Ian Enochs - NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory

New study finds that seventy percent of Florida’s coral reefs are eroding

AOML Communications — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 20:18:19 +0000

A group of scientists from NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory and the University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Studies have found that 70 percent of Florida’s coral reefs are experiencing a net loss of reef habitat.

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Congratulations to the Winners of 2022 Department of Commerce and NOAA Awards!

AOML Communications — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 19:45:06 +0000

Congratulations to all of the 2022 Department of Commerce and NOAA Award winners! AOML is proud to recognize the achievements of our outstanding scientists and staff for their vital contributions to increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of NOAA. From creative problem solving in the face of unforeseen challenges to developing innovative tools and techniques in […]

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Coral Rescue in Miami Beach

AOML Communications — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 15:07:10 +0000

A team of coral researchers from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Miami (UM) rescued 43 coral colonies after a sea wall collapsed at Star Island, near Miami Beach. The rapid coral rescue effort occurred at one of NOAA’s regularly monitored research sites. While conducting a routine survey, scientists from […]

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Building Endurance to Beat the Heat: New Study Preps Corals for Warming Waters

AOML Communications — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 15:06:09 +0000

In a recent study published in the journal Coral Reefs, scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) found that staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) fragments exposed to an oscillating temperature treatment were better able to respond to heat stress caused by warming oceans.

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Sediments a Likely Culprit in Spread of Deadly Disease on Florida Coral Reefs, Study Finds

AOML Communications — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 14:45:47 +0000

MIAMI—A new study found that seafloor sediments have the potential to transmit a deadly pathogen to local corals and hypothesizes that sediments have played a role in the persistence of a devastating coral disease outbreak throughout Florida and the Caribbean.

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Habitat Altering Processes Are Uncovered for Reefs in the Eastern Pacific

AOML Communications — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 17:03:41 +0000

Trying to predict how coral reefs will respond to warming oceans and a changing climate may be considered a daunting task for scientists. In the face of this challenge, scientists at AOML recently published a study that characterizes the organisms and processes that lead to coral reef accretion (build up) and bioerosion (break down) in the dynamic environments of the Gulf of Panama and Gulf of Chiriqui in the eastern Pacific.

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Urban Corals Persist in Unlikely Places

AOML Communications — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 17:41:30 +0000

When we look at the state of corals globally, it can be difficult to see a silver lining, but a recent paper published in Frontiers in Marine Science shows hope for corals in unlikely places. In the study, scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) and the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science compared the molecular processes of brain corals (Pseudodiploria strigosa) living in urban waters at the Port of Miami with offshore corals at Emerald Reef. They found the urban corals had adapted to challenging conditions that helped them differentiate and consume healthy food particles over diseased organisms.

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Characterizing Coral Resilience in the Anthropocene: A Reef in the “New Normal”

AOML Communications — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 13:00:00 +0000

It can be hard to stay upbeat as a marine biologist, especially with the onslaught of existential threats like climate change facing the planet. Coral reefs are arguably the ecosystem that stands to lose the most with respect to climate change, namely because the resident organisms are highly sensitive to elevated temperatures. Furthermore, the limestone-based reef framework itself is diminishing before our eyes due to the accompanying rise in carbon dioxide levels (which decreases oceanic pH, leading to ocean acidification). That being said, there are corals out there that display resilience, continuing to thrive in habitats that would appear decidedly marginalized to even the untrained eye.

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Scientists at AOML Present Coral Research at the First Virtual International Coral Reef Symposium

AOML Communications — Tue, 20 Jul 2021 18:17:10 +0000

Coral scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) and the University of Miami Rosenstiel School’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) will be presenting their research at the 14th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) from July 19-23, 2021, which will be held virtually for the first time in the history of the ICRS.

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Coral Growth in Flower Garden Banks Approaches Threshold As Sea Temperatures Rise

AOML Communications — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 15:31:25 +0000

A recent study by researchers at NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory shows that coral growth observed in symmetrical brain corals (Pseudodiploria strigosa) and mountainous star corals (Orbicella faveolata) in the Flower Garden Banks reefs, in the Gulf of Mexico, are linked to warming sea surface temperatures.

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