For researchers interested in the global climate system, understanding what the future holds often involves studying the climate of the past—a scientific field called paleoclimatology. To understand what Earth’s climate was like thousands, even millions, of years ago, paleoclimatologists rely on preserved physical evidence of climate information, such as tree rings, ice cores, and even the shells of marine microorganisms.

Have you ever wondered how scientists can tell how old a fish is? Or what a fish’s body and tail shape can tell you about how it swims and where it lives? For many people, fish are simply what’s on the menu, but at the 2014 HSBC Explorer Program, BIOS education staff gave students and teachers the opportunity to learn about fish from nose to tail, and from the inside out.

For anyone who lived in Bermuda during the 1960s and 1970s, seeing tar balls and oil on local beaches was a frequent, if not regular, occurrence.  Floating tar balls are the result of petroleum in the marine environment, either from onshore and offshore oil production, processing and handling, shipping operations, or natural oil seeps. Because some tar balls float, they can be carried over large distances by ocean currents before they are deposited on the shoreline.

Earth’s climate system is influenced strongly by ocean currents that are located both at the surface, as well as in deep water below 1000m.  Warm surface currents carry less dense water away from the Equator toward the poles, and cold deep currents carry denser water away from the poles. In this manner, ocean currents distribute heat energy and play a large role in regulating Earth’s weather and climate, in addition to cycling nutrients, salt, and gases such as carbon.

Each year, around this time, high school students are faced with the often-daunting task of deciding what to do in the upcoming summer months. Volunteer? Study abroad? Work? Intern? While the final decision rests upon many factors, Bermudian students interested in pursuing careers in the ocean or atmospheric sciences have to look no further than the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS). Each summer, as part of its Ocean Academy, BIOS runs two programs for high school students that provide unique opportunities to learn and work at the research station.

In 1872 the H.M.S. Challenger embarked upon a four-year scientific journey to survey and explore the world’s ocean, including the deep sea in the great ocean basins. During this time, her crew and scientific staff collected 492 depth soundings and 263 observations of water temperature—an impressive feat considering their equipment consisted of a plumb line marked in 25 fathom intervals and several thermometers (including a reversing thermometer, which could measure temperature at specific depths).  The resulting 50-volume report laid the foundation for the modern fields of oceanography.

From February 23-28, nearly 5,600 ocean scientists, engineers, students, educators, and policy makers gathered in Honolulu for the 2014 Ocean Sciences Meeting. This biennial meeting, co-sponsored by the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), The Oceanographic Society (TOS), and the American Geophysical Union (AGU), is an important venue for scientific exchange across broad marine science disciplines. With 141 scientific, educational, and policy sessions, the conference covered topics as wide-ranging as phytoplankton biogeography, ocean science workforce development, marine renewable energy, microbial oceanography in the deep sea, infectious marine diseases, and climate change.

Research vessels are one of ocean science’s most valuable workhorses, providing researchers with access to remote waters and safely carrying scientific equipment and personnel around the world. Modern vessels must also be capable of simultaneously supporting research in a variety of disciplines (e.g., oceanography, geology, engineering, and even atmospheric science). As a result, research vessels are outfitted for both general operations and discipline-specific tasks.

Experience Bermuda from Shore to Sea. Join a select group of high school students for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure investigating Bermuda’s marine environment at BIOS while learning offshore sailing and navigation, and experiencing the Sargasso Sea on board Bermuda’s 112 ft. national tall ship, Spirit of Bermuda. Led by experienced staff and instructors, this unique joint shore to sea field course gives participants the experience of a sail-training program that infuses a global science perspective with both cultural and historical elements. No sailing experience is required. Eight professional crew provide instruction on basic sailing skills, navigation techniques and safety.

Growing up in South Rhode Island as one of five children, George Gunther, 55, spent most of his free time on a boat either fishing or tending to his family’s lobster traps. The saltwater soaked into his veins, so to speak, and when he turned 20, his father co-signed a loan for a 38-foot (12-meter) houseboat, which Gunther proceeded to live on for a decade.