Coastal and regional ecosystem research has been a focus of AOML activities for more than two decades. Current interdisciplinary field efforts include physical, biological, and chemical studies supporting the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration (SFER) effort and the underlying health of this ecosystem to the regional Intra-Americas Sea program, as well as the status and health of coral reef ecosystems worldwide.

 

Coastal Ecosystem related research projects:

 

Global Carbon Cycle

• Ocean Carbon Cycle Project

Climate Change

• Ocean acidification reef framework
• Atlantic Ocean acidification test-bed
• Coral bleaching

Coastal Pollution

• Coastal oceanography
• Eddies and internal waves
• OCD Environmental Microbiology

Fishing Effects

• U.S. Caribbean coral reef ecosystem connectivity

Physical oceanography of coral reefs

• Ship-based research
• Reef heat budgets

Coral Health and Monitoring Program

Petroleum and oil spill research

Marine and Estuarine Goal Setting for South Florida (MARES) Project