic research at our annual Open House this Saturday, July 21, 2012 from noon to 5 p.m. in Moss Landing, California. Highlights include science exhibits, technology demonstrations, deep-sea videos, presentations, robotic submersibles, and children’s activities. This free event is fun for the whole family! For more information, visit www.mbari.org/about/openhouse.html 

Lithodid crabs, small red shrimp (Pandalopsis sp.), bubblegum coral (Paragorgia arborea), yellow sponge (Staurocalyptus sp.), and a white branching finger sponge (Asbestopluma sp.).