MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) | Celebrate ocean exploration with a day in the life of an underwater robot @MBARIvideo | Uploaded June 2024 | Updated October 2024, 7 hours ago.
As we approach World Ocean Day, we’re reflecting on 36 years of ocean exploration with MBARI’s remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Ventana. In operation since 1988, this robotic submersible has logged more than 4,500 dives—the most science dives of any remotely operated vehicle in the world.
Five days a week, MBARI’s research vessel Rachel Carson leaves Moss Landing Harbor at 6:30 in the morning for a busy day of ocean exploration. From a control room in the heart of the ship, our team of pilots and scientists guide the ROV Ventana as it explores the waters 1,800 meters (a little more than one mile) below. After deploying the vehicle for six to eight hours, the team returns to shore.
ROV Ventana is a versatile robot equipped with cameras to observe the remarkable animals and habitats that thrive in the depths of Monterey Bay. Our engineers use this vehicle to deploy and test cutting-edge technology that is helping us assess and track ocean health. The pilots and crew that work with Ventana take pride in supporting our scientists and engineers in studying our changing ocean. Join us for a look back at some of the highlights from Ventana’s past missions.
Learn more about ROV Ventana’s accomplishments: mbari.org/news/mbaris-remotely-operated-vehicle-ventana-completes-4500-deep-sea-dives
Producer/editor: Kyra Schlining
Production team: Nancy Jacobsen Stout, Susan von Thun
Music: Elevation of Dreams by Bruno Frietas (Motion Array)
Scenes in order of appearance (scenes from Monterey Bay unless otherwise mentions):
0:00 Launch of the ROV Ventana | surface
0:03 ROV Ventana launch | surface
0:09 Pyrosome (Pyrosoma sp.) | 30 meters (98 feet) | Sur Ridge
0:12 Giant siphonophore (Praya dubia) | 86 meters (282 feet)
0:15 Transit through midwater with jellies (Colobonema sericeum and Solmissus) | 401 meters (1,316 feet)
0:17 Hula skirt siphonophore (Physophora hydrostatica) | 220 meters (722 feet)
0:19 Barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma) | 637 meters (2,090 feet)
0:20 Green caterpillar siphonophore (Lilyopsis fluorocantha) | 385 meters (1,263 feet)
0:23 Blue LED lights on ROV | 737 meters (2,418 feet)
0:28 Green caterpillar siphonophore (Lilyopsis fluorocantha) under blue LED lights | 368 meters (1,207 feet) | Morro Bay
0:31 Bumpy jelly (Stellamedusa ventana) | 480 meters (1,575 feet)
0:34 Bumpy jelly (Stellamedusa ventana) collected in detritus sampler | 352 meters (1,155 feet)
0:39 California sun stars (Rathbunaster californicus) | 203 meters (666 feet)
0:42 Collecting deep-sea whelk (Neptunea sp.) with suction sampler | 999 meters (3,278 feet) | Smooth Ridge, Greater Monterey Bay
0:46 Deep-sea whelk (Neptunea sp.) sampled and placed in the Benthic Respirometry Sample chamber | 999 meters (3,278 feet) | Smooth Ridge, Greater Monterey Bay
0:50 Pom-pom anemone (Liponema brevicorne) | 876 meters (2,874 feet)
0:52 Rockfish (Sebastes sp.) | 468 meters (1,535 feet) | Offshore Southern California
0:54 Sand star (Luidia foliolata) | 402 meters (1,319 feet)
0:58 Sand star (Luidia foliolata) collection | 398 meters (1,306 feet)
1:03 ROV Ventana collecting sediment using a push core | 675 meters (2,215 feet)
1:09 Mushroom soft coral (Heteropolypus ritteri) | 393 meters (1,289 feet)
1:11 Broadnose sixgill shark (Hexanchus griseus) | 402 meters (1,319 feet)
1:15 Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) catching rockfish (Sebastes sp.) | 352 meters (1,155 feet)
1:19 Seafloor near Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS) | 886 meters (2,907 feet) | Greater Monterey Bay
1:22 Hydrophone plugging into MARS | 880 meters (2,887 feet) | Greater Monterey Bay
1:27 Deploying hydrophone at MARS | 877 meters (2,877 feet) | Greater Monterey Bay
1:31 Basket star (Gorgonocephalus eucnemis) | 206 meters (676 feet)
1:31 Sampling a glass sponge (Hexactinellida) with the DeepPIV | 623 meters (2,044 feet)
1:37 Whale fall “Grady” | 584 meters (1,916 feet)
1:39 Push core near whale bones | 584 meters (1,916 feet)
1:43 ROV Ventana and Pacific sleeper shark (Somniosus pacificus) | 673 meters (2,208 feet)
1:47 Red disk jelly (Poralia rufescens) | 1,917 meters (6,289 feet)
1:49 Juvenile rattail fish (Macrouridae) | 513 meters (1,683 feet)
1:50 Blue-tailed giant larvacean (Bathochordaeus mcnutti) swimming | 903 meters (2,963 feet)
1:53 Robust clubhook squid (Onykia robusta) | 393 meters (1,289 feet)
1:54 Spotted comb jelly (Leucothea pulchra) | 118 meters (387 feet)
1:57 Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) | 24 meters (79 feet)
1:59 Surface water | Smooth Ridge, Greater Monterey Bay
2:01 ROV Ventana recovery | surface
2:04 ROV Ventana recovery on the back deck of R/V Rachel Carson
As we approach World Ocean Day, we’re reflecting on 36 years of ocean exploration with MBARI’s remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Ventana. In operation since 1988, this robotic submersible has logged more than 4,500 dives—the most science dives of any remotely operated vehicle in the world.
Five days a week, MBARI’s research vessel Rachel Carson leaves Moss Landing Harbor at 6:30 in the morning for a busy day of ocean exploration. From a control room in the heart of the ship, our team of pilots and scientists guide the ROV Ventana as it explores the waters 1,800 meters (a little more than one mile) below. After deploying the vehicle for six to eight hours, the team returns to shore.
ROV Ventana is a versatile robot equipped with cameras to observe the remarkable animals and habitats that thrive in the depths of Monterey Bay. Our engineers use this vehicle to deploy and test cutting-edge technology that is helping us assess and track ocean health. The pilots and crew that work with Ventana take pride in supporting our scientists and engineers in studying our changing ocean. Join us for a look back at some of the highlights from Ventana’s past missions.
Learn more about ROV Ventana’s accomplishments: mbari.org/news/mbaris-remotely-operated-vehicle-ventana-completes-4500-deep-sea-dives
Producer/editor: Kyra Schlining
Production team: Nancy Jacobsen Stout, Susan von Thun
Music: Elevation of Dreams by Bruno Frietas (Motion Array)
Scenes in order of appearance (scenes from Monterey Bay unless otherwise mentions):
0:00 Launch of the ROV Ventana | surface
0:03 ROV Ventana launch | surface
0:09 Pyrosome (Pyrosoma sp.) | 30 meters (98 feet) | Sur Ridge
0:12 Giant siphonophore (Praya dubia) | 86 meters (282 feet)
0:15 Transit through midwater with jellies (Colobonema sericeum and Solmissus) | 401 meters (1,316 feet)
0:17 Hula skirt siphonophore (Physophora hydrostatica) | 220 meters (722 feet)
0:19 Barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma) | 637 meters (2,090 feet)
0:20 Green caterpillar siphonophore (Lilyopsis fluorocantha) | 385 meters (1,263 feet)
0:23 Blue LED lights on ROV | 737 meters (2,418 feet)
0:28 Green caterpillar siphonophore (Lilyopsis fluorocantha) under blue LED lights | 368 meters (1,207 feet) | Morro Bay
0:31 Bumpy jelly (Stellamedusa ventana) | 480 meters (1,575 feet)
0:34 Bumpy jelly (Stellamedusa ventana) collected in detritus sampler | 352 meters (1,155 feet)
0:39 California sun stars (Rathbunaster californicus) | 203 meters (666 feet)
0:42 Collecting deep-sea whelk (Neptunea sp.) with suction sampler | 999 meters (3,278 feet) | Smooth Ridge, Greater Monterey Bay
0:46 Deep-sea whelk (Neptunea sp.) sampled and placed in the Benthic Respirometry Sample chamber | 999 meters (3,278 feet) | Smooth Ridge, Greater Monterey Bay
0:50 Pom-pom anemone (Liponema brevicorne) | 876 meters (2,874 feet)
0:52 Rockfish (Sebastes sp.) | 468 meters (1,535 feet) | Offshore Southern California
0:54 Sand star (Luidia foliolata) | 402 meters (1,319 feet)
0:58 Sand star (Luidia foliolata) collection | 398 meters (1,306 feet)
1:03 ROV Ventana collecting sediment using a push core | 675 meters (2,215 feet)
1:09 Mushroom soft coral (Heteropolypus ritteri) | 393 meters (1,289 feet)
1:11 Broadnose sixgill shark (Hexanchus griseus) | 402 meters (1,319 feet)
1:15 Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) catching rockfish (Sebastes sp.) | 352 meters (1,155 feet)
1:19 Seafloor near Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS) | 886 meters (2,907 feet) | Greater Monterey Bay
1:22 Hydrophone plugging into MARS | 880 meters (2,887 feet) | Greater Monterey Bay
1:27 Deploying hydrophone at MARS | 877 meters (2,877 feet) | Greater Monterey Bay
1:31 Basket star (Gorgonocephalus eucnemis) | 206 meters (676 feet)
1:31 Sampling a glass sponge (Hexactinellida) with the DeepPIV | 623 meters (2,044 feet)
1:37 Whale fall “Grady” | 584 meters (1,916 feet)
1:39 Push core near whale bones | 584 meters (1,916 feet)
1:43 ROV Ventana and Pacific sleeper shark (Somniosus pacificus) | 673 meters (2,208 feet)
1:47 Red disk jelly (Poralia rufescens) | 1,917 meters (6,289 feet)
1:49 Juvenile rattail fish (Macrouridae) | 513 meters (1,683 feet)
1:50 Blue-tailed giant larvacean (Bathochordaeus mcnutti) swimming | 903 meters (2,963 feet)
1:53 Robust clubhook squid (Onykia robusta) | 393 meters (1,289 feet)
1:54 Spotted comb jelly (Leucothea pulchra) | 118 meters (387 feet)
1:57 Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) | 24 meters (79 feet)
1:59 Surface water | Smooth Ridge, Greater Monterey Bay
2:01 ROV Ventana recovery | surface
2:04 ROV Ventana recovery on the back deck of R/V Rachel Carson
