Coral reefs present scientists with a unique challenge. How do you accurately measure ecosystem processes—such as photosynthesis and calcification—within a system that changes over the course of a day and between days (depending on water flow, tides, sunlight, and weather, among other factors) and that also contains a variety of reef types and habitats (such as rim reefs, in-shore reefs, and deep water reefs)?

Oceanographer Neal Pettigrew is still piecing together the 1,392-day trip his runaway buoy made from the Gulf of Maine, which ended with its recovery on board the BIOS-operated research vessel Atlantic Explorer just before Halloween. But this much he knows: just by drifting freely over huge distances around the Atlantic, the buoy collected a remarkable amount of information about the ocean.

The quest to remove invasive lionfish from Bermuda’s reef ecosystem has taken a decidedly delicious turn. As part of a new research project led by BIOS coral reef ecologist Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley, fresh lionfish is now being delivered on a monthly basis to two island resorts and restaurants—Rosewood Tucker’s Point and Marcus’ Bermuda—as well as a local grocer, The Supermart Ltd.

Oceanographer and ocean engineer Brennan Phillips runs the Undersea Robotics and Imaging Laboratory at the University of Rhode Island (URI) in Kingston, Rhode Island, where he and his students specialize in creating novel systems for oceanographic research and deep-sea exploration. He is also a familiar face at BIOS, having spent time at the Institute in 2019 testing the development of a controllable, miniaturized camera system for deep-sea exploration, called DEEPi.

When the ongoing pandemic scuttled Maya Leighton’s plans this fall to attend a university overseas, she instead enrolled for a year at Bermuda College. There, a professor noted Leighton’s commitment to marine sciences and suggested a unique opportunity. How about spending Saturdays at BIOS, learning about coral reefs, marine microplastics, plankton, and mangrove restoration on island?

This summer, BIOS will offer courses in Modern Observational Oceanography, Coral Reef Ecology and a new course: Coral Reef Optics. Each course offers a unique opportunity for students to study abroad and conduct fieldwork in Bermuda’s marine ecosystems. Applications are due April 14. For more information, including how to apply, see the course flyer or visit /education/summer-courses

Understanding our planet and how it functions, as well as the impacts that human activities have on it, requires frequent and extended forays into the field to yield valuable data and observations. The COral Reef Airborne Laboratory (CORAL) investigation is a prime example. The three-year mission, funded by the NASA Earth Venture Suborbital-2 program, is conducting airborne remote sensing campaigns, along with in-water field validation activities, across four coral reef regions in the western and central Pacific Ocean.

Since its beginning in 1903 as a field station for students and scientists at Harvard University and New York University, BIOS has hosted hundreds of students from colleges and universities around the world. Over the years, students conducting research at BIOS have used their experiences as springboards for acceptance into graduate degree programs, a variety of technical and research positions (both at BIOS and abroad), and—frequently—a scientific publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Chemical oceanographer Nick Bates’s ongoing study of the ocean-atmosphere interface sheds light on a group of tiny, beautiful marine plants called coccolithophores, which have been found to release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in regions near Antarctica.

Like to snorkel? Interested in supporting emerging marine engineers? Several dozen volunteers from BIOS and the Bermuda community are needed to assist on Saturday, April 22, as 27 teams of middle school students test their mission-tasked Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) during the annual island-wide robotics challenge.