NOAA cruises set the foundation for restoring crucial Florida ecosystems
South Florida is comprised of 350 miles of the only barrier coral reef in North America – and the third largest in the world. 1,800 miles of shoreline is lined with mangroves in the Florida Keys alone, which provide coastal protection from storms and support juveniles of commercialized fish species. The region sustains the largest […]
New study demonstrates the impacts of multiple stressors on reef-building corals
In a new study, scientists at AOML and the University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (CIMAS) demonstrated how some genotypes of the reef-building coral Acropora cervicornis (Staghorn Coral), listed on the Endangered Species Act, proved resilient when exposed to high nutrient levels or disease, but not when the two stressors were […]
Scientists at AOML monitor the impacts of ocean acidification on reefs with new series of buoys
Diver’s drop over the gunnel. Tanks, weights, divers, and a mesh bag full of tools all descend in emerald waters beneath grey skies. Off the vessel’s bow, a yellow beacon blinks with a red flashing light and a thin data cable stretching to the seafloor, all connected to a suite of sensors twenty feet below […]
Coral Restoration: Using ‘Omics to Strategize and Manage Restoration Efforts
A new study by scientists at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) and the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (CIMAS) provides new insights for effective restoration of the crucial reef-building coral species Acropora palmata, or Elkhorn coral. Applying ‘Omics techniques to investigate how habitat and coral microbiomes influence ongoing restoration efforts, this […]
Scientists at AOML measure ocean’s crucial buffering against rising global carbon emissions
Every year, scientists at AOML participate in the international effort led by the University of Exeter’s Global Systems Institute in developing the annual Global Carbon Budget Report, an assessment of global carbon emissions and the progress towards achieving the climate goals set by the 2016 Paris Agreement. The 2024 Global Carbon Budget Report now indicates […]
Ships of Opportunity: Crossing the Arctic to investigate the ocean’s uptake of carbon and increasing Ocean Acidification
The air and surface temperature tip just above freezing. Cruiseliner Ponant’s 492-ft vessel Le Commandant Charcot floats idle at marked coordinates in the Arctic tundra between Alaska and Norway. On the aft deck, a team of scientists deploys Niskin bottles using a handcrank to the depths, collecting water samples 900 meters below an ocean blanketed […]
12 days of teKNOWLEDGEy
Behind every research project at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) are a suite of instruments. Whether descending to depths or weathering storms, these technologies are paramount to oceanic and atmospheric observations. Get to know 12 of these instruments with a new social media series: 12 Days of teKNOWLEDGEy! On the 1st day of […]
Argo, the ‘crown jewel’ of ocean observing systems, turns 25
Originally published on noaa.gov on December 11, 2024. Somewhere in the middle of the ocean, a merchant mariner lowers a cylindrical robotic ocean observing instrument from a ship into the sea to record ocean temperature and salinity. Another instrument is deployed from a plane into the eye of a hurricane to take the pulse of […]
BEAMS of Cheeca: shedding light on the resilience of a Florida Keys inshore patch reef
The waves lap at the bow of the RV Cable while glimmers of Cheeca Rocks, a bustling inshore patch reef, ebb and flow into focus below the surface. For eleven consecutive weeks, the Coral Program at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) laid anchor at this long-term monitoring site to deploy and maintain Benthic […]
