MBARI and Monterey Bay Aquarium Complete Expedition to Guide Seamount

29 May 2026

Monterey Bay Aquarium biologists worked alongside MBARI’s skilled submersible pilots to gently collect animals for the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s groundbreaking deep-sea exhibition, Into the Deep/En lo Profundo. (Image credit: George Matsumoto, MBARI)

Earlier this month, a team of Monterey Bay Aquarium biologists completed an expedition to Guide Seamount aboard MBARI's flagship research vessel David Packard. Led by Monterey Bay Aquarium Curator of Fishes and Invertebrates Megan Olhasso in partnership with MBARI Senior Education and Research Specialist George Matsumoto, the team deployed MBARI's remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Doc Ricketts to explore the seamount's rocky ridges and collect animals for the Aquarium's Into the Deep/En lo Profundo exhibition.

MBARI engineers developed an “elevator” to facilitate collections of larger animals. After the R/V David Packard crew deploys the elevator, MBARI’s submersible pilots can gently transfer animals into large drawers. (Image credit: George Matsumoto, MBARI)

Located approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) offshore of Davenport, California, Guide Seamount is an underwater mountain made up of four parallel volcanic ridges separated by sediment-filled troughs. Previous MBARI surveys in 2009 and 2018 documented the community of marine life that lives on the seamount and in the waters above its summit, including large bamboo corals (family Keratoisididae), sponges, and fish.

The sea lily Parahyocrinus claguei was first discovered with MBARI technology and described as a new species by MBARI collaborators in 2017. This living fossil was recently exhibited for the first time anywhere in the world at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. (Image credit: Monterey Bay Aquarium)

Following their dives at Guide Seamount, the team conducted midwater surveys in Monterey Bay and Ascension Canyon, an underwater canyon located 16 kilometers (10 miles) offshore of Point Año Nuevo that plunges 2,300 meters (approximately 1.5 miles) deep.

With the support of MBARI’s marine operations team, including R/V David Packard crew and ROV Doc Ricketts pilots, the expedition team successfully collected several animals for exhibit at the Aquarium, some species on public display for the first time anywhere in the world.

MBARI and the Monterey Bay Aquarium have a rich history of collaboration. Together, we are working to raise awareness about life in the deep sea. Into the Deep/En lo Profundo represents the most extensive collaboration between our two organizations. This month’s expedition to Guide Seamount marks the Aquarium’s second expedition aboard MBARI’s new research vessel David Packard, following an expedition to Sur Ridge last December.