Ground Truthing for NASA – ASU BIOS Selected to Validate Satellite Measurements of Plankton and Ocean Illuminance

February 29, 2024

Typically associated with the study of Earth’s upper atmosphere and beyond, satellites deployed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) also augment our understanding of Earth’s ecosystems, including critical information about the ocean such as locations of algal blooms and levels of marine photosynthesis.


New study looks at how coral absorbs light

February 18, 2019

Researchers in Bermuda have released a new study on how corals absorb light in different conditions.


Shedding Light on Coral Reefs

September 11, 2020

Earlier this year, BIOS senior scientist and coral reef ecologist Eric Hochberg published a paper in the journal Coral Reefs that put numbers to a widely accepted concept in reef science: that materials in seawater (such as phytoplankton, organic matter, or suspended sediment) can affect how much light, as well as the wavelength of light, reaches the seafloor. This, in turn, impacts the ecology of organisms, including corals and algae, that live on the seafloor and rely on that light for photosynthesis.


Keeping a Close Eye on the Ocean—from Afar

January 06, 2021

Upwelling regions account for just 1% of the world’s oceans, yet they are responsible for producing roughly half of the global fishing industry’s annual harvest—worth an estimated $362 billion as of 2016. These nutrient-dense, cool-water regions play a vital role in global ecosystems, supporting the growth of the seaweed and plankton that are the backbone of the marine food web.


COVID Cancellations Lead to Confidence in Coral Reef Ecology

February 28, 2023

In early 2021, Nicole Burt, then 22 years old, was in her fourth year of graduate studies at the University of Southampton in England. She was close to finishing her integrated master’s degree in marine biology and was putting final touches on her thesis, which focused on the effects of dissolved inorganic nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, on coral growth. Burt hoped to travel after graduation and started making plans to spend the summer conducting fieldwork in a tropical marine environment.


Undergraduate Interns Leave BIOS With Key Skills, Lasting Friendships

January 02, 2023

Conducting research can be a career-defining opportunity for an undergraduate student. This experience helps build their CV for graduate school, it can open doors to internships and jobs, and many students present their results at international scientific conferences. Recognizing the increasingly critical role that independent research plays in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers, each fall BIOS welcomes a cohort of undergraduate interns as part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program.


Spending a Short Semester Studying Abroad

January 25, 2023

Paul Gensbigler, 20, is no stranger to the water, having spent the past two years studying the health of the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States. A junior majoring in molecular and cellular biology at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in Maryland, Gensbigler is researching the microbes that help control nutrient levels in the Bay. However, this January he traded the brackish waters of the northern Chesapeake for the salty waters of the northern Atlantic in a “Hopkins Intersession Abroad” program.


ASU Announces New School of Ocean Futures

October 01, 2022

A new school dedicated to the study of the ocean and its ecosystems, and it is based in the desert?


Nine Undergraduate Students Receive NSF Support for Research Internships at BIOS

September 25, 2022

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.


BIOS Takes Part in Inaugural Bermuda Climate Summit

May 10, 2022

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.


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