Monday, February 28, 2011

In The News

Bermuda may be known for its pink sand beaches and world-class golf courses, but did you know that the island is also home to one of the most advanced marine research labs in the world? Founded in 1903 as the Bermuda Biological Station, the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) leads its field in underwater research—clearly, since NBC news recently featured the Bermuda-based lab and its director, Dr. Tony Knap, in an episode of the science-minded series Changing Planet. If you’ve got six minutes, watch the above video to learn why the world’s ocean temperatures are rising. It’s an interesting report, especially since it uncovers how BIOS scientists have been measuring the temperature of the ocean since 1954, making Bermuda the epicenter of one of the world’s longest ongoing studies of ocean data. “We like to think of the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic as the canary in the coal mine," says Dr. Knap about Bermuda's scientifically significant location. "It’s the smallest ocean, it’s between North America and Europe and we think if we are going to see changes, we will see them first here in the ocean off Bermuda." Science teachers, time to revise those lessons plans.

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