The Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary is the home of a new buoy launched by NOAA, the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and partners.
The buoy will measure carbon dioxide and other important seawater characteristics within the bay’s vibrant tropical coral reef ecosystem.
Derek Manzello, coral ecologist with NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory said, “This new monitoring effort in a remote area of the Pacific Ocean will not only advance our understanding of changing ocean chemistry but will also help us communicate these changes to diverse stakeholders in the Pacific Islands and across the United States.”
Fagatele Bay is home to more than 160 species of coral, as well as giant clams, fish, dolphins and the critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle. Coral reefs and shellfish are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of increasing carbon dioxide in our ocean.
As the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the acidity of seawater increases. This is known as ocean acidification, which can threaten the ability of shellfish and corals to build their skeletons, hamper new coral growth and accelerate reef erosion. The loss of coral reefs impacts local economies, affects the health of fisheries and tourism, and exposes coastal communities to increased storm surge.
Chip Young, PacIOOS operations coordinator said, “PacIOOS is excited to collaborate with NOAA and many local resource management agencies to implement this valuable ocean observing asset in the Pacific Islands region.
“This new buoy site in the Southern Hemisphere will support the ongoing coral reef research being conducted by NOAA and other agencies in the region with near real-time observations, and complement two similar existing coral reef monitoring sites in Kāneʻohe Bay and on the south shore of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi.”
The buoy measures carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as well as seawater measurements of carbon dioxide, temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and chlorophyll.
