As part of the natural carbon cycle, atmospheric CO2 reacts with the ocean’s surface waters to become carbonate, which can be converted by marine organisms into calcium carbonate. Many marine organisms—including corals, mussels, and algae—rely on calcium carbonate to build their shells or skeletons, making the molecule an important part of marine processes.

Source: Sciencedaily.com

Earlier this year, scientists wrapped up the second research cruise, as part of a multi-year project investigating a feature of the Southern Ocean known as the Great Southern Coccolithophore Belt (Great Belt). Coccolithophores are a type of phytoplankton with a unique exoskeleton composed of calcified platelets (coccoliths), giving them the appearance of being heavily armored.

For many years scientists have operated on the belief—backed by extensive calculations and climate models—that the global ocean absorbs approximately 30% of the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by human activities. However, in a recent paper published in the journal Biogeosciences, Dr. Nicholas Bates, Senior Scientist and Associate Director of Research at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS), discovered this might not always be true.

Some of our achievements in 2012 using ocean science for human good include work to:

In mid-February, the strong winds felt across the island almost wreaked havoc on a moored buoy that is part of the Bermuda Ocean Acidification and Coral Reef Investigation (BEACON) project at BIOS. Luckily, BIOS Research Technician Andrew Collins noticed the buoy at Hog Reef had broken loose from its primary fixed mooring line, setting in motion a coordinated effort to recover the buoy and its suite of scientific equipment.

Since 1978 the Oceanic Flux Program (OFP) has been studying particle fluxes in the deep Sargasso Sea. This year, the OFP celebrates 35 years of continuous measurements, making it the longest running time-series of its kind. “This is a monumental achievement for oceanography and for the US National Science Foundation, which supports the OFP. It is remarkable to look back at all we have learned about the workings of the deep ocean since the OFP began. And as we add ever more sophisticated instruments on the OFP mooring, it is really exciting to look forward to more discoveries about the deep,” says Dr. Maureen Conte, Associate Scientist at BIOS and Adjunct Scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory Ecosystems Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

In some high-risk areas, ocean warming and climate change threaten the insurability of catastrophe risk. This is one of the conclusions of a research report issued today by the Climate Risks and Insurance working group of international insurance think tank, The Geneva Association.

BIOS’s newest gliders made their research debut in late September when they slipped into waters near St. David’s Head and headed to a predetermined destination 50 miles offshore Bermuda. For the next nine months, the duo known as Jack and Minnie will use their payload of scientific sensors to record daily changes in water chemistry and currents, as the summer cap of warm surface waters is mixed and replaced with cooler, nutrient-rich waters from below, and tiny microbes and phytoplankton respond to the changing conditions.

Hamilton, Bermuda (October 28, 2019)—Global experts on climate change are among an impressive lineup of scientists and reinsurance industry leaders joining entrepreneur-philanthropist Michael Bloomberg and Bermuda Premier David Burt this Wednesday at the first Bermuda Climate Risk Forum.