Now in its eighth year, BIOS-SCOPE is a multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary initiative that annually gathers scientists from Bermuda, Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States to explore fundamental questions about the ocean’s biogeochemical cycles and how diverse communities of marine microbes influence the carbon cycle and other fundamental processes and, ultimately, the planet’s ability to sustain life. An overarching goal of the project is to form and foster collaborations across scientific disciplines, an aspect that enables the team to advance their understanding of the interactions of organisms and compounds at various scales, across both time and ocean depths. Along the way, the principals and collaborators of BIOS-SCOPE (Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences – Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology) have formed professional bonds and friendships that add value to the work. On the eve of the program’s eleventh cruise from ASU BIOS – with 18 scientists and two marine science technicians on board, Currents spoke with BIOS-SCOPE Co-Principal Investigators and adjunct faculty Craig Carlson (University of California, Santa Barbara) and Stephen Giovannoni (Oregon State University) and Investigator Rachel Parsons (ASU BIOS Microbial Ecology Laboratory) about the project’s past, present and future.

Research conducted as part of the multi-year, multi-institutional BIOS-SCOPE (Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences – Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology) project is shedding light on how the end products of cellular metabolism, called metabolites, could be used to track future changes in the marine environment.

In early August, four researchers representing three international scientific and education institutions converged at BIOS to begin field and experimental work for an investigation into coral resilience. Funded by a grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation International, Ltd., this research will build on the results of a previous project, supported by the same donor, that highlighted the importance of environmental history in long-term coral survival.

Over two days in mid-August, a team of BIOS scientists, along with the Institute’s science writer, supported the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute’s (BUEI’s) inaugural “Earth Reporters: Climate Change” summer camp. Designed for students aged 11 to 14, the week-long camp aimed to provide participants with the skills required to investigate environmental issues, then report on their findings using a variety of journalistic techniques, including photography, storytelling, and videography.

On July 15, 2022, BIOS released a report titled Climate Change and Bermuda – Part I: Science and Physical Hazards. This report synthesizes the current understanding about the state of Bermuda’s climate, including historical trends and variations over the last several decades that are likely to have an impact on Bermuda’s society. The report also examines projections of future climate scenarios, including a review of uncertainties. Chapters include reviews of recent and future changes in temperature, rainfall and sea level rise. Changes in local natural hazards such as hurricanes and winter gales are also explored to develop a longer-term view of what the near future looks like for the island’s disaster risk.

The Bermuda Program, part of BIOS’s Ocean Academy suite of local education programs, has been providing internship opportunities to Bermudian students, aged 18 and older, since 1976. In that time, more than 250 summer internship placements have been provided to young Bermudians. The program pairs students with BIOS faculty and scientific staff, who serve as mentors for participants while they conduct research projects in the fields of marine and atmospheric science.

BIOS was well-represented this month at the first Bermuda Climate Summit, which began with a reception and dinner the evening of May 24 and continued with a conference the following day. The inaugural event was designed to “bring together leaders from business, science, and public policy sectors to explore solutions and opportunities” to address climate risk protection, according to the summit’s agenda.

Nicole Coots, a PhD student in her third year of evolutionary biology research at Arizona State University, is smitten by radiolarians, drifting plankton known for their complex, beautifully-sculpted miniature skeletons they make from minerals in ocean water. Like snowflakes, they seem to exist in almost unlimited variety. They are also key members of the food web throughout the surface waters of the global ocean, providing nutrition for other sea life.

A recently-awarded grant from Heising-Simons Foundation International, Ltd. (HSFI) will support a three-year study into the ability of corals to respond to thermal stress events, including prolonged periods of warmer-than-usual temperatures known as marine heat waves. By studying multiple reef-building corals in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Pacific, the project aims to determine if there are potential benefits from thermal “stress conditioning” and, if so, to build cellular and molecular profiles of the more stress-tolerant corals.

BIOS has undertaken a project to report on the science and impacts of climate change, with a specific focus on Bermuda. This effort is supported by HSBC, and is being led by Dr. Mark Guishard, adjunct faculty at BIOS and Director of the Bermuda Weather Service (BWS), a section of the Bermuda Airport Authority.