BBSR 2002 Annual Report - Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences

In November 1987, BBSR scientists and trustees met tomap out future global geosciences research at BBSR. Theimportance of BBSR’s unique geographic location, with itseasy access to the surrounding deep ocean that is representativeof a large portion of the planet, was increasingly evident.In the 1980s, scientists were becoming more and moreaware of the importance of ocean circulation and the cyclingof elements such as carbon, nitrogen and oxygen as regulatorsof Earth’s climate. At the same time, concerns were growingabout the potential for significant global warming fromincreased levels of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphereby the burning of fossil fuels. In response, two majorinternational oceanographic research programs were initiatedto study the relationship between the ocean, carbon dioxideand climate: the World Ocean Circulation Experiment(WOCE) and the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS).BBSR was poised to contribute to these studies. By 1987,the long-term oceanographic time series Hydrostation “S” hadcollected 43 consecutive years of information about the structureand variability of ocean temperature and salinity offBermuda. This data set, and Bermuda’s mid-ocean location,made Bermuda the prime choice as the site of an expandedoceanographic time series studying ocean physics, chemistryand biology.6GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGEAdvancing our Understanding of the Ocean’s RoleDr. Nicholas Bates investigates the links between carbon dioxide, the oceanand the world’s changing climate.In October 1988, BBSR’s Dr. Tony Knap and RodneyJohnson conducted the first research cruise aboard the R/VWeatherbird I to begin this comprehensive program, theBermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS). This programhas not only changed and greatly expanded BBSR; it has, evenmore significantly, made a substantial contribution globally tochanging scientific views about how the ocean and climatesystem operates.Several scientists recruited to Bermuda to participate inBATS and related programs, including Drs. Craig Carlson,Dennis Hansell, Tony Michaels, Norm Nelson and DebbieSteinberg, have since moved on to research positions atleading U.S. institutions, but retain an active interest in BBSR.New BBSR scientists like Drs. Michael Lomas and PeterSedwick have been recruited to build on the research baseconstructed at BBSR over the past 15 years. Numerous scientistsfrom institutions worldwide play important roles in theBATS program.Continuing concern about climate change has beenaccompanied by growing scientific awareness of the complexityof the Earth’s climate. The last decade has been judged thewarmest in recorded history, and there is increasing evidencethat temperatures will continue to rise for the foreseeablefuture. Temperature data collected at Hydrostation “S” and