Antje Boetius

Welcome & Opening Plenary

Tuesday Plenary, 10:00am

MBARI President and CEO Antje Boetius is a globally recognized leader in polar and deep-sea research. She has provided vital insight into the functions of extreme ecosystems, including the dynamics of ocean and polar ecosystems by integrating cutting-edge ocean observation technologies with long-term ecosystem studies. Boetius and her team used autonomous and tethered seafloor observatories and robotic sampling systems that enable real-time monitoring of microbial and geochemical processes in the deep ocean. She has led or participated in more than 50 international deep-sea and polar expeditions and coordinated numerous national and international research programs to study continental margins, ocean basins, and polar life under ice. Prior to joining MBARI, Boetius was the director of the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven, Germany. She is affiliated with several international societies and academies, including the Max Planck Society, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Royal Swedish Academy, the UK’s Royal Society, and Germany’s Order Pour le Mérite for Science and Arts. She is also an adjunct professor in the Oceans Department of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. Boetius has acted as a policy advisor to numerous national and international commissions on climate, biodiversity, and science innovation.

From Monterey Bay to the Global Ocean – Frontiers in Deep Sea Discovery

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) was founded by David Packard and his family in 1987. Inspired by the ocean as frontier for science and technology, their goal was to link the new Monterey Bay Aquarium with a world-class research center, to achieve “extensive exploration of this deep water without having to travel too far from the base of operations”. They chose remotely operating vehicles with excellent video cameras over manned submersibles and formed a “program to develop a state-of-the-art capability which could make a long-term contribution to our knowledge of the oceans of the world”. Almost 40 years later, Monterey Bay is the best mapped deep-sea realm on Earth, including its mid-water zone and seamounts. But globally, less than 0.0001% of the ocean space is fully explored. Far too few scientific laboratories and countries possess the technologies necessary to conduct a systematic study of deep-sea habitats. However, new methods in environmental robotics and new ambitions for international collaboration have the potential to significantly accelerate our understanding of Earth’s unknown life. Diverse platforms are available for high-resolution mapping of the seafloor, including in ice-covered polar seas. Imaging techniques – from underwater microscopy to laser mapping, optical, acoustic, and chemical communication channels – extend our human senses into the deep. Environmental DNA, the signature molecules of a dynamic network of ocean life is monitored, to explore marine life’s interaction from the surface to the bottom of the sea. Long-range underwater navigation, swarm robots powered by ocean energy, and networked floats for ocean health observatories, are no longer fiction. These and other technologies provide actionable insights into ocean processes and their sustainable management. In her presentation, Antje Boetius reviews how innovative sensor platforms can transform our connection to the deep ocean, and how Packard’s original goals for MBARI are reflected in today’s global programs for ocean observatories and international polar research.