Tag: university of miami

New Mapping Method Uses Sustained Observations to Estimate AMOC at 22.5°S

Changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and its transport of heat can affect climate and weather patterns, regional sea levels, and ecosystems. A new study led by Ivenis Pita, a University of Miami PhD student working at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory/ the Cooperative Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS), is the first to estimate the AMOC and heat transport at 22.5°S in the South Atlantic, demonstrating the importance of sustained in situ observations to monitor the state of the AMOC. 

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A large amount of Sargassum inundation on a Miami Beach. Photo Credit: UM

Improving Monitoring of Coastal Inundations of Sargassum with Wind and Citizen Science Data

In a new study, scientists from NOAA, University of South Florida, Florida International University, University of Miami, and LGL Ecological Associates, compared wind information alongside Sargassum Inundation Risk (SIR) maps against citizen science reports of inundation in the coasts of Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas, and Caribbean regions. With present SIR maps, inundation is considered as more likely if large densities of satellite-detected Sargassum are near a coast. The scientists in the study found that shoreward wind velocity used in conjunction with SIR indicators greatly improves the agreement with coastal observations of Sargassum beaching compared to SIR indicators alone. Including wind metrics in SIR maps will allow for improved understanding of Sargassum trajectories in coastal areas for forecast purposes. 

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Beach at Sunrise

Update to the BEACHES Study: Children Visiting Beaches with Open Wounds are More Susceptible to Bacterial Infection

A new paper appearing in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health examines how the presence of children’s open wounds and abrasions during play at the beach may put them at greater risk of skin infections from marine bacteria and other pathogens they encounter. The study finds that children with existing or newly-acquired wounds while at the beach are more susceptible to infection.

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Trajectories of synthetic drifters

Crash Site of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 Likely Falls Within Official Search Area

In a paper published in the Journal of Operational Oceanography, a team of scientists with the Physical Oceanography Division at AOML, the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, the University of Miami, the University of Hawaii, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) of Australia analyzed possible pathways to link the location of the found debris in the southwestern Indian Ocean with potential crash sites, probably in the eastern Indian Ocean.

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Coral colonies at Cheeca Rocks in the Florida Keys show evidence of bleaching. Image credit: NOAA

AOML Leads Research Efforts Across Caribbean to Improve Bleaching Predictions

For the third time in recorded history, a massive coral bleaching event is unfolding throughout the world’s oceans, stretching from the Indian Ocean to the Caribbean. Above average sea surface temperatures exacerbated by a strong El Niño could result in the planet losing up to 4,500 square miles of coral this year alone, according to NOAA. The global event is predicted to continue to impact reefs into the spring of 2016.

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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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New Tools Bring Ecosystem Benefits to the Forefront of Decision Making

The Marine and Estuarine Goal Setting for South Florida (MARES) project, led by NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies at the University of Miami, continues to increase awareness of and appreciation for the value of coastal marine ecosystems, and their impacts upon human society. From 2009 through 2013, NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science funded MARES with the goal of creating a consensus-based process for managing South Florida’s coastal marine environments. MARES is unique in that it was among the first major efforts to include human benefits in a systematic framework to enable integrated ecosystem based management. The MARES approach embodies NOAA’s effort to serve as the Nation’s environmental intelligence agency by providing actionable information from science-based models to support environmentally-sensitive decisions made every day by individuals, communities, and governments.

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