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.

Beginning this fall, ocean exploration enthusiasts will have a new window into the deep sea and its inhabitants through the virtual world of subROV: Underwater Discoveries, a PC-based simulation video game. Developed with input from researchers at BIOS and the Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) in Palo Alto, California (U.S.), subROV allows players to assume the controls of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and pilot it on a variety of scientific missions.

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) designed its Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program in 1987 as a way to meaningfully involve undergraduate students in areas of research funded by the federal agency, including astronomy, biological sciences, mathematics, ocean sciences, and others.

Not many people can say their selection of a university degree program was largely influenced by electrical wire and pieces of PVC pipe. But for An Mei Daniels, 18, a second-year student in the University of Exeter’s (U.K.) Integrated Masters in Natural Sciences program, it’s true. Her passion for science was discovered by way of a robotics club that she joined during her first year at Warwick Academy, a Bermuda-based secondary school.

A unique fundraising program, the Bermuda Championship Birdies for Charity program, was launched earlier this summer benefitting charities on the island of Bermuda. The program will provide up to a 10% match on every donation, with all funds raised going directly to the organizations involved.

While some students begin high school with solid career goals in mind, others are trying to identify their interests and align them with potential academic majors or occupations. The BIOS Ocean Science Camp (OSC) was created in 2018 to help engage and support this latter group of students. OSC is a snorkel-based summer camp geared toward students between the ages of 12 and 15 who are interested in the ocean, but may not have had previous opportunities to study marine science.

In late May 2022, a team of scientists from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA, U.S.), the University of Washington (UW, U.S.), the University of York (York, U.K.), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, U.S.), traveled to Bermuda to begin the installation of a new 30-foot (10 meter) sampling tower with an accompanying suite of state-of-the-art research instruments at the Tudor Hill Marine Atmospheric Observatory (THMAO). The location of this BIOS-operated facility in the middle of Bermuda, itself in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, provides a valuable research opportunity for scientists that study the long-range transport of materials across entire ocean basins.

Hamilton, Bermuda, August 25, 2022 – “I am excited to advance the Blue Prosperity Plan,” said the Deputy Premier and Minister of Home Affairs, the Hon. Walter Roban, JP, MP, following today’s announcement in Cabinet. “It outlines the first steps for Bermuda to become a global leader and a hub for investment in sustainable industries.”

A recent publication in the scientific journal Frontiers highlights some of the biggest challenges confronting modern deep-sea exploration, namely that technologies are expensive to develop, purchase, and deploy. This, in turn, leads to an imbalance in who can access, utilize, and benefit from these tools, creating longer-term inequities among early career engineers, practitioners, and scientists who might benefit from technical training opportunities.

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.