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The
Hawaiʻi Ocean Time-series (HOT) program has hit a major milestone in its critical research to observe and understand how the ocean responds to climate change. On February 28, 2018, UH research vessel
Kilo Moana returned from the HOT program's 300th scientific expedition. This makes Station ALOHA, the field site of this 30-year program, one of the best-sampled places in the world's oceans.
"It is really satisfying to reach this milestone, and to see the growing importance of the HOT program accomplishments,"
said
David Karl
,
Oceanography
professor and co-founder of HOT.
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Credit: Chris Preston
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For the first time, scientists and engineers from SOEST and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) deployed a small fleet of long-range autonomous underwater vehicles that have the ability to collect and archive seawater samples automatically. The new vehicles can transit for over 600 miles, and use their own "eyes and ears" to detect important oceanographic events, allowing researchers to track and study ocean microbes in unprecedented detail. O
n-board Schmidt Ocean Institute's Falkor,
t
he team is using this new technology to adaptively sample open-ocean eddies, which can have large effects on ocean microbes.
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Credit: Florybeth La Valle
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Groundwater that seeps into the coastal zone beneath the ocean's surface, submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), is an important source of fresh water and nutrients to nearshore coral reefs. A study, led by researchers at the
Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology showed in areas with high levels of SGD, it was a double whammy for coral reefs--coral growth was impacted and bioerosion was enhanced, breaking down the skeletal reef framework. Surprisingly, SGD enhanced coral growth when groundwater input was at low levels. Their results indicate corals can thrive on SGD-impacted reefs if isolated from secondary stressors such as competition from seaweeds and sedimentation.
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Credit: Research Features
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Atmospheric Sciences professor
Bin Wang is improving the understanding of a globally important atmospheric system, the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO). This system has a profound impact on weather in the tropics, and can have significant impacts on extreme events including storms across the US, monsoons, and flooding. While the MJO is a well-documented phenomenon, its origin is still yet to be understood. Wang and his team are building upon existing theories on how it operates, and how to best simulate it in different geographical conditions. Wang's efforts to create increasingly reliable prediction tools aid hazard risk assessment and preparation in countries affected by the MJO.
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SOEST was well represented at the Mānoa Experience - University Preview Day on March 3. This annual preview and recruitment event brought thousands of prospective students from high school, community colleges and mainland colleges, and their families to our campus! Undergraduate students representing each SOEST major, came together to share all that we have to offer. Visitors came from Hawai'i and across the country to learn about the opportunities at SOEST from
our best ambassadors!
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Sharing SOEST science at Bishop Museum
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Members from the Rappe Lab and Gates Lab, both based at the
Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, shared the world of marine microbes and the importance of global coral reef health at the 2018 Fall in Love with Science Day at Bishop Museum. The exhibit was flooded with eager visitors throughout the day-long event. An estimated 4,000 visitors attended the event and had an opportunity to explore first-hand what is in one microliter of seawater and why coral bleach.
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