St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

On May 6, 2019, Congressman Charlie Crist (13^th district, FL) and Operations and Outreach Director Mr. Kendrick Lewis will visit the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC). Congressman Crist requested this visit because he is interested to learn more about the Center and to discuss needs/priorities that we may have. (First row, left to right:

This core from Lake Enriquillo, Dominican Republic, shows the laminated lakebed sediments (Chucho, a local Dominican boat driver, is shown in the background).

This is one of three 4–5 meter long sediment cores recovered from the deepest part of Lago Enriquillo (95 feet water depth). This sediment core most likely represents the late Holocene (~5000 years ago to present), and the scientists will use it to construct precipitation changes in Dominican Republic over that time period. 

Pictured: (front) Dr. Wilson Ramirez,

Jessica Rodysill (Reston) and Hunter Wilcox (SPCMSC) deploying a corer in Lake Enriquillo. The scientists will use the cores to construct precipitation changes in Dominican Republic over the late Holocene (~5000 years ago to present) time period.

The two Niskin bottles used to collect deep-sea water samples are mounted to the bottom of ROV Jason and can be triggered by the ROV’s manipulator arms.

Cheryl Morrison and Christina Kellogg collect water from the two Niskin bottles after they were removed from the ROV post-dive.

SPMSC scientist Lauren Toth conducts a photographic survey of Porter Patch reef off Key Largo, one of the sites that has been surveyed as part of FWRI’s Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring project since 1996. The modern reef surveys will be compared to historic surveys to determine how much structural complexity the reefs of the Florida Keys have lost over the past two decades

 USGS unmanned aerial system (drone) pilot collecting aerial imagery and ground control points for the Coastal Resource Evaulation for Management Applications (CREMA) project on Dauphin Island, Alabama

Two divers work to collect a long core sample from a coral reef in Florida.

Fire Island is a 50-km long barrier island along the south shore of Long Island, NY. The island is comprised of seventeen year-round communities; federal, state, and county parks; and supports distinct ecosystems alongside areas of economic and cultural value. In addition to providing resources to its residents, the barrier island also protects the heavily-populated

Location map of the Fire Island study area with labels