Category: Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems

AOML Marks 13th Trip Aboard Global Reef Expedition Cruise

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.

Read Full Article

Study Provides Local-scale Projections of Coral Bleaching Over the Next 100 Years

In a new study published April 1 in Global Change Biology, NOAA oceanographers and colleagues have developed a new method to produce high-resolution projections of the range and onset of severe annual coral bleaching for reefs in the Gulf of America and Caribbean

Read Full Article

Numeric Nutrient Criteria Study Cruise

AOML scientists conducted a Numeric Nutrient Criteria Study cruise Wednesday and Thursday, March 18-19th in Biscayne Bay off of Broward and Miami-Dade Counties aboard the NOAA R/V Hildebrand. The study provides concurrent water column and coral reef status data for four coral assemblies off of Miami-Dade and Broward County. These results will be employed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to determine numeric nutrient criteria for the coastal waters of Southeast Florida.

Read Full Article

Gulf of America Marine Food Web Changes Over the Decades

Scientists in the Gulf of America now have a better understanding of how naturally-occurring climate cycles–as well as human activities–can trigger widespread ecosystem changes that ripple through the Gulf food web and the communities dependent on it, thanks to a new study published Saturday in the journal Global Change Biology.

Read Full Article

NOAA Selects Biscayne Bay for Next Habitat Blueprint Focus Area

NOAA has selected South Florida’s Biscayne Bay as one of the next Habitat Focus Areas under NOAA’s Habitat Blueprint. Habitat Blueprint offers opportunities for NOAA to partner with organizations to address coastal and marine habitat loss and degradation issues. It provides a framework, which builds upon existing programs, prioritizes activities, and helps users act strategically and preventively [...]
Read Full Article

Hydrographic Survey Conducted in the Florida Straits

PhOD personnel Ryan Smith, Grant Rawson, and Jay Hooper conducted a hydrographic survey along 27N in the Florida Straits aboard the R/V F.G. Walton Smith on January 12-13, 2015. The cruise was part of the Western Boundary Time Series project, which is designed to quantify Florida Current volume transport and water mass changes. This survey and others help to calibrate daily estimates of the Florida Current volume transport derived from a submarine telephone cable deployed across the Straits. Divers also exchanged a project pressure gauge on the west side of the 27N section.

Read Full Article

Hydrographic Survey Conducted in the Florida Straits

Ryan Smith, Robert Roddy, and Jay Hooper conducted a hydrographic survey along 27N in the Florida Straits aboard the R/V F.G. Walton Smith December 11-12, 2014. The cruise was performed as part of the Western Boundary Time Series project, which conducts regular surveys such as this to quantify Florida Current volume transport and water mass changes in the Straits of Florida. This survey and others also help to calibrate daily estimates of the Florida Current volume transport derived from a submarine telephone cable deployed across the Straits.

Read Full Article

Waterways Program Features the Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Coral Reefs

The latest episode of the educational television series “Waterways” features coral research conducted by NOAA scientists in the Florida Keys. As the global ocean becomes more acidic, NOAA is documenting these changes and their impact on organisms like corals. The first part of the episode entitled “Ocean Acidification & Tortugas Tide Gauge”   features AOML [...]
Read Full Article

Living Oceans Foundation Global Reef Expedition

AOML coral scientists Renee Carlton participated in the Living Oceans Foundation Global Reef Expedition to the Solomon Islands from October 27, 2014 through November 25, 2014. Carlton collected seawater carbon dioxide data and coral cores for calcification analysis as part of the ongoing collaboration between the Living Oceans Foundation and AOML to obtain baseline ocean acidification-related data from remote coral reef locations across the Pacific Ocean.

Read Full Article