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Around this time last year, oceanographer Maureen Conte was on a research ship off the coast of Bermuda, hauling scientific instruments up out of the ocean.

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

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.

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

In a major development in the bid to deepen the understanding of the role that the ocean plays in climate science, Arizona State University (ASU) President Michael Crow announced today that ASU, a leading research university, has established a partnership with the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS), one of the longest-serving research institutes dedicated to studying ocean processes in the Western Hemisphere.

At midnight on a warm night off Bermuda in July, research technician Joe Cope and a small team of crew members prepared to deploy a net system stretching nearly the length of a city bus from the stern of the research vessel Atlantic Explorer. Though it’s not unusual for oceanographers to work around the clock during a research cruise, the timing of this particular cast was important. Every night, under cover of darkness, the marine animals they hoped to capture—some a few inches in length, others the size of a sand grain—come to the surface to feed on phytoplankton, after spending the daylight hours far below the surface, hiding from predators.

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 April, the Oceanic Flux Program (OFP), the longest running deep ocean time-series of its kind, marked its 40th year of operation. Since 1978, the OFP’s three sediment traps have continuously sampled sinking particulate debris, called particle flux, at depths of 1,640; 4,900; and 10,500 feet (500; 1,500; and 3,200 meters) at a location about 45 miles (75 kilometers) southeast of Bermuda.

Earlier this month, the 2014 University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) Chief Scientist Training Cruise wrapped up, with the R/V Atlantic Explorer returning to her berth at BIOS after a nine day cruise between Barbados and Bermuda. The purpose of these cruises is to give early-career marine scientists, including PhD students, insight into what it takes to successfully plan and execute a research cruise—everything from acquiring funded ship time to mobilizing laboratory equipment and supplies, from reporting at sea to living aboard a working research vessel.