A landmark law passed more than 50 years ago to protect whales, dolphins and other marine mammals in U.S. waters could be upended by amendments proposed on July 22 during a legislative hearing of the House Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries.

While ocean warming and coral bleaching events make the headlines around the globe, there's a team of pioneering marine researchers quietly working on new methods to rebuild coral populations more resilient to rising temperatures through groundbreaking means. And it's all happening in Cuba.

The carbon-curious had gathered in the Association’s historic Meeting Room to kick off Climate Week with a conversation about marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR). The event brought together panelists who shared perspectives on the role of mCDR projects in the climate change fight.

In Panama, some 10 meters below the surface of the ocean, divers float in a cloud of white dust. The sound of a giant hydraulic drill cuts through even the muffled underwater soundscape. The crackle of snapping shrimp can barely be heard. This is part of the job description for scientists that study coral cores: long, cylindrical samples taken vertically from large coral colonies. These samples, when studied in a lab, can contain lifetimes. 

In the ocean, monitoring and modeling can be pricey, complex, and inaccurate. One team in BlueSwell Cohort IV has decided to try to change that. atdepth was born out of hard work and fate, say Carlos Muñoz Royo and Raphael Ouillon, two of the three founders. From a chance meeting in an MIT lab to starting a company with their cofounder Professor Tom Peacock, this dynamic duo has set out on a mission to change how we monitor and model human interactions with the ocean.

Wrote announcement and contributed to the following white paper during my time as a Research Analyst for SeaAhead.

SeaAhead, in partnership with offshore wind experts Ørsted and The Venterra Group, is thrilled to announce the publication of our latest white paper Winds, Wings, Fins, and Shells: Innovations to Support Biodiversity in Offshore Wind.  

Plastic pollution in the ocean and access to clean drinking water globally are two of the biggest issues facing our natural world today. One of our recent BlueSwell cohort graduates, DetoXyFi, is attempting to address both. The company’s ambitious team, born from the labs of MIT and Harvard, has faced countless challenges along their journey, taking them in stride as they continue to understand what a pathway to commercialization may look like for their technology.