How Rare?
Updated: 2012-09-29 15:38:52
I've got a piece of liverock that keeps budding off Fungia polyps. One of them is this siamese twin and I was wondering just how rare it is? I've...
Tarpon, Megalops atlanticus, Elopidae, Large Fish
Updated: 2012-09-28 15:30:13
Good morning readers, sorry but I am off to a late start!! I woke up pretty wiped out after my hour and a half sprint with the hands down fastest 12 year old in the Caribbean, this kid can ride and has no fear at all just like Stijn!! When I first started riding with [...]Juvenile Damselfish, Juvenile Longfin Damselfish
Updated: 2012-09-27 01:23:22
Good morning Amigo’s, how’s it going?? Our rain has quit and the skies are clear again, it was fun while it lasted! Stijn met me last night after work on my new trail and we got another hours worth of work done. I am thinking or guessing that we are now close to or about [...]reef research
Updated: 2012-09-26 06:50:03My name is Dan Garcia and I am currently a student at UCLA doing research on the reef aquaria industry for my master's thesis. Please help a graduate...Bonaire Iguana’s, Captain Dons, Reptiles from Bonaire
Updated: 2012-09-26 01:28:54
Good morning from overcast Curacao! We are in our second day of stormy weather and still loving it. It’s amazing how fast plants can bounce back after just one hard rain, it’s great! Even our hundreds of little Agave plants that we planted out along the new trail finally got some needed water and should [...]Pylopagurus discoidalis, Hermit Crabs in Tusk Shells
Updated: 2012-09-20 01:56:28
Hi all, what a crazy morning I have had already to say the least!! I was helping Aimee get the bikes ready this morning for a ride along the North coast with a friend and made a major mistake! Because I was in a hurry and not paying attention I accidently put two-part epoxy on [...]Deep Water Crabs, Hermit Crabs, Latirus infundibulum
Updated: 2012-09-19 14:07:59
Good morning friends, I am starting out with a very busy week and struggling to get it all done!! Yesterday I did two fun dives with the sub in the morning and then did a two hour bike in the evening with my new 12 year old student Dorian. Last night we did something different [...]Baby Bottlenose Dolphin, Delphinidae, Baby Tursiops
Updated: 2012-09-18 01:35:22
Good morning friends, I have to be underwater in 30 minutes so I will get this started and be back later. We are having crazy heat right now and no rain in sight, I actually had to get up early and start watering the plants in our yard it’s so dry! I have 5 water-baths [...]Southern Stingray, Dasyatis americana, Stingray’s
Updated: 2012-09-17 15:00:07
Good Monday morning to you all, how was your weekend?? Mine was like a scene from Groundhog Day and was just about identical to what I did last weekend and the one before that. Getting this new mountain bike trail put in has become priority one and it is hard and slow work!! The brush [...]Malthopsis gnoma, Grotesque Seabat, Batfish
Updated: 2012-09-14 01:54:06
Good morning readers, as promised here is our newest find, a super cool, two inch long Batfish from 850 feet!! This is believed to a species called; Malthopsis gnoma, aka the Grotesque Seabat…the only member of its genus in the Atlantic and could be the only live one ever photographed. This little guy is doing very [...]Mission Summary
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:24
Chief Scientist Mark Patterson provides a mission summary, highlighting why they decided to come to Bonaire's pristine environment for scientific research and why they are seeing some troubling factors regarding the health of the coral reefs.Mission Photo and Video Gallery
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:24View photos and videos taken during the Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies mission, including high-resolution photos and slideshows.Tracking the Steep Reefs of Bonaire
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:23
The team overcame the challenge of mapping underwater 'microbialites' - calcium carbonate mounds that result from the presence of a microbial community.A Different Kind of Mission
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:21
How is this Bonaire 2008 Exploration different from many of Ocean Explorer's other expeditions you may ask?Ten Transects Down… Only Ten to Go!!
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:21
Acropora palmate (Elkhorn coral), once prevalent around the island’s leeward coast, can only be found in a few areas and then in only small patches.University of Delaware’s Caribbean Study Abroad Program
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:20
Sixteen students, mostly upperclassmen pursuing degrees in biology, geology and environmental sciences, have come to Bonaire through the University of Delaware’s Caribbean Study Abroad Program.Comparing Coral Reefs in Bonaire: One Graduate Student’s Thesis Work
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:19
Learn why the scientific dive team is navigating by GPS along a predetermined heading conducting video transects of coral cover.Bathycache- The Truth is in the Ground
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:19
The survey data collected by the GeoSwath sonar on the Gavia AUV provides a high-resolution side-scan sonar mosaic.As The Gigabytes Of Data Come Streaming In!
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:18
The bathymetric sonar onboard the Gavia AUV provides an incredibly dense map of the reef structure including the overhanging coral on the crest of the reef. Includes VideoJane of All Trades
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:18
Deploying the 165-foot-long BOA temperature array of sensors with data loggers and heavy concrete anchors was quite a project.Fly the Flag: Explorers Club Flag Expedition
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:17
A recent inductee in the Explorers Club of New York is carrying a flag that has been on expeditions since 1934.Team Undergraduates- On The Scene Science Participants
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:17
Students from the University of Delaware got their feet wet as they helped launch the Gavia AUVs.Invaluable Help and New Friends
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:15
The mission receives invaluable help from Ramón de Leon and Frank van Slobbe, from the government of Bonaire.Scouting out the Island and the Reefs of Bonaire
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:14
The science team prepares to scout out the island and the reefs of Bonaire and learn why they always have to be ready to improvise and adapt.Bonaire 2008 Expedition Education Modules (EEM)
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:14
Ocean Explorer Expedition Education Modules (EEM) are designed to reach out in new ways to teachers, students, and the general public, and share the excitement of daily at-sea discoveries and the science behind NOAA’s major ocean exploration initiatives with the people around the world.The Importance of Physical Oceanography to Coral Reef Science
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:13
Coral reefs are often thought of as 'ecological oxymorons'. They harbor some of the greatest biodiversity on Earth, yet they develop in extremely nutrient-poor tropical waters. Reef-building corals represent ancient lineages that have evolved slowly over tens to hundreds of millions of years, yet the massive living reef structures we observe right now are geologically young features, often only a few thousand years old. And, the massive, robust calcified corals that build the reef framework are themselves quite fragile and sensitive to a host of natural and manmade disturbances and degradation.Autonomous Underwater Vehicles: Marine Science's Newest Tool
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:13
An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), is a true robot able to move on its own without a pilot or tether to either ship or submersible. Designed to perform a predetermined set of maneuvers, take photographs, map, and collect data and samples. Discover why this technology is essential to scientist.Bonaire: A Model in Reef Sustainability
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:12
As a Marine Protected Area (MPA) Bonaire sets an important precedent regarding marine protection policy. Coral reefs offer a critical habitat in the marine environment, rivaled in biodiversity only by terrestrial rainforests. According to the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at the University of California at Santa Barbara, coral reefs make up about 1% of the world's oceans, but they house nearly 25% of life in the ocean.Mission Plan
Updated: 2012-09-06 03:44:11
This 2008 expedition will begin in the Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles arguably the most pristine coral reef environment in the Caribbean. The goal of the Bonaire expedition is to survey this unique environment over a greater depth range than can be reached with compressed air SCUBA, using 3 Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), technical diving, and in a future year, a manned submersible.