U.S. Representative Panetta Announces Over Half of a Million in Federal Funding for Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Project

Monterey, CA – U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) announced a more than $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for research taking place at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. The $519,101 in federal funding will help deepen our understanding of the ocean and oceanography.

Funding was awarded to the project, "Accelerated Development of New, Scalable pH Sensors for Global Ocean Observational Networks" which will test and develop two promising pH sensor candidates that are capable of long-term deployments (years) to 2 km depth on autonomous platforms such as profiling floats and gliders, as well as for moored instrumentation and laboratory mesocosm applications. The DuraFET pH sensor is a key component of global observation networks through coordinated efforts such as Biogeochemical Argo and the Global Ocean Acidification Observation Network. These pH sensors have been deployed to study ocean carbon cycling in environments ranging from the intertidal zone, coral reefs, to the open ocean.

"The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and its projects are central to our communities here along the Monterey Bay and the ecological landscape that we treasure," said Rep. Panetta. "This federal funding will help researchers better understand the threats facing our oceans and wildlife, by developing new tools to study the changes happening throughout the globe. I'm proud to fight for this type of federal support for this type of local project that will further our worldly knowledge and the protection of our oceans."

"Each year, the ocean absorbs 25 percent of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities. It has buffered our planet from the worst effects of climate change, but at a heavy cost. The ocean is becoming more acidic, creating a more stressful environment for marine life," said Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Scientist Ocean Biogeochemical Sensing team lead Yui Takeshita. "Scientists need new tools to understand the ocean's changing chemistry. An international team of scientists is establishing a global network of robotic floats to monitor ocean health."

Yui Takeshita continued, "However, recent issues with the supply chain have highlighted a key vulnerability for the sensors that are a critical component of this technology. With funding from the National Science Foundation, MBARI and our collaborators will accelerate development of new small, low-power chemical sensors to measure ocean pH. We'll share this new sensor technology with our colleagues to quickly scale our ability to observe the world ocean at this critical moment."

Representative Panetta voted in support of a historic 12 percent increase to funding for NSF for FY 2023 as part of the December omnibus, which funds the program at $9.9 billion this year.

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