Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

About: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute is a nonprofit organization based out in Castroville, California, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Upwelling & Population. The organization has 630 authors who have published 2068 publications receiving 119899 citations. The organization is also known as: Monterey Bay Aquarium and Research Institute & MBARI.

Swept away by a turbidity current in Mendocino submarine canyon, California

Abstract: We present unique observations and measurements of a dilute turbidity current made with a remotely operated vehicle in 400 m water depth near the head of Mendocino Canyon, California. The flow had a two-layer structure with a thin (0.5 to 30 m), relatively dense (<0.04 vol %) and fast (up to ~1.7 m/s) wedge-shaped lower layer overlain by a thicker (up to 89 m) more dilute and slower current. The fast moving lower layer lagged the slow moving, dilute flow front by 14 min, which we infer resulted from the interaction of two initial pulses. The two layers were strongly coupled, and the sharp interface between the layers was characterized by a wave-like instability. This is the first field-scale data from a turbidity current to show (i) the complex dynamics of the head of a turbidity current and (ii) the presence of multiple layers within the same event.

Offshore and onshore liquefaction at Moss Landing spit, central California—Result of the October 17,1989, Loma Prieta earthquake

Abstract: As a result of the October 17, 1989, Loma Prieta (Santa Cruz Mountains, California) earthquake, liquefaction of the fluvial, estuarine, eolian, and beach sediments under a sand spit destroyed the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and damaged other structures and utilities. Initial studies suggested that the liquefaction was a local phenomenon. More detailed offshore investigations, however, indicate that it occurred over a large area (maximum 8 km{sup 2}) during or shortly after the earthquake with movement of unconsolidated sediment toward and into the head of Monterey submarine canyon. This conclusion is supported by side-scan sonographs, high-resolution seismic-reflection and bathymetric profiles, onshore and sea-floor photographs, and underwater video tapes. Many distinct lobate features were identified on the shallow shelf. These features almost certainly were the result of the October 17 earthquake; they were subsequently destroyed by winter storms. In addition, fresh slump scars and recently dislodged mud debris were found on the upper, southern wall of Monterey submarine canyon.

Effects of seasonal pack ice on the distribution of macrozooplankton and micronekton in the northwestern Weddell Sea

Abstract: The presence of mesopelagic organisms in the guts of surface-foraging seabirds feeding in open areas within seasonal pack ice in the Antarctic has given rise to questions regarding the effects of pack ice on the underlying mesopelagic community. Bottom-moored free-vehicle acoustic instruments were used in concert with midwater trawls and baited traps to examine the abundance, size distribution and vertical distribution of pelagic organisms in the uppermost 100 m of the water column during the austral spring of 1992 in two areas of the northwestern Weddell Sea, one covered by sea- sonal pack ice and the other free of ice cover. Acoustic targets were more abundant and significantly larger at the open-water station than beneath pack ice. How- ever, targets at the ice-covered site exhibited a pro- nounced diel pattern, with the largest targets detected only at night. Samples from night trawls at the ice- covered site contained several species of large, vertically-migrating mesopelagic fishes, whereas these species were absent from trawls taken during the day. In addition, baited traps deployed in pack ice just beneath the ice-water interface collected large numbers of scavenging lysianassoid amphipods, while deeper traps beneath the ice and traps at the open-water sta- tion were empty, indicating the presence of a scaveng- ing community associated with the undersurface of the ice. These results support the idea that mesopelagic organisms migrate closer to the surface beneath pack ice than in open water, exposing them to possible predation by surface-foraging seabirds.