Happy 9th Anniversary, Dr. Atlas!
AOML employees commemorated Dr. Robert Atlas’ nine years (and counting) as the AOML director!
Maug Research Cruise
Photos from two recent cruises to the Pacific Island of Maug to study the effect of ocean acidification on coral ecosystems.
CREWS Station Deployment 2014
Photos from Little Cayman CREWS Station deployed by NOAA AOML.
Ocean Glider Deployment 2014
Photos from Caribbean deployment sites by NOAA AOML. Photo credit: NOAA
Ocean Sampling Day 2014
Photos of AOML researchers and interns at Ocean Sampling Day sites in Ft. Lauderdale, the Florida Keys, and La Jolla, California
Gliders Patrol Ocean Waters with a Goal of Improved Prediction of Hurricane Intensity
Scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory are in the Caribbean to launch two underwater gliders from a vessel off Puerto Rico to collect temperature and other weather data to improve hurricane forecasting.One of the gliders will collect observations in the Caribbean Sea, and another in the North Atlantic Ocean. They are positioned to operate over the next six months (June-November) collecting data in areas where hurricanes are common and areas where there is a lack of environmental data.
NOAA Participates in International Ocean Sampling for Microbes
NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) participated in Ocean Sampling Day on June 21, the first global simultaneous sampling for microbes in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes waters. Over time, sampling will support international and NOAA missions to provide a snapshot of the diversity of microbes, their functions, and their potential economic benefits. Among other economic applications, microbes have been used for novel medicines, as biofuels, and to consume spilled oil. Organized and led by the European Union’s MicroB3 organization, NOAA coordinated twelve sampling sites for Ocean Sampling Day 2014 within U.S. coastal waters.
New Tools Bring Ecosystem Benefits to the Forefront of Decision Making
The Marine and Estuarine Goal Setting for South Florida (MARES) project, led by NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies at the University of Miami, continues to increase awareness of and appreciation for the value of coastal marine ecosystems, and their impacts upon human society. From 2009 through 2013, NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science funded MARES with the goal of creating a consensus-based process for managing South Florida’s coastal marine environments. MARES is unique in that it was among the first major efforts to include human benefits in a systematic framework to enable integrated ecosystem based management. The MARES approach embodies NOAA’s effort to serve as the Nation’s environmental intelligence agency by providing actionable information from science-based models to support environmentally-sensitive decisions made every day by individuals, communities, and governments.
Volcanic Island of Maug Provides Natural Lab for Ocean Acidification
Maug is a unique natural laboratory that allows us to study how ocean acidification affects coral reef ecosystems. We know of no other area like this in U.S. waters. Increasing carbon dioxide in seawater is a global issue because it makes it harder for animals like corals to build skeletons.
Wind forced variability of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current south of Africa between 1993 and 2010
Researchers from PhOD and from the University of Cape Town used temperature data from the AX25 repeat XBT transect (from South Africa to Antarctica) in combination with other hydrographic and satellite observations to report a mechanism by which local winds alter the structure of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current flow south of Africa.
