CIOERT Awarded $1.77 Million Grant from NOAA

The Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research and Technology (CIOERT) at FAU Harbor Branch was recently awarded a $1.77 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for the 2014-15 fiscal year. The funding will allow CIOERT scientists to continue work in developing advanced underwater technologies, as well as exploring and researching regions of the eastern U.S. continental shelf and vulnerable deep and shallow coral ecosystems.

"The funding allows us to continue to discover, study, and protect deep coral reef ecosystems off the coast of Florida," said Shirley Pomponi, Ph.D., executive director of CIOERT. "These reefs are important nurseries for commercially-important fisheries, and they may serve as refuges for corals that are affected by warming ocean temperatures."

New projects will focus on developing autonomous underwater vehicles and sensors to map and monitor deep reefs, as well as expanding the use of the new Exploration Command Center at HBOI to "virtually" participate in expeditions in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean.  CIOERT scientists also will continue to study the pharmaceutical potential of chemicals produced by deep-water organisms that have been collected during the first five years of the project, and to document the health of corals in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Keys.

CIOERT was established in 2009 under a five-year cooperative agreement with NOAA. The program was rated "outstanding" by the NOAA Science Advisory Board and, as a result, was renewed for another five-year period. More than $6 million in funding was awarded to CIOERT during the first five years.