In January, USVI teachers participated in a full-day, in-person professional development workshop titled: Exploring the Deep Ocean With NOAA.

The workshop explored how and why we explore the ocean and the tools and technologies that drive how we conduct expeditions into some of the most remote places on the planet.

70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by oceans and, as the US Virgin Islands are mere specks in the northeastern Caribbean, we are directly impacted by its influence. Oceanography is the study of the Earth’s oceans and is central to understanding the mysteries of its vast yet largely uncharted depths. Learn more about the important Oceanographic research taking place in the VI EPSCoR Ridge to Reef Project.

Fishermen, scientists, cruise ship captains, surfers, and others rely on oceanographic buoy data for navigation, research, real-time wave currents and more. On April 16, 2018, on University of Miami’s research vessel Walton Smith, a team from UVI, recovered the St. Thomas buoy after it stopped working during Hurricane Irma.

UVI graduate Mara Duke is studying plankton in Brewers Bay. The purpose of her study is to gain unique insight into how environmental conditions impact all levels of the ecosystem within a small coastal bay with highly diverse habitat types.