The review of proposals for MBARI research was conducted much in the same way that it was done last year, except that the Project Coordination Office (PCO) provided informal feedback on new projects at the time of abstract submission as to whether the research was likely to be supported. This step helped redirect some efforts before a lot of manpower was wasted in preparing a proposal not likely to align with institutional priorities in 2001. Seventy-one abstracts were submitted: 45 for possible new projects and 26 for continuing projects. Of the 45 new projects, 18 were rated as "likely to be selected." Another 18 were rated "some chance of being selected," and nine were discouraged from preparing a full proposal.

Sixty-nine full proposals for new and continuing work were ultimately prepared by MBARI staff and adjunct researchers during Phase I of the selection process. This number was artificially high compared to what would be expected from the abstract ratings on account of how the Hawaii expedition was handled. The PCO asked PIs wishing to take advantage of the Western Flyer expedition to Hawaii to request ship and travel time in a separate proposal apart from his or her main science effort. In this way, it would be easy to assess the impact on ship time, manpower, and budget as various legs of the Hawaii expedition were either approved or declined. The initial ship time request for Hawaii exceeded by a factor of two the available days, and therefore many of these projects had to be either declined or descoped substantially. After review by the PCO, a total of 46 continuing and new proposals were rated "Category 1" (recommended for funding with only minor modification to resources or scope). Another 20 were rated "Category 2" (recommended for funding after significant rescoping). Several continuing projects were required to hold formal design reviews prior to making a decision, and the remainder were declined. After taking a careful look at resources and likely project overruns from 2000, 62 projects were chosen for funding in 2001, based on their relevance to the MBARI Strategic Plan, the quality of the proposed research, and the viability of their respective implementation strategies. Several involve significant partnerships with external funding sources (NSF, NOPP, DOE, NOAA). Projects completely externally funded are not included in this total, even though they were scrutinized for MBARI relevance prior to submission to the external funding agency (and are included in the list below).

Seven MBARI adjuncts submitted either new or continuing projects, and six adjuncts (Steve Rock, Stanford; Barbara Romanowicz, UC-Berkeley; Edie Widder, Harbor Branch; Bill Hamner, UCLA; Mary Silver, UCSC; Doug Nelson, UC-Davis) were supported to a large extent.

The final projects selected fall into the following eight research themes, of which the first three are science-based, the next three are technology-based, and the final two provide the information management, outreach, and infrastructure necessary to ensure widespread access to MBARI research. Projects in italics have significant external funding support. Those underlined are lead by adjuncts.

An overview of each of these categories of activities follows.

The active seeps, faults, and canyons of Monterey Bay continue to be a focus for MBARI researchers. However, in 2001 we continue a trend begun last year to expand our operations to other areas in the Pacific in order to study new phenomena or to provide tests of models developed here. Many of the projects in this category are still in progress from last year, with little change in emphasis or scope. Therefore, only a few will be highlighted.

MBARI’s newest scientist, Bob Vrijenhoek, now has his lab up and running. For 2001, he will continue genetic testing of his hypothesis that only recently (within the Cenozoic) have hot vent communities diversified from their cold seep cousins. His work challenges the belief that hot vent taxa are extremely old, perhaps even representing the cradle of life. Monterey Bay cold seeps will provide the model system for his experiments.

Peter Brewer’s studies of gas hydrates and the viability of CO₂ sequestration, both of which have attracted a substantial amount of external excitement, will continue in 2001, under joint funding from MBARI and DOE. Emphasis will be on interpreting the samples recovered from Hydrate Ridge in Oregon this past summer. Work will also continue on providing quantitative measurements using in situ instrumentation, including nuclear magnetic resonance and Raman spectroscopy, deployed from ROVs. a new aspect of this work will be a redirection of Barry’s benthic biology studies to investigate the biological impacts of CO₂ sequestration on deep-sea organisms. Studies will include the survival, growth, metabolism, and physiology of benthic organisms exposed to carbon dioxide.

A highlight of the 2001 plan will be a major ~3-month expedition of the R/V Western Flyer to the Hawaiian Islands for science work. Dave Clague is acting as the chief scientist for this expedition. Specific targets for investigation include the active undersea volcano, Loihi, numerous canyon and slump features for which fluid flow is suspected as being the major agent for geologic activity, CO₂ sequestration experiments in an area with a very different temperature structure than Monterey Bay, and undersea terraces thought to precisely record the sea level history of the islands. Tiburon brings unique capabilities to bear on these problems. Although HURL has the Pisces submersible based in the Hawaiian islands, most of the proposed targets are below Pisces depth rating. The Japanese have conducted several dive series in the Hawaiian islands (often with MBARI staff as invited guests), but do not have the full suite of tools that we can provide for sampling. The main tools we will be deploying are the drill sled (which was ported from Ventana to Tiburon in a 2000 project), the vibracoring system, and the impact glass sampler.

Debra Stakes plans to continue her development efforts aimed at providing an integrated set of geophysical, chemical, and biological instruments to deploy on a midocean ridge. Critical technology that MBARI plans to provide includes borehole seismometers, data loggers, and fluid samplers that can be placed in a volcanically active segment of the Juan de Fuca/Gorda ridge system. Given the fact that the geographic target and technical goals of the project align well with those of the NEPTUNE project, MBARI is currently exploring ways to accelerate this effort in collaboration with NEPTUNE partners and outside funding sources.

Charlie Paull is continuing his work on fluid flow on continental margins. A small development effort in 2000 which consisted of developing a vibracoring capability for the ROV has paid off handsomely. We are now able to routinely recover sediment cores several meters long with Ventana in lithologies typical of Monterey Bay. This methodology is a substantial improvement over the simple push cores that provided very short samples of surficial sediments previously. MBARI will be exploiting this new capability to sample seep sites in the depth dimension in 2001. A data mining exercise has already called to question the view that seeps in Monterey Canyon reflect control by active geologic faults. Rather, seeps appear to be associated with steep slopes, the Monterey Formation, and depths below 500 m. Further tests of the significance of this hypothesis will be conducted in 2001.

The midwater region, below the photic zone but above the benthic boundary layer, is the largest living space on Earth. MBARI is one of the few institutions with the tools to study this fascinating realm inhabited mostly by gelatinous animals that feed on particulate matter generated in the overlying photic zone. In 2001 Bruce Robison will continue to study the deeper realms of the midwater zone using the expanded depth range of Tiburon. Other new aspects of the work for 2001 will include the first attempts to "tag" gelatinous animals with acoustic transmitters and deploying an electromagnetic field sensor to determine whether such signals are generated and received by deep sea creatures. George Matsumoto will continue his work on using genetic sequences to determine taxonomy. Already he has discovered that two organisms that were thought to be separate orders are simply juvenile versus adult stages of the same species. MBARI adjuncts Widder and Hamner will be testing specific hypotheses using MBARI’s Ventana. Results of surveys completed in 2000 suggest that midwater studies are not biased by the use of artificial white light. Further surveys with red light are planned for 2001. Hamner will be testing his hypothesis that the aggregation of krill along the 200 m isobath at the southern edge of Monterey Canyon is caused by the combined effects of southward-directed currents which sweep the krill towards the southern edge of the canyon and vertical diurnal migration.

MBARI’s research on upper ocean productivity and its relationship to climate has for many years centered around state-of-the-art moorings that sample upper ocean conditions continuously over time. These time series are supplemented with periodic ship transects that provide dense spatial sampling between the moorings and by satellite observations that offer synoptic views of ocean productivity. For 2001 MBARI will continue to operate moorings at sites spanning from the nearshore to the outer region of the bay and move more aggressively towards the use of AUVs to replace ships for collecting transects of CTD measurements between the moorings. Special emphasis in 2001 will be in modeling the time series that has already been collected.

Coupled studies of nutrient cycling, primary productivity, and variations in inorganic carbon in the upwelling system of Monterey Bay was the focus of the Monterey Upper-Water-Column Science Experiment (MUSE) in the summer of 2000. Major effort in 2001 will be in synthesizing and modeling the results from the MUSE experiment.

Chris Scholin and a team of MBARI engineers and applications developers have made great progress in developing the molecular probes for identification of phytoplankton, in automating the sample processing, and in facilitating the data management. These efforts will continue in 2001 as the repertoire of species-specific probes is expanded. Ed DeLong will continue to use similar molecular methods to identify and quantify picoplankton, with the goal being to not only monitor microbial species, but also identify in situ the biogeochemical processes they mediate.

Gernot Friedrich’s efforts in developing instrumentation to monitor inorganic carbon in upwelling systems will be winding down in 2001 as his instrumentation transitions from the research stage to routine operations. Special emphasis will be on modeling and interpreting the data collected to date.

MBARI scientists Francisco Chavez and Ken Johnson will also be playing a lead role in the Southern Ocean IronEx experiment in 2001. MBARI will be providing drifters to monitor the patch of iron enrichment and make continuous measurements of dissolved iron concentrations.

In 2000, MBARI launched an observatory effort that will finally get into full swing in 2001. While MOOS is primarily an engineering program, an early decision was made to couple technology development to a series of science experiments. By coupling long-term engineering development to a program of yearly field experiments, we will incrementally validate systems and operational techniques, provide a scientific focus for system development, and allow us to discover opportunities early in the program. The annual field programs entrain MBARI scientists in the MOOS development process, and provide an opportunity for near-term scientific payoff. In 2000, the MUSE field experiment provided the focus for the MOOS effort. In 2001 the science program for MOOS will be the Canyon Dynamic experiment.

The MUSE experiment in 2000 succeeded on several levels. A close collaboration of scientists and engineers enabled novel technologies that were critical to the scientific success of the cruise. Major findings of MUSE included the following: underway mapping of algal species using DNA probes by Chris Scholin's group has revealed a major bloom of Pseudonitzschia australis, a diatom that produces the toxin domoic acid. The DNA probes were deployed with the shipboard "Genosensor", developed by MBARI engineers and scientists. High concentrations of iron were observed in the region between Año Nuevo and Davenport after upwelling favorable winds. It was noted that the distribution of P. australis was anti-correlated with iron concentrations. The real time observations allowed scientists on board the ship to form the following hypothesis and test it at sea: low concentrations of iron allow P. australis blooms to occur. The results suggest that the correlation arises not because blooms form where iron is not found (a suggestion in the literature), but rather that the diatom blooms originate in the freshly upwelled, high iron water and then draw iron concentrations down as biomass accumulates.

The broad, institution-wide focus of the experiment further encouraged a motivated and successful collaboration of MBARI scientists and engineers in a number of other, opportune ways. For example, the AUV technology in development at MBARI was used as a core component of several MUSE experiments. One ODYSSEY AUV was used to regularly survey the continental shelf within the upwelling source region. This data will be a key component used by scientists to assess the processes by which sediments are resuspended in the benthic boundary layer and then transported to the euphotic zone where they are the key source of iron in the otherwise iron-poor water that is upwelled along the coast.

The multi-platform data set produced by the three ships, several drifters, two AUVs, four gliders, one ROV, two satellites, etc. will also provide a powerful resource for developing data management strategies. Implementing software systems that allow these data sets to be pre-processed, merged and visualized will be a substantial challenge, but the initial efforts appear to be quite rewarding. The ongoing interest by all parties in the data set will help to ensure that data tools are well exercised during development.

Finally, the intensive observational effort implemented in the MUSE experiment focused a number of collaborations with external scientists that generated data sets beyond the MBARI's core capabilities. An array of gliders, bioluminescence sensors, aircraft observations and numerical models from external collaborations were focused in the MUSE operating area. These tools will serve as very significant amplifiers for the core MBARI effort and they illustrate the synergism that a focused effort will generate.

Planning of MOOS has been complicated by several significant observatory initiatives being promoted within the oceanographic community. Chief among these are NEPTUNE (described below) and the DEOS moored buoy observatory. Ocean observatories initiatives are gaining support in the oceanographic community, as was noted in a recent National Research Council Report "Illuminating the Hidden Planet." This development is encouraging in that it confirms the timeliness of MBARI's efforts. However, it also highlights the need for the MBARI observatory program to be coordinated with other observatory programs. Concerns revolve around ensuring that MBARI experiments, systems, and standards are exportable to other observatories, and minimizing duplication of effort. We want to ensure that MBARI scientists are well positioned to capitalize on the growing observatory effort, and maximize the impact of MBARI engineering efforts on the larger oceanographic community. With these goals in mind we have begun a process of engaging other observatory programs in an ongoing dialog to coordinate efforts. For the program with the greatest synergy, NEPTUNE, we have engaged ourselves directly as participants.

In 2001 the MOOS program has four primary objectives:

1) to carry out the Canyon Dynamic field program in conjunction with NEPTUNE

2) to design and field a prototype MOOS mooring

3) to transition two Dorado class AUVs to operations

4) to continue the development of a new mooring controller, an instrumentation software standardized interface and a data management system

The technological challenge of the Canyon Dynamics experiment revolves around constructing a fiber-linked instrumentation network on the seafloor. Deployment of the fiber will be accomplished by an ROV, thus providing a means of linking seafloor instrumentation with assets that are readily available at MBARI. This will be an important capability for both cable and mooring based observatories, as otherwise the geographic constraints on science conducted at seafloor observatories will be set by the location of the very few central hubs.

MBARI scientists established as their highest priority a mooring-based observatory. Because of constraints imposed by engineering turnover and the demands of preparing for MUSE, design of the mooring itself was delayed until this fall. However the design process has started, and the objective is to deploy an engineering test mooring in 2001. Supporting this and other platform activity, we will continue work on designing a common instrument interface, to insure compatibility across platforms and ease of integration, and in designing a MOOS mooring.

The Dorado program has at its central objective developing two AUVs which can be transitioned to operations at the end of 2001. The prototype, developed in 2000, will provide the basic template for the operational vehicle, although important lessons learned in year 2000 tests motivate upgrades of selected subsystems. The Dorado program is very closely tied to the Atlantic Layer Tracking Experiment (ALTEX) which is an NSF funded AUV effort for Arctic science. Important AUV capabilities under development in the ALTEX program which will directly augment MBARI AUV capabilities include a fuel cell providing up to 300 hours endurance. Tests of the fuel cell have commenced in 2000, and will lead to tests in Monterey Bay and in the Arctic in 2001.

At the June, 2000 meeting of the MBARI Board of Directors, the Board discussed the possible participation of MBARI in the NEPTUNE project which proposes to install a cabled, fiber-optic observatory on the Juan de Fuca/Gorda plate region in the northeast Pacific. NEPTUNE proponents agreed that it would be valuable for MBARI to install a test bed in Monterey Bay to experiment with new sensors, operations protocols, and infrastructure. The combination of year-around operations at the Monterey latitude and the availability of two locally-based ROVs would shorten the testing phase for systems intended for deployment at the main NEPTUNE installation further north.

Although many on the MBARI staff consider this project an important opportunity, it was not rated higher internally than our own MOOS observatory effort, partly on account of the geographic limitation for the NEPTUNE observatory. However, the staff also recognized the benefit to the greater oceanographic community if MBARI hosted the test bed. Therefore, it was decided that for the 2001 budget, MBARI would ask for a temporary augmentation to its budget over the next few years for participation in NEPTUNE. This augmentation would be at the level of $1-2M/year over a 5 year period, and would be used to fund MBARI’s contribution to this larger national effort.

At the time that the 2001 budget was due, the funding for the major NEPTUNE installation was still uncertain, although important parts of the design studies have been funded. Also, the systems engineering for the MBARI test bed, which must be integrated completely with the engineering for the rest of the system, had not yet started. Therefore, for 2001 we are not yet ready to install the test bed. On the other hand, MBARI and the NEPTUNE team members did not want to lose momentum in 2001, and therefore we agreed that there were several activities MBARI would undertake under the NEPTUNE umbrella that would be valuable regardless of funding and engineering decisions yet to be made. Those activities include MBARI participation in NEPTUNE team meetings, porting a high-resolution mapping system to an AUV, and conducting a pilot study with cabled instruments in Monterey Canyon.

The mapping project will incorporate a 200 to 250 kHz, 6000-m depth multibeam sonar onto a Dorado class AUV. This new system will define the state of the art for high resolution autonomous mapping of the seafloor. This system will ultimately become the primary mapping tool for NEPTUNE, used both in the context of site surveys in advance of node installation, and for repeat surveys after significant events.

The Canyon dynamics experiment is geared towards solving an important problem in marine geology (how submarine canyons are carved) and to build up awareness in the science community on the advantage of cabled instrument packages. We call this a pilot experiment because it will take advantage of commercial off-the-shelf technology as opposed to the full NEPTUNE system, but the experience should be valuable from both a science and an operations perspective.

Both of these two projects naturally fall under the major classifications of MBARI projects and are listed as such above (Canyon dynamics is under MOOS, and AUV Mapping is under new in situ instruments), but we call them out separately here as investigations inspired and moved forward to address the needs of NEPTUNE.

Modifications to the ROVs will continue in 2001, in response to demand from scientists, pilots, and engineers. Examples include

• Boosting the power available on Tiburon;
• Transitioning the vibracoring system to Tiburon;
• Upgrading HDTV on Ventana;
• Providing better GIS capabilities for ships and vehicles.

Other projects will improve performance and reduce maintenance time for the vehicles. We will continue to work with Woods Hole engineers in 2001 to adapt some Tiburon technology for use of the redesigned Jason system.

Scientists benefit most from the availability of research platforms such as ROVs, moorings, and AUVs when they have a suite of well-calibrated and reliable instruments that can be deployed from those platforms. In 2001 we will follow up the completion of the Aquatic Autosampler or Environmental Sample Processor 2000 with testing in different environments and transitioning the tool from core engineering to support engineering. Work will also continue on a suite of chemical sensors, including the fully programmable, solid-state chemical analyzer and UV-based detection of chemical species of interest.

In partnership with the Ocean Drilling Program, we will complete the development of a method for quantifying sediment gas using probes deployed from the ROV or in drill holes. We will also take delivery of a Raman spectrometer that can be deployed remotely and integrate it onto our ROV, Tiburon.

In 1999, MBARI developed a low-power, high-performance, microprocessor-based controller for use with its deep-sea instruments. In 2000, the new MOOS mooring controller will take advantage of this technology. Smaller form factors will be developed for use with the LP1 data loggers and in situ chemical instrumentation.

A number of projects at MBARI are designed to make maximum use of data and samples collected for both internal and external researchers. In 2001 improvements will continue in the Video Information Management System (VIMS) in order to make the system simpler to use and less labor-intensive. We will continue to develop a web-based interface for visualizing three-dimensional data sets collected by the ROVs.

In 2001, the MBARI Data Users Committee (M-DUC) will expand their definition of "core" data streams (e.g., of use to a large number of researchers, willingness of a scientist to step forward to act as the data "champion", technology reasonably stable and well calibrated, etc.) As "core" data streams, the institute will invest resources into the maintenance of these data sets and ensure their timely dissemination. All other data sets must either be maintained through an individual project proposal or at the Division level. For 2001, the data sets that have been deemed to meet the requirements of "core" are the video data, the CTD-O data, the navigation data, and the mooring data. Through proposals prepared by M-DUC, resources have been estimated and set aside to collect, reduce, provide quality control, archive, and distribute these data sets.

An important part of MBARI’s mission is to promote ocean science education. In 2001, as in the past, we will accomplish this by pursuing joint projects with the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We will also continue and expand our highly successful microwave link, which provides aquarium visitors with the "Deep in Monterey Canyon" program. MBARI will likewise continue to support vigorous intern and post-doctoral programs. In order to encourage scientific use of ROVs, Jim Bellingham plans to teach a short course in 2001 on marine robotics. Expenses for the program will be funded externally.

Although not research projects per se, both the moorings and marine operations efforts have been asked to estimate their resource usage for 2001 in order to track resources and better manage their distribution between new development projects and ongoing operational programs.