For two years, the researchers from University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science collected water samples along the 200-kilometre (124-mile) stretch of the Florida Reef Tract north of Biscayne National Park to the Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary. The data provide a snapshot on the health of the reefs, and establish a baseline from which future changes can be judged.
This year's European Rolex OWUSS 2016 / 2017 Scholar is most enthusiastic about temperate and polar marine environments. And it all started because his school was located in the spectacular coastal waters of British Columbia. Vancouver Island is a mecca for temperate water diving and one of the world's top dive destinations.
The existence of the reef have come as big surprise because many of the world’s great rivers produce major gaps in reef systems where no corals grow. There was little previous evidence because corals mostly thrive in clear, sunlit, salt water, and the equatorial waters near the mouth of the Amazon are some of the muddiest in the world, with vast quantities of sediment washed thousands of miles down the river and swept hundreds of miles out to sea.
HMAS Tobruk was retired last year after 35 years of service, including many humanitarian missions. She was launched in 1980. During her 34-year operational history, Tobruk sailed over 947,000 nautical miles (1,754,000 km; 1,090,000 mi) and was deployed on 26 major operations. HMAS Sydney was laid down and launched in 1980.
