Category: Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems

Image of tanks in the experimental reef lab. Photo Credit: NOAA. Environmental Reef Lab Tanks. Photo Credit: NOAA. Two white robotic arms hang over a series of tanks under the blue light with a black circle at the end where the pipettes attach

Investigating the impacts of climate change on reef-building corals using robotic arms 

Blue lights fill the room. The faint smell of salt emanates throughout the space as wires and tubes intricately suspended over robotic arms move along custom-built tracks over four rows of tanks filled with seawater – and fragments of critically-endangered corals. In the Experimental Reef Lab, scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) and the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) are investigating how crucial reef-building coral species are affected by the impacts of climate change using a suite of open-source robotic arms designed and built at AOML.

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OCC Islander II

National Geographic Islander II Underway pCO2 Data SCROLL TO LEARN MORE Who We Are  Rik Wanninkhof305.361.4379 | Rik Wanninkhof, Ph.D. Senior Technical Scientist Denis Pierrot305.361.4441 | Denis Pierrot, Ph.D. Oceanographer About the National Geographic Islander II The National Geographic Islander II is one of the latest additions to the Lindblad Expeditions fleet of 17 ships. [...]
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A blue and white iceberg at the center of the photo in the open blue ocean taken from the side of the R/V Marcus Langseth with the rusty gunnel and white crane at the bottom and right of the photo

Crossing the Equator and Navigating Icebergs: The A13.5 GO-SHIP Returns After 52 Days At Sea 

Wind, waves, and icebergs pierced through morning fog – the A13.5 GO-SHIP cruise proved both tumultuous and rewarding with vast amounts of new data that bring the promise of groundbreaking future research. After 52 days at sea, the A13.5 GO-SHIP cruise (short for “Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographical Investigations Program”) returned to Cape Town, South Africa […]

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Kayelyn Simmons sits at the desk with three screens in front of her, she examines the one immediately right displaying a photomosaic on the screen with the variety of colors of the coral reef

Celebrating Black History Month:  Meet Oceanographer Kayelyn Simmons

In honor of Black History Month, NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) spoke with Oceanographer Kayelyn Simmons, PhD, about her role at AOML and what Black History Month means to her. Kayelyn is a federal oceanographer at AOML, leading benthic habitat characterization studies using 3D mapping with the Ocean Chemistry and Ecosystems Division. Her […]

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OCC SOOP

Ships of Opportunity (SOOP) <!-- Quantifying Sea-Air CO2 Fluxes on Seasonal and Regional Timescales --> SCROLL TO LEARN MORE What We Do The AOML-led Ships of Opportunity - Carbon Dioxide (SOOP-CO2) consortium has collected ocean carbon data from automated instruments on ships since 2005 and is funded by NOAA’s Ocean Observation and Monitoring Division of [...]
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Two NOAA scientists deploy a large CTD into the ocean.

From Mississippi to Australia: 3 Research Cruises Depart to Improve Understanding of the Atlantic and Southern Ocean

Scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) are gearing up for a busy season at sea with three research cruises departing in the month of February. The A13.5 Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program (GO-SHIP) cruise, the I08S GO-SHIP cruise, and the Prediction and Research Moored Array in the Tropical Atlantic (PIRATA) Northeast Extension cruise will all depart in February to collect samples from the surface to the depths of the ocean and improve our understanding of ocean circulation, carbon uptake, biological conditions, and climate variability. 

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Scientists and R/V Pelican crew members recover the second of two sediment traps from a depth of 600 meters from the sea surface.

A Collaborative Effort Investigates the Biological Carbon Pump, Deploying Sediment Traps Hundreds of Meters Below

A team of scientists from AOML, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the University of South Carolina retrieve a sediment trap from the Gulf of Mexico, spending months processing and examining the flurry of microscopic shells and environmental DNA (eDNA) of biological debris collected by the trap, known as “marine snow.” This collaborative NOAA–USGS research project uses these sediment trap samples to investigate the biological carbon pump, the ocean’s role in removing atmospheric carbon, and climate change patterns.

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