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NOAA05-R499-02
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 14, 2005

NOAA AWARDS $108,000 TO STUDY POSSIBLE LINKS BETWEEN GAS TRANSFER AND BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTION IN FLORIDA BAY
Funds Support Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Florida International University Research Efforts

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded $108,000 to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution ($76,490) and Florida International University ($31,510) to study air-water gas exchange in Florida Bay and the links to biological production. This award is the final installment of a two-year grant from NOAA with a total value of approximately $216,000.

The exchange of gases across the air-water interface has implications for the transport of pollutants and biogeochemical components of a marine ecosystem. Yet, accurate measurements of these components' transport velocity are hampered by a lack of data. In this experiment, the scientists seek to collect data on gas transfer velocity from many locations throughout Florida Bay to give scientists a more detailed picture of air-water gas exchange.

“We are constantly seeking to broaden our knowledge of how marine systems function,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “NOAA's partnership with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Florida International University will provide another piece in the puzzle of how the oceans and atmosphere interact.”

Florida Bay and the Everglades are undergoing a $7.8 billion, multi-year restoration effort. This study may help to link dissolved oxygen data with primary production and respiration in the Bay, enhancing past and present work on oxygen and organic matter dynamics there.

Each year, the NOAA Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (CSCOR) awards approximately $25 million in grants to institutions of higher education, state, local and tribal governments, and other non-profit research institutions to assist NOAA in fulfilling its mission to study our coastal oceans. NOAA-sponsored competitive research programs, such as this one, demonstrate NOAA's commitment to these basic responsibilities of science and service to the nation for the past 35 years.

NOAA's National Ocean Service is dedicated to exploring, understanding, conserving and restoring the nation's coasts and oceans. It balances environmental protection with economic prosperity in fulfilling its mission of promoting safe navigation, supporting coastal communities, sustaining coastal habitats and mitigating coastal hazards.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners and nearly 60 countries to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes.

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