Colleen Durkin

YouTube video by MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) How MBARI software engineers help scientists visualize data about the ocean carbon cycle

MBARI’s software engineers play a vital role in transforming troves of ocean data into meaningful insights. They design and develop the software that powers MBARI’s autonomous robots, imaging platforms, and data pipelines. Learn more about what they do: youtu.be/MpeC74TOyvY

YouTube video by MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) MBARI's team of mechanical technicians make innovative new tech come to life

MBARI’s mechanical technicians and engineers collaborated closely to build a titanium frame capable of holding cameras, sensors, and instruments used in the SINKER—SINKing Ecology Robot—imaging system, which collects vital carbon data. 🔧 🌊 🔬

Learn more: youtu.be/6_elP8a1o0M?...

New MBARI technology reveals ocean carbon storage in real time • MBARI SINKER is an innovative new instrument equipped with advanced microscopes and cameras to collect detailed data about carbon sinking in marine snow.

Working with engineers and other scientists to make this dream a reality is a privilege that I don't take for granted. I can't wait to analyze this data and share soon. You can learn more about this ongoing work here: www.mbari.org/news/new-mba...

YouTube video by MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) How MBARI scientists are studying the ocean’s carbon flux in real time

I want to see the particles that sink carbon to the deep ocean, all the time and in real time.This summer we built an instrument that collects images of sinking particles every second, and visualizes them in 5 different ways. @mbarinews.bsky.social
youtu.be/4xXGlnCoik8

Just recently, on linkedin, the former director of NASA GSFC said that more than 32% of the Goddard workforce is gone.
32%
That is insane.
They are destroying us completely.

YES!!!

Seen in Accra

The Carbon Flux Ecology team is teaching at #coessing2025 this week at University of Ghana! Who else is here? Let’s connect! We are teaching a marine imaging class, but excited to talk all things ocean science and engineering. @mbarinews.bsky.social

Our first deployment of a surface-tethered sediment trap in Gulf of Guinea! We are trying to build these arrays using supplies from the Tema canoe fisherman’s market. @mbarinews.bsky.social

Natalia Llopis Monferrer - Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation Field research is vital to the work of Natalia Llopis Monferrer because the delicate organisms she studies, Rhizaria, can’t be grown in labs. Researching them

Congratulations to Natalia Llopis Monferrer for being selected as an awardee of the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation 2025 Awards in Field Biology! 🔬 🎉

Learn more about the awards and Natalia's work: www.maxwell-hanrahan.org/award/natali....

Natalia Llopis Monferrer - Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation Field research is vital to the work of Natalia Llopis Monferrer because the delicate organisms she studies, Rhizaria, can’t be grown in labs. Researching them

Congratulations to the latest Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation Field Biology Award winner Natalia Llopis Monferrer!!! I am so proud of her! www.maxwell-hanrahan.org/award/natali... @mbarinews.bsky.social

Dropping these two beauties in Monterey Bay this week. Both measure carbon sequestration in the deep ocean. Lots of good data to come. @mbarinews.bsky.social

When I was in grad school I spent a lot of time thinking about individually sinking phytoplankton cells, and wondering if it actually mattered in the real ocean. It is nice to finally answer that question!

New publication by @mlmlsci.bsky.social Master's student Annie Bodel, @mbarinews.bsky.social, and @megestapa.bsky.social

Solitary phytoplankton cells sink in the mesopelagic ocean Phytoplankton, and their carbon, are typically exported from the surface ocean when packaged inside larger, sinking detrital particles. This process draws carbon out of the atmosphere, where it can be...

Can a teeny little phytoplankton cell sink through the mesopelagic 🌊? Usually, we assume they must be packaged inside larger aggregates. We found that a small but distinct part of the population does sink through the mesopelagic!
doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Aft deck tools.

Sailing on the R/V Endeavor this week with my besties.

Key takeaways:
1) Most phytoplankton were exported in sinking particles.
2) Almost all of these exported taxa were packed in large particles.
3) Diatoms and Hacrobia were enriched is the key particle types.
4) POC flux magnitude is correlated with relative composition of these two taxa in particles.

Sinking particles exporting diatoms and Hacrobia predict the magnitude of oceanic POC flux Abstract. Carbon flux to the deep sea can be dictated by surface ocean phytoplankton community composition, but translating surface ocean observations into

This work was lead by former postdoc Sasha Kramer, who is starting a new faculty position at Boston University. Her expertise in ocean optics lead us analyze this molecular/biogeochemical/microbial data with a fresh perspective, leading to new insights. doi.org/10.1093/isme...

Marine snow provides new clues about the export of carbon to the deep sea • MBARI Genetic sequences in microscopic particles of sinking organic material reveal the mechanisms of carbon transport into the deep sea that can help improve satellite-based models of carbon export.

How do phytoplankton export carbon into the deep sea? Which phytoplankton taxa drive the most carbon export?

We used DNA to identify which phytoplankton are packaged in exported particles during the NASA EXPORTS field campaigns. @mbarinews.bsky.social 's summary:

www.mbari.org/news/marine-...

😢

I have been fantasizing about making a zine for a while now….i am sick of digital communication and algorithms.

Knitters throughout the world unite to work on their craft in public, including in Monterey. Celebrate Worldwide Knit in Public Day in Monterey, June 14. Join fiber crafters at Colton Hall for a collaborative community event.

Our event got the Monterey County Weekly bump. Can’t wait to see what @celiajimenez.bsky.social wears tomorrow.

www.montereycountynow.com/blogs/opinio...

I hear that lots of people are gathering in public tomorrow. I can’t believe there are so many people celebrating Worldwide Knit in Public Day! #WWKIPD 😉

Can’t wait to join them in August with our team from @mbarinews.bsky.social ! We are excited to learn from our colleagues in Ghana.

June in Monterey=turning the heater back on 🙁#coastalupwelling

Seen IRL. We got the Monarch bump! #wwkipd

You should organize it! It is pretty simple. I just had to get a permit from the parks department.

June 14th is Worldwide Knit in Public Day! Join you fellow yarn enthusiasts on the lawn at Colton Hall from 12-4 in Monterey. All fiber arts are welcome. Bring a picnic and your latest project. 🧶🧺 #montereybay