The first episode of Ocean Diaries went online this week as part of a collaboration between the Bermuda Zoological Society, the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences and the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute.
Today [June 5] marks the one year anniversary of the Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Programme [BOPP], a partnership between the Government of Bermuda, the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences [BIOS], and the Waitt Institute
We’re familiar with how climate change is impacting the ocean’s biology, from bleaching events that cause coral die-offs to algae blooms that choke coastal marine ecosystems, but it’s becoming clear that a warming planet is also impacting the physics of ocean circulation.
Around this time last year, oceanographer Maureen Conte was on a research ship off the coast of Bermuda, hauling scientific instruments up out of the ocean.
Oceans are critical to stabilizing the world’s climate, absorbing a quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions and capturing 90 percent of the excess heat they generate. By some estimates, the ocean also accounts for up to half the annual emissions of another greenhouse gas – nitrous oxide (N2O), the third most important climate emission after carbon dioxide and methane. With the climate changing amid record high atmospheric levels of all three gases, the importance of the marine nitrogen cycle is ripe for study.
The Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS), a unit of Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory and School of Ocean Futures at Arizona State University, has announced funding support for deep-sea research and education training for Bermudians. The funding is led by a charitable grant from the Global Atlantic Re foundation, which is sponsored by Global Atlantic Financial Group (Global Atlantic), a leading insurance company meeting the retirement and life insurance needs of individuals and institutions.
The transformative power of education lies not only in the knowledge gained within the classroom walls but also in the experiences that broaden young minds beyond their familiar surroundings. Such is the case for a group of 23 students from Polaris, a K-12 grade school in Anchorage, Alaska (U.S.). In May, these ambitious learners embarked on a once-in-a-lifetime journey to Bermuda, where they had the unique opportunity to visit the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences. Over the course of 10 days, these curious young minds and their educators were immersed in a variety of interactive activities that took learning beyond the confines of their Alaskan classroom.
As the shipwreck capital of the world, Bermuda is known for its treacherous reefs. But these unique corals may also offer clues to heightened resilience in the face of a changing climate. Working at the edge of science – and living at the edge of the ocean – experts study and protect these islands and reefs they call home.
Wedged between two windy weeks in April, calm weather descended upon Bermuda just as 11 graduate and PhD-bound students arrived at BIOS, primed to head out to sea for a taste of hands-on oceanography under the guidance of Institute scientists, technicians and support personnel.