Kelp
Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera.
Monterey Bay Aquarium
At tall and long, the Kelp Forest exhibit is the focal point of Monterey Bay Aquarium's Ocean's Edge wing. Nearly three stories high, the exhibit is regarded as the first successful attempt to maintain a living kelp forest in an artificial setting. During the facility's planning and construction, professionals doubted that kelp could be grown in an aquarium at this scale. And, even if it could be grown, critics of the project did not think the public would be interested in seeing this representation of Monterey Bay. During the design phase, kelp scientists Wheeler North at the California Institute of Technology and Mike Neushal at the University of California, Santa Barbara informed the aquarium of the kelp's needs. The exhibit's success at sustaining giant kelp and its realistic appearance are attributed to the availability of direct sunlight, the use of natural seawater from Monterey Bay, and a surge machine (a large plunger) that replicates California's pulsing water currents. The surge machine, which plunges every 6 seconds, allows the kelp in the exhibit to grow an average of per day and was designed and constructed by David Packard.. Kelp forests are important ecosystems along California's coast—compared to tropical rainforests in their biodiversity—and, alongside giant kelp, the exhibit contains species of fish indigenous to Monterey Bay, including rockfishes and leopard sharks.