During the months of March & April, AOML researchers participated in the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation’s Global Reef Expedition cruise which took place in the waters of the British Indian Ocean Territory. Some of the areas explored included the Maldives and the Chagos archipelago, home to the world’s largest Marine Protected Area. Aboard the R/V Golden Shadow and working under the theme “Science Without Borders,” the Global Reef Expedition team researches remote coral reef locations around the globe documenting their health to better understand which factors are crucial to reef resilience. AOML has participated in 12 Global Reef Expedition cruises since June 2012.
Photo credit: Lauren Valentino, NOAA
Image Captions
From Left:
- Black-spotted Egg Cowrie (Calpurnus verrucosus). Photo credit: Lauren Valentino, NOAA
- The R/V Golden Shadow exploring the Chagos archipelago. Photo credit: Lauren Valentino, NOAA
- A hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) glides over a reef in the Chagos Marine Protected Area. Photo credit: Lauren Valentino, NOAA
- Gideon Butler of the University of San Diego lays a transect along a reef. Photo credit: Lauren Valentino, NOAA
- A school of Two-Stripe Damselfish (Reticulate Dascyllus) hover near a coral head. Photo credit: Lauren Valentino, NOAA
- One of many uninhabited islands in the Chagos archipelago. Chagos is home to the world’s largest Marine Protected Area. Photo credit: Lauren Valentino, NOAA
- Researcher Lauren Valentino collects a coral core to be analyzed using computed tomography scanning (CT scan) to determine growth rates over time. Photo Credit: NOAA.
- Juvenile Two-banded Tomato Anemonefish (Amphiprion frenatus) take refuge in a vibrant anemone. Photo credit: Lauren Valentino, NOAA
- An octopus camouflages itself on the reef bottom. Photo credit: Lauren Valentino, NOAA
- An Acropora colony in the Chagos archipelago. Photo credit: Lauren Valentino, NOAA
- Team member Lauren Valentino participates in a Google Hangout on Ocean Acidification. Photo Credit: NOAA.
- A reefscape in Chagos archipelago. Photo credit: Lauren Valentino, NOAA
- A researcher glides over a reef in the Chagos archipelago. Photo credit: Lauren Valentino, NOAA
- Reefscape in Chagos archipelago. Photo credit: Lauren Valentino, NOAA
- A close-up of an Acropora colony. Photo credit: Lauren Valentino, NOAA
- Juvenile Emperor Angelfish (Pomacanthus imperator). Photo credit: Lauren Valentino, NOAA
- Chagos sunset aboard the R/V Golden Shadow. Photo credit: Lauren Valentino, NOAA