Author Archives for CARICOOS

The Ocean Acidification Buoy is currently getting its annual maintenance.

This week CARICOOS researchers recovered the ocean acidification buoy located at Cayo Enrique, La Parguera Lajas, Puerto Rico, to conduct its scheduled maintenance. This buoy is one of 19 NOAA Ocean Acidification Program supported buoys in coastal waters. Its main purpose is to measure ocean acidification and related parameters in a tropical coral reef environment in order to have… Read More

Outlook of 2020 Sargassum blooms in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico* August 31st, 2020, by University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab

The maps below show Sargassum abundance, with warm colors representing high abundance. In August 2020, the overall Sargassum amount continued to decrease across the central Atlantic. Large amount of Sargassum was still observed in the Central West Atlantic (CWA, i.e., the region east of the Lesser Antilles in the maps below), the Central East Atlantic… Read More

CARICOOS congratulates Peter Rivera for successfully completing his Master’s degree.

CARICOOS is proud to congratulate Dr. Patricia Chardón’s student Peter Rivera Casillas, for having successfully defended his Master’s degree thesis “Assessment of Storm-Induced Coastal Changes on a High-energy Microtidal Reef-Fringed Coast”. This thesis aimed to examine how recent environmental events, such as Hurricane Maria and Winter Strom Riley swell events have worsened coastal erosion in… Read More

Satellite imagery reveals impacts to coastal vegetation and seagrasses attributable to Hurricane Maria and now frequent massive Sargasso arrivals.

Since 2011, large accumulations of Sargassum on the coasts has become a challenge for managers. Some of the challenges include lack of access to ramps and beaches, deterioration in the quality of tourism services and impacts on coastal ecosystems dynamics. To address this issue, CARICOOS commissioned a study to evaluate changes in benthic composition and… Read More

CARICOOS celebrates Dr. “Ru” Morrison’s legacy and wishes him a happy retirement.

Dr. John Ruairidh “Ru” Morrison retired after serving for 10 years as the Executive Director of the Northeast Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems (NERACOOS). Before becoming Executive Director, as an assistant research professor at the University of New Hampshire, he helped build a better understanding of Great Bay in New Hampshire using remote… Read More

Outlook of 2020 Sargassum blooms in the Caribbean Sea* July 31st, 2020, by University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab (huc@usf.edu)

The maps below show Sargassum abundance, with warm colors representing high abundance. In July 2020, the overall Sargassum amount decreased across the central Atlantic. This is unusual, as in previous years July often had higher amount than June. Yet large amount was still observed in July 2020 in the Central West Atlantic (CWA, i.e., the… Read More

CARICOOS needs assessment: an opportunity to expand ocean-based observations, forecasts and services in the US Caribbean region.

Identification of the existing information needs from all coastal and ocean resource users in PR and the USVI is essential in the development of the CARICOOS 5 years Strategic Plan. Collecting information about user preferences involves a formal consultation process or what’s commonly called as a “needs assessment”.  Through this process, stakeholders assist in the… Read More