Aquarius mission studies how upwelling impacts Florida's coral reefs
From University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
"Key Largo, Florida - A mix of veteran and first-time aquanauts began their 10-day underwater mission on Monday June 14 to study economically important coral reefs in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The team, led by seven-time aquanaut Dr. James Leichter, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, will study an important underwater process called upwelling, where cold and nutrient-rich water from the deeper ocean moves up onto the reef in dramatic pulses, sometimes dropping water temperatures from a warm and toasty 85 degrees to a chilly 68 degrees or less - in a matter of minutes!
Surprisingly, this "underwater weather" largely goes unnoticed because it happens mostly in water deeper than 60 feet, though on occasion it can be detected shallow and as far north as Daytona, where headlines were made last summer when water temperatures dropped to the 60s and 70s. The purpose of Dr. Leichter's Aquarius mission is to understand how upwelling affects the condition of coral reefs in Florida. Upwelling is a natural process that affects water quality and nutrient delivery to the reef, which is highly relevant to evaluating whether or not sewage pollution on the reefs is a significant problem."
>>Read the Full Article Here<<
From University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
"Key Largo, Florida - A mix of veteran and first-time aquanauts began their 10-day underwater mission on Monday June 14 to study economically important coral reefs in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The team, led by seven-time aquanaut Dr. James Leichter, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, will study an important underwater process called upwelling, where cold and nutrient-rich water from the deeper ocean moves up onto the reef in dramatic pulses, sometimes dropping water temperatures from a warm and toasty 85 degrees to a chilly 68 degrees or less - in a matter of minutes!
Surprisingly, this "underwater weather" largely goes unnoticed because it happens mostly in water deeper than 60 feet, though on occasion it can be detected shallow and as far north as Daytona, where headlines were made last summer when water temperatures dropped to the 60s and 70s. The purpose of Dr. Leichter's Aquarius mission is to understand how upwelling affects the condition of coral reefs in Florida. Upwelling is a natural process that affects water quality and nutrient delivery to the reef, which is highly relevant to evaluating whether or not sewage pollution on the reefs is a significant problem."
>>Read the Full Article Here<<
