Category: Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems

A silohuetted researcher stands in front of an aquarium and robotic arm in a dark room dimly lit by blue lights.

The robot and the reef: Can enriched seawater fast-track coral restoration?

Alkalinity enrichment in the lab may be the key to more effective reef restoration. An innovative Ph.D. student puts this hypothesis to the test using cutting-edge technology. In a tank filled with glass jars, stir bars, and coral babies settled onto ceramic tiles, a robotic arm glides with precision, dosing each jar with various levels […]

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Juvenile Sportfish Survey

Juvenile Sportfish Project Conducting holistic, longterm assessments of marine ecosystems  <!-- JUMP TO DATA OR SCROLL TO LEARN MORE --> What We Do As part of the RECOVER program led by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Ecosystem Assessment Lab has partnered with NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) to investigate responses of [...]
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Taylor Gill performing a photomosaic on Cheeca Rocks in the SUMMER

Scientists at AOML employ photogrammetry to monitor coral reef infrastructure at unprecedented scale

In a new study, scientists at AOML and the University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) demonstrate how photogrammetry-based techniques enable their team to monitor the persistence and structural complexity of coral reef habitats at an unprecedented scale.  Led by John Morris, Ph.D., a CIMAS Postdoctoral Associate with AOML’s Coral Program, […]

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Nutrient Biogeochemistry Lab

Nutrient Biogeochemistry Laboratory Performing critical nutrient analysis to monitor water quality and changes in ocean chemistry across coastal and  open ocean ecosystems SCROLL TO LEARN MORE What We Do The AOML Ecosystem Assessment group leads the Nutrient Biogeochemistry lab with state-of-the-art equipment and techniques, many of which were developed in-house, to study nutrient dynamics in [...]
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Ecosystem Assessment Team

Ecosystem Assessment and Modeling Group Conducting holistic, longterm assessments of marine ecosystems  <!-- JUMP TO DATA OR SCROLL TO LEARN MORE --> What We Do The Ecosystem Assessment and Modeling (EAM) research group assesses, evaluates, and predicts the state of the marine ecosystem by integrating  environmental, biogeochemical, and biological observations collected from oceanographic vessels, small [...]
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Michael Studivan, Ph.D. collecting a coral core on a reef with dive equipment on

AOML leads National Coral Reef Monitoring Program operations throughout the Atlantic 

The National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) led by NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program is the largest monitoring effort globally to support the conservation of reefs. Scientists with NOAA’s AOML Coral Program and the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) lead the monitoring efforts in the Gulf of America, Caribbean and the Atlantic […]

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A CIMAS and NOAA researcher manipulates corals in a large a cement tank outside full of corals

Offspring of opportunity: First-ever spawn collected from urban corals in Miami could bolster future reefs

Scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) and the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) have successfully overseen the first-ever crossbreeding between grooved brain corals (Diploria labyrinthiformis) collected from a highly urbanized site in PortMiami and a nearby reef – a breakthrough that could revolutionize efforts to restore local coral reefs.

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Jen McWhorter next to Ocean Biogeochemical Argo float in Key West on a white boat

Scientist at AOML selected as member of NOAA in the Caribbean Executive Team

Jen McWhorter, Ph.D., a Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Science (CIMAS) Assistant Scientist with AOML’s Ocean Biogeochemistry and Physical Oceanography teams, has been selected to serve a one year term as a member of the NOAA in the Caribbean Executive Team. As a member of the Executive Team, McWhorter will help provide strategic direction […]

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Luke on vessel

AOML is honored with NOPP Excellence in Partnering Award

Phytoplankton covering the ocean’s surface are responsible for over 50% of the oxygen that has been produced on Earth. In a spoonful of oceanwater, there are thousands of these microscopic organisms of different species. And without them, most – if not all – marine food webs would collapse.  Studying what species comprise planktonic communities in […]

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New study indicates Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease may be inhibited by warmer waters 

Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) is the deadliest known coral disease to species with a hard skeleton (i.e., Scleractinians), causing rapidly-expanding, bare lesions to form across a coral’s skeleton until there is no more living tissue.  The pathogen or microbes leading to the spread of this disease have yet to be identified. Yet scientists […]

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