Tag: carbon dioxide

Coral ecologist Ian Enochs dives in the carbon dioxide bubbles of Maug's coral reefs (credit: Stephani Gordon/Open Boat Films/NOAA)

Increased Erosion at Acidified Coral Reefs

Corals live and thrive by maintaining a careful balance between their growth rate and the rate of erosion. Scientists already know the projected increases in carbon dioxide in our global oceans, known as ocean acidification, will slow the rate at which corals build the hard calcium carbonate skeletons that are the foundation of their habitat. A new study published online today in PLOS ONE demonstrates that in naturally highly acidified waters, these coral skeletons will also face increased erosion from microscopic organisms, called bioerosion. The result is accelerated breakdown and loss of reef structures, and potentially the loss of essential habitat.

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AOML Oceanographer Rik Wanninkhof Selected as Senior Technical Scientist

NOAA selected AOML oceanographer Dr. Rik Wanninkhof in October 2015 to become a Senior Technical Scientist, the highest attainable level for federal research scientists within NOAA. Rik is an internationally recognized authority on air-sea gas transfer with close to 25 years of experience studying the effects of atmospheric carbon dioxide on the ocean. Senior Technical Scientist positions are held by individuals who achieve national and/or international distinction in their field through their high-level research.

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Volcano Spewing Carbon Dioxide Drives Coral to Give Way to Algae

Scientists from NOAA and the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies at the University of Miami have documented a dramatic shift from vibrant coral communities to carpets of algae in remote Pacific Ocean waters where an undersea volcano spews carbon dioxide.

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The research team alongside the NOAA ship Gordon Gunter in Newport, RI prior to taking off on an ocean acidification cruise along the U.S. East coast. Image credit: NOAA

AOML Joins Ocean Acidification Program Research Cruise Along U.S. East Coast

A team of researchers, including scientists from AOML and the University of Miami, set sail June 19th on a research cruise aboard the NOAA ship Gordon Gunter to provide increased understanding of ocean acidification and its drivers along the U.S. East coast. The cruise, which is part of a larger effort supported by NOAA’s Ocean Acidification Program, investigated near-shore and deep waters, and provided researchers with more detailed information about changing ocean chemistry in different environments.

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The ARSV Laurence M. Gould, operated by the National Science Foundation (NSF), in the Southern Ocean. (Colm Sweeney / CIRES & NOAA)

Scientists Find Southern Ocean Removing CO2 from the Atmosphere More Efficiently

A research vessel ploughs through the waves, braving the strong westerly winds of the Roaring Forties in the Southern Ocean in order to measure levels of dissolved carbon dioxide in the surface of the ocean. (Nicolas Metzl, LOCEAN/IPSL Laboratory).

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Renee Carlton diving in the Solomon Islands as part of the ongoing collaboration between the Khaled bin Sultan's Living Oceans Foundation and AOML's ACCRETE team to obtain baseline ocean acidification related data from remote coral reef locations across the Pacific Ocean. Image credit: Living Oceans Foundation

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.

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