When foam cups are lowered in a mesh bag deep into the ocean, will they dissolve? Just get wet? Or maybe a shark will eat them? These were the initial predictions made by 7- and 8-year-old students at St. George’s Preparatory school this month as they completed a new, two-part lesson offered by the BIOS Curriculum Enrichment Program on “Force: The Science of Ocean Pressure.”

Since late 2019, Kent Larsen has served as the oceanographic technical services manager for the BIOS-operated research vessel Atlantic Explorer. It’s a vital role, as modern oceanographic research ships have huge electrical and electronic requirements with complex technology to support their communications systems. His responsibilities include maintaining the audio-visual, electronic, and technical systems on board the ship, from satellite communications and navigational systems to the bridge (the ship’s command center) to emergency and surveillance systems.

This spring, Quentin Lewis, a long time captain for the BIOS-operated research vessel Atlantic Explorer, joined the staff as the Institute’s marine superintendent. Lewis, who is 54 and hails from North Carolina, replaced Ron Harelstad in the position. Lewis is a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marines Academy, spent over a decade as the marine superintendent for Duke University, and ran a small business delivering vessels on the East and Gulf coasts. Lewis’ wife, Lisa, is a regional business manager for a group of radio stations in North Carolina. They have an 11-year-old daughter, Samantha. Here Lewis details his involvement with BIOS, his family’s maritime history, and the projects he’s involved with as he begins full time employment with the Institute.

Damian Grundle, on board the research vessel Atlantic Explorer, recently joined the BIOS faculty.

For millennia, the exchange of CO2 (carbon dioxide) between the ocean and atmosphere has been in balance. Now, with more human-caused, or anthropogenic, carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere, the ocean is taking up more CO2 as well. This additional CO2 is negatively impacting sensitive ecosystems and scientists worry how changes to the ocean environment will affect the way carbon is cycled through the seas. Tune in to Changing Seas The Fate of Carbon, which features BIOS scientists working on the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS), which has collected data on the physical, biological, and chemical properties of the ocean since 1988. Learn how these measurements are helping us learn more about the role of carbon, and the ocean, in Earth’s changing climate.

The research vessel Atlantic Explorer sailed from BIOS in June sporting a new instrument package on its mast and bow designed to measure climate-relevant, constantly shifting gases, moisture, and heat between the ocean and the atmosphere.

An interdisciplinary team of scientists joined forces in July for their first annual research cruise dedicated to revealing how specific microbes take up and transform organic matter within a web of ecological interactions in the waters southeast of Bermuda.

Justin Smith was raised in a fishing family in Gig Harbor, Washington, but a crash in the local fishing economy diverted him from the family business. Knowing he liked ships and being on the water, he decided to explore oceanography in college. Within his first month at the University of Hawaii, he discovered the Hawaii Ocean Time-series program and the research vessel Kilo Moana. His volunteer position on the ship led to a job in the physical oceanography lab. By graduation in 2009 he had logged 220 days at sea, and was inspired to pursue a hands-on, “jack-of-all-trades” career as a marine technician in the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) fleet.  

Quinn Montgomery, 23, a senior at the University of San Diego, is one of eight students at BIOS this semester participating in the Institute’s annual Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. During their 12-week stay on Bermuda, students conduct independent projects under the supervision of BIOS faculty and staff, with the support of National Science Foundation funding.

What keeps you up at night? Barking dogs, traffic in the city, perhaps noisy neighbors? For Samm Newton, a graduate student in the Oregon State University (OSU) Environmental Arts and Humanities program, it’s the challenges of connecting the public with the complex, global environmental threats facing society.