06/12/2026
The Mysterious Midwater Society: An international research team, including two researchers from Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, discovered 31 new marine species over two weeks off the coast of Brazil.
Senior research scientists John Burns and David Fields worked aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor (too). They used novel technologies to explore the midwater — the space between the sunlit layer and the seafloor — Earth’s largest and least explored habitable ecosystem.
Want to hear what it was like working on a state-of-the-art research vessel in the South Atlantic Ocean, and how a jar of turmeric became an unexpected hero?
Join John for a Café Sci talk on Aug. 5 in East Boothbay or online.
Register here: https://www.bigelow.org/news/cafe-sci/new-era-of-discovery
Learn more about the research: https://www.bigelow.org/news/articles/2026-06-08.html
📸 1: One of the expedition’s lead scientists John Burns examines a sample to be used for his genetic sequencing work. (Credit: Alex Ingle / Schmidt Ocean Institute).
📸 2: A jelly collected at 1,157 meters depth. (Credit: Emily Clark / MBARI).
📸 3: A new species from the genus Tomopteris, commonly known as gossamer worms. (Credit: Remotely Operated Vehicle SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute).
