MBNMS Partners with MBARI for Sur Ridge Research

Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) has once again partnered with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) to conduct deep-sea research in the sanctuary at Sur Ridge. Led by Chief Scientist Dr. Jim Barry (MBARI), Dr. Andrew DeVogelaere (MBNMS) and research staff will focus on recording observations and conducting experiments at various locations, at depths from 200 to over 3,000 meters, and will re-visit Sur Ridge, a place of incredible deep-sea coral and sponge assemblages.

Sur Ridge is a small undersea mountain that is about the size of the island of Manhattan and located just off the Big Sur coast in central California. Deep-sea corals and sponges were discovered at Sur Ridge in 2013. Since then, MBARI and MBNMS have re-visited Sur Ridge multiple times, explored new areas of coral gardens, measured coral growth, discovered unexpected chemosynthetic clam beds, and even succeeded in transplanting corals to other areas on Sur Ridge. For more information and an overview of past explorations of Sur Ridge, visit:

• Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network (SIMoN)
• Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)

Images from previous Sur Ridge Expeditions

MBARI ROV pilots and crew secure Doc Ricketts after its final dive of the expedition


Science crew sorting, identifying, and preserving collected specimens from Sur Ridge


The manipulator arm of the ROV Doc Ricketts taking a sample of bubblegum coral for transplantation experiments.