Midwater Ecology Group

Bruce H. Robison, Principal Investigator


Between the surface of the sea and the ocean floor lies a vast fluid universe, Earth’s least-known environment.

The high operational capabilities of MBARI’s ROVs, Ventana and Tiburon, with their sophisticated cameras, samplers, and sensors, has afforded investigators the opportunity to spend thousands of hours surveying and describing the deep waters of the ocean. The Institute’s programs to observe and survey these little-known life forms in their native habitat, and to collect living specimens for laboratory studies, are the most extensive such efforts to date.

The reward of regular investigations of midwater ecology with an ROV is a radically new perspective on the deep sea. Many of MBARI’s most stunning discoveries have come from the time-series data of midwater ROV surveys.

*If you are looking for supplemental materials from publications, please contact the corresponding authors directly.

Midwater image gallery

Deep sea squid and octopuses


Food web dynamics

The goal of the food web research is to further describe the complex structure and functioning of the deep sea food web off Central California, with a primary focus on the role of understudied midwater animals.

Respiration studies

The oxygen content of the entire world ocean is falling. To investigate the consequences of this large-scale change, MBARI scientists are exploring a characteristic attribute of the oceanic water column in Monterey Bay called the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ).

Midwater time series

MBARI’s midwater time series provides specific data to investigate the natural variability of oceanic communities at depths below the mixed layer.




Upper-ocean systems
Acoustical ocean ecology
Acoustic instruments
Acoustic fingerprinting
Acoustic community ecology
Acoustics in the news
Marine biogeochemistry
Ocean carbon export
Technology development
Coastal carbon cycling and ocean acidification
Carbon cycle feedbacks
Western boundary current carbon cycling
Lab news
Biological oceanography
Global modes of sea surface temperature
Nitrate supply estimates in upwelling systems
Chemical sensors
Chemical data
Land/Ocean Biogeochemical Observatory in Elkhorn Slough
Listing of floats
SOCCOM float visualization
Periodic table of elements in the ocean
Biogeochemical-Argo Report
Profiling float
Marine microbes
Population dynamics of phytoplankton
Microbial predators
Microbe-algae interactions
Targeted metagenomics
In the news
Upcoming events and lab news
Past talks and presentations
Join the lab
Interdisciplinary field experiments
Ecogenomic Sensing
Genomic sensors
Field experiments
Harmful algal blooms (HABs)
Water quality
Environmental Sample Processor (ESP)
ESP Web Portal
In the news
Ocean observing system
Midwater research
Midwater ecology
Deep-sea squids and octopuses
Food web dynamics
Midwater time series
Respiration studies
Zooplankton biodiversity
Seafloor processes
Revealing the secrets of Sur Ridge
Mapping Sur Ridge
Biology and ecology
Effects of humans
Ocean acidification, warming, deoxygenation
Lost shipping container study
Effects of upwelling
Faunal patterns
Previous research
Technology development
High-CO2 / low-pH ocean
Benthic respirometer system
Climate change in extreme environments
Station M: A long-term observatory on the abyssal seafloor
Station M long-term time series
Monitoring instrumentation suite
Sargasso Sea research
Antarctic research
Geological changes
Arctic Shelf Edge
Continental Margins and Canyon Dynamics
Coordinated Canyon Experiment
CCE instruments
CCE repeat mapping data
Monterey Canyon: A Grand Canyon beneath the waves
Submarine volcanoes
Mid-ocean ridges
Magmatic processes
Volcanic processes
Explosive eruptions
Hydrothermal systems
Back arc spreading ridges
Near-ridge seamounts
Continental margin seamounts
Non-hot-spot linear chains
Eclectic seamounts topics
Margin processes
Hydrates and seeps
California borderland
Hot spot research
Hot-spot plumes
Magmatic processes
Volcanic processes
Explosive eruptions
Volcanic hazards
Hydrothermal systems
Flexural arch
Coral reefs
ReefGrow software
Eclectic topics
Submarine volcanism cruises
Volcanoes resources
Areas of study
Automated chemical sensors
Methane in the seafloor
Microscopic biology research
Open ocean biology research
Seafloor biology research
Volcanoes and seamounts
Hydrothermal vents
Methane in the seafloor
Submarine canyons
Earthquakes and landslides
Ocean acidification
Physical oceanography and climate change
Ocean circulation and algal blooms
Ocean cycles and climate change
Past research
Molecular ecology
Molecular systematics
SIMZ Project
Bone-eating worms
Gene flow and dispersal
Molecular-ecology expeditions
Ocean chemistry of greenhouse gases
Emerging science of a high CO2/low pH ocean
Research publications