Coral Reef Ecosystems Research: Oil Spill Reveals Need to Public
$30 Million Coral Reef Ecosystems Research Facility
In 2009, NSU Oceanographic Center (OC) scientists proposed a design for a new facility, the Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems Research. It will be the largest coral reef research facility in the U.S. and cost $30 million to build. In January 2010, the National Institute of Standards and Technology awarded $15 million in federal stimulus money to NSU towards construction. In summer 2010, weeks of oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico underscored the need to find critical solutions for the world’s ocean resources.
Disaster Reveals Urgent Need for Ocean Research
A drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010 leading to the largest oil spill in U.S. controlled waters. The BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill put a media spotlight on our OC scientists. By May 19, the oil had reached the Loop Current, which flows clockwise around the Gulf of Mexico towards Florida and becomes the Gulf Stream.
Ongoing news coverage showed the world that OC scientists are positioned to discover how are oceans are impacted. Located on the ocean side of Port Everglades, the Oceanographic Center has immediate access to the Gulf Stream, the Florida Straits, and the Bahama Banks. Though the oil leak was stopped on July 15, it will take years of scientific research to provide answers for recovery.
Coral Reef Ecosystems Vital for Recovery on Land and Sea
The OC scientists’ research facility plan focuses on coral reefs because the health of our seas thrives or dies with these ecosystems. On land or sea, the centers of the most concentrated biodiversity on Earth are coral reef ecosystems. Coral reefs support about a quarter of all marine organisms, and our lives depend on these creatures.
About 500 million people depend on food from fish and wildlife living in coral reef ecosystems. Before the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, 25% of the earth’s coral reefs were destroyed, and half were in danger. Oil spill media coverage is causing people to ask what we must do to protect ocean life.
The world is still watching coastal communities suffer the impact of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Awareness is growing. Danger to our oceans, especially to coral reef ecosystems, impacts life on land. In the five counties of South Florida, the annual economic impact of ocean resources is over $6 billion. Industries which depend on coral reef systems provide 71,000 to South Floridians.
The threat of the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry captured public attention, but OC scientists have been sounding an alarm for decades.
“The ocean, and particularly the reefs, can barely survive today’s threats. Urgent action is needed at the local and international levels.” - Richard Dodge, Ph.D, NSU-OC dean and professor.
Oil spills are devastating disasters that make headlines, but grave danger from overfishing, pollution, and global climate change are all threats to our oceans. We need solutions for all of these threats. Research can provide answers. The research facility proposed by OC scientists is designed to coordinate efforts of academic, government, and commerce leaders. Global collaboration can prevent disasters and launch efforts to restore and preserve our seas.
The Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems Research facility will support five main focus areas for coral reef research:
- impacts of climate, fish, and pollution on coral reef ecosystems
- marine spatial planning, geospatial analysis, and mapping
- deep sea coral reefs and biodiversity
- molecular biology and conservation genetics as applied to coral reefs
- the impact of ocean and coastal hydrodynamics on coral reefs
The campaign to build The Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems Research is a campaign to discover solutions for the health of our oceans and the life of our world.
