TDI-Brooks Finalizes Report for Deepwater Atlantic Habitats II
one of the largest cold-water coral reef complexes in the world. Furthermore, the Richardson Reef Complex is part of one of the largest coral mound provinces in the world, the Million Mounds, which extends from Richardson in the northeast and south across the entire Blake Plateau, and down along the Florida coast to the Jacksonville Mounds. The seeps along the continental shelf edge, visited for the first time, are remarkable for their extremely high rates of methane release and oxidation. Their chemistry fuels biological productivity that appears to also support local pelagic communities.Pamlico
Divers Find Challenger Space Shuttle Wreckage Off Florida Coast
Divers from a documentary crew looking for the wreckage of a World War Two aircraft off the coast of Florida found a 20-foot section of the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded and broke apart shortly after its launch in 1986, NASA said on Thursday.The divers contacted NASA after spotting a large, clearly modern object mostly covered in sand at the bottom of the ocean and bearing the shuttle's distinctive tiles, the space agency said in a written statement."This discovery gives us an opportunity to pause once again, to uplift the legacies of the seven pioneers we lost, and to reflect on
NOC Celebrates 25th Anniversary of First AUV Mission
.In 1996, the NOC embarked on its first AUV mission in Portland Harbor, Dorset – a three-day programm to demonstrate the transition of remote control autonomous operation with GPS and dead-reckoning navigation. A year later, the team and Autosub-1 were gathering oceanographic data off the Florida coast, and the following year off Bermuda. The inaugural mission was at the forefront of the scientific and technical credibility of autonomous underwater vehicles, and laid the foundations for the innovative global AUV operations and developments undertaken by the NOC team today.After 25 years of
Report: Population of North Atlantic right whales Hits 20-year Low
number that is cause for optimism yet well below the annual average of 23 pairs from the previous decade. Additionally, there were two documented mortalities in 2021. The 2021 male calf of “Infinity” (Catalog #3230) was struck by a recreational fishing boat in the calving grounds off the Florida coast on February 12 and died soon after. Just days later, 11-year-old adult male “Cottontail” (Catalog #3920) was found dead off Myrtle Beach, SC, after being sighted entangled and emaciated. While the relatively low number of mortalities is encouraging, research has shown that just 36%
Discovery: Uncovering Manta Ray Behavior via Mini ADCP
Union for Conservation of Nature, it is arguably vital. South Florida appears to be home to one of just three known manta ray nurseries in the world. “The manta rays are very young, so this is really important habitat for them to safely develop into adulthood,” Pate explains.With the Florida coast so highly developed and its coastal waters brimming with human activity, it is not surprising that accidents happen. “We see a lot of fishing line entanglement and vessel strike on the manta rays and other species,” says Pate.Key to designing measures to reduce our impact on the young
Sharkwater Director Still Missing off Florida
The parents of award-winning Canadian filmmaker Rob Stewart, an environmental activist campaigning to protect sharks, said on Thursday they hoped his experience in the water could help him survive after he disappeared off the Florida coast this week. Stewart, 37, went missing on Tuesday after a deepwater dive to retrieve an anchor. His dive partner collapsed after returning to the boat, while Stewart, who signaled he was OK when he surfaced, later disappeared, his parents said. "If anybody can survive in the water, it is him," Brian Stewart, his father said in a telephone
US, Cuba Open Doors to Marine Science Cooperation
When Barack Obama became the first president to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge, his visit highlighted not only a new course in international relations, but showcased on-going scientific collaborations with the country only 90 miles off the Florida coast. "Ocean currents know no boundaries,” said Billy Causey, regional director of NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries' Southeast Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean region. “They’re a conveyor belt, moving important marine life between our countries. Working together will help us better preserve
Family Finds Sunken Treasure Off Florida Coast
A Florida family scavenging for sunken treasure on a shipwreck has found the missing piece of a 300-year-old gold filigree necklace sacred to Spanish priests, officials said on Tuesday. Eric Schmitt, a professional salvager, was scavenging with his parents when he found the crumpled, square-shaped ornament on a leisure trip to hunt for artifacts in the wreckage of a convoy of 11 ships that sank in 1715 during a hurricane off central Florida's east coast. After the discovery last month, a team of Spanish historians realized the piece fit together with another artifact recovered 25 years ago.
Genetic Yacht Lab Maps Sea Life Looking for Cures
A team of scientists has begun collecting the genomes of sea creatures off the Florida coast in the hopes that unmapped species, some of which have the capacity to reverse disease and injury in themselves, may hold the key to new treatments for humans. Of about 250,000 marine species identified so far, scientists have sequenced the genetic material of only about three dozen, according to University of Florida neuroscientist Leonid Moroz. To speed up the process of making potential new discoveries, a team led by Moroz used a yacht loaded with a fully equipped genomic laboratory to do the sequencing
February 2024
