The beauty of Coral Reefs. 323 Coral Reefs 2012-02-08T01:43:07 Johnny Morris barry.david.adams@gmail.com Coral Reef Photos 2012-02-08T01:26:11

Good evening Earthlings, I come in Peace!! Today was a great day of diving for once, it seems like it’s been forever since the water has been clear but today it was!! I first did one dive with two lucky guys in the sub and a second dive later to clean up the invasive Lionfish [...]

054f0621947c6a546b44ebee16997bf9 Coral Reef Photos 2012-02-07T10:52:14

Good morning friends, remember a few weeks ago Stijn and I went to Mount Christoffel for the whole day?? Well, this was one of the many surprises waiting for us at the top! This is called a French Prickle or Opuntia eliator and is one of the many different prickly pear species we have here in Curacao. [...]

436236a2227343a1542786faa9e85978 Coral Reef Photos 2012-02-05T21:24:29

Look, up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a Baby Squid!! Here’s another fun shot of my tiny little inch and half long squid that is currently still hanging out in our lagoon at the Substation. For this shot I ever so quietly held my breath and swam directly under him [...]

6c38d30ec055475d3160f51639679795 Coral Reef Photos 2012-02-04T10:14:49

Hi friends, since I last mentioned hiking at Christoffel Park with Stijn many have asked me about the trail itself that leads to the top of the mountain and the condition it’s in. Well, it’s for sure not an easy trail as you can kind of see by this photo and if you do go [...]

cbe464c42865745006d4a6e856d9dcc7 Reef Builders Forums 2012-02-04T00:44:23

Super Bowl XLVI (2012) at Ocean Gallery (http://www.oceangalleryii.com/2012/02/03/super-bowl-xlvi-2012-at-ocean-gallery/)

a03c4addcdc0cfd2df1e59858f60c5bc Coral Reef Photos 2012-02-03T10:27:20

Good morning friends, here is one of the new Land Snails, Neosubulina harterti that is now calling our house, home. This particular species of snail has just appeared out of nowhere and after any given rain the driveway is just full of them. These are very small snails, this one here was less than half [...]

1a1e77bff2a4d4b92a100bfde192797a Reef Builders Forums 2012-02-02T21:19:28

just curious if a coralife t5 HO with •4 T5 High Output Lamps two each 10,000K and Actinic would be enough light for a clam in a 20 gal long tank?

06e92b475430c8c50efa6406f4b59cbe Coral Reef Photos 2012-02-02T10:47:13

Good morning everyone, here’s my new favorite photo of my best friend, Indi. This is a great shot that Barry took this weekend at St. Joris. The dogs love going here because it has so many different and unique areas. For instance; there are the mud flats with tons of crabs to chase, areas of beautiful dry grass [...]

526f4dc12898c8d0792e49d4c952ad34 Coral Reef Photos 2012-02-01T10:03:53

Good morning friends, I have a big beautiful Tillandsia Air-Plant for you all this morning which was just one of millions that we saw on our hike last Sunday at Mount Christoffel. A Tillandsia is a Bromeliad but not all Bromeliads are Tillandsias. Bromeliad is the Family name, Tillandsia is the genus. Airplants are the common [...]

df78853ba860b81add1f1d0d41aae3e5 Coral Reef Photos 2012-01-30T23:33:15

Good evening friends, did you all have a nice weekend?? We received a cool photo from some friends this weekend in South Dakota who went on a 7.5 mile hike in the snow with snowshoes, how fun is that?! That’s something Aimee and I have only ever done once but it was a blast. So [...]

e55b15292ccfdd5e13fc7f3a152d525a Coral Reef Photos 2012-01-29T10:20:25

Good morning friends, meet our buddy Juan. His real name is Juan Guillermo Palomeque Padilla and he is one of the nicest people we have met here in Curacao. We see him every week because he is the man who bags and carries our groceries out to the car at a little store called Vreugdenhil which is very [...]

dca5634808d8cdb8b844bd0f82bce42f Coral Reef Photos 2012-01-28T10:00:33

Good morning friends, it 5:00am here and super quiet! I have a very busy day planned ahead IF it doesn’t rain again! I am picking up Stijn at 8:00am and we are both first taking a friend of mine out to the airport to get him a ticket so he can get home to see [...]

f04633109ac91f22f739f49f3ca1a547 Reef Builders Forums 2012-01-27T04:34:14

I have several different types of corals for sale. I have posted a few pictures of some of the corals that are for sale. We have several frags of...

96b1ab40767ecb8844fb898f865c1835 NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:30

View photos and videos taken during the Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies mission, including high-resolution photos and slideshows.

01c8fda70e3f8eb6550638c2b7447d59 NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:29

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.

b92414242cb680b9cb0045ec324ffe77 NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:29

The team overcame the challenge of mapping underwater 'microbialites' - calcium carbonate mounds that result from the presence of a microbial community.

aff436f4daec270e193e3cfd42c4f9ed NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:27

How is this Bonaire 2008 Exploration different from many of Ocean Explorer's other expeditions you may ask?

2df9a03a43a4c3b3b9097d76589cb411 NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:26

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.

cc03297738e337025c8730ad0a347945 NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:25

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.

16726e530082e8ea53681c1bd72851ef NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:25

Learn why the scientific dive team is navigating by GPS along a predetermined heading conducting video transects of coral cover.

2bff5daa30ecd53aadff6b8857135431 NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:24

The survey data collected by the GeoSwath sonar on the Gavia AUV provides a high-resolution side-scan sonar mosaic.

ff5d1b77ffdc7b49c961cc14f03a11fb NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:24

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 Video

5f15e8ad6e0d83daf7386c924ad3fd2d NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:23

Deploying the 165-foot-long BOA temperature array of sensors with data loggers and heavy concrete anchors was quite a project.

254a92c479a622dbdc09791454404877 NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:23

A recent inductee in the Explorers Club of New York is carrying a flag that has been on expeditions since 1934.

538555d92bf4cf6236f607a690a762f6 NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:22

Students from the University of Delaware got their feet wet as they helped launch the Gavia AUVs.

4b3be74c991d4cafb1d8a72ee58fb937 NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:20

The mission receives invaluable help from Ramón de Leon and Frank van Slobbe, from the government of Bonaire.

8eb83233fe05de3be14fabf6f07027c5 NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:20

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.

cc80c2ea4b5ef5384210115d68c6e8cc NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:19

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.

5d1c2feac7e0893a8dcb035e5bd8b3cf NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:19

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.

a5804c6a348bb64f8652bb9ca7814853 NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:19

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.

abf1463dd253d0a7fa92516ad1081a16 NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:18

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.

9c0af37973e913792e94afb83c5bdba3 NOAA, Ocean Explorer: Bonaire 2008: Exploring Coral Reef Sustainability with New Technologies Expedi 2012-01-16T00:08:17

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.

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