Florida State University Coastal & Marine Laboratory

08/26/2026

08/25/2026

📪 Another postcard from the R/V Point Sur has just arrived! The team has been away for a week now, and they've clearly kept busy... With ROVs to deploy, samples to analyze, and birthdays to celebrate, we're just lucky they took the time to write home! 💌
The crew will be back on land tomorrow, and we can't wait to welcome them and hear all about their adventures at sea.

08/25/2026

There's our very own Laura Anthony processing coral samples! USM Subsea Robotics Center is posting incredible photos from their ROV deployment. Catch up on all their underwater content and follow along as they continue to post updates! 🪸🌊

08/22/2026

The countdown is on 🗓️! The Chris Koenig Memorial "Whatever Floats Your Boat" Regatta is only 50 days away! Gather your crew, unleash your creativity, and build a boat using only recycled materials, then join us at FSUCML on October 10th to race it 🏁🚣

Want to participate but unable to build a boat? We'd still love to have you! Come cheer on our participants as they race across the basin 👏📣 There will be food trucks, tabling organizations and fun for everyone.

And don't worry if you haven't started building yet... 50 days is still plenty of time to put together something impressive! 😉 Please reach out to Grace Lawhorn [email protected] with any questions.

08/21/2026

Ever wondered what a day at sea looks like for scientists aboard a large research vessel? ⛴️ 🌊
Here’s just a snapshot of a day in the life for our deep-sea coral research team currently aboard the R/V Point Sur! 🪸🔬
From safety meetings, to deploying equipment and processing samples, to enjoying a well deserved ice cream and an evening debrief, there’s never a dull moment at sea!

⛴️:The University of Southern Mississippi
🧑‍🔬: Florida Atlantic Harbor Branch

08/20/2026

Continue yesterday’s video under the waves 🌊🪸 and check out some of the underwater research the team has been conducting in Christmas Island. Divers deployed a seawater osmotic pumping system, along with temperature loggers and HOBO conductivity, pH, and dissolved oxygen loggers, to monitor changes in seawater conditions throughout this El Niño event. The team also collected modern coral cores from each site!

Check out Atwood Tropical Paleo-Dynamics Group for more.

08/19/2026

We are excited to announce that the FSUCML lecture series will kick back off on September 17th with our speaker, Chris Matechik! Chris is a remote sensing analyst at Tall Timbers, and he will be discussing the concept of Earth observations and their application in research.

As always, this event is FREE and open to the public! Gates open at 6:30 pm, lecture will begin at 7:00.

We're excited to welcome you all back to the marine lab, and hope to see you on Sept. 17th! 👋

08/19/2026

While the Atwood Tropical Paleo-Dynamics Group team may be wrapping up their expedition… we’ve still got lots of content to share! Running it all the way back to the start of their trip, FSU Diving Safety Officer Chris Peters shows us a day in the life prepping gear and heading out into the field! 🤿🌊🚤

Our next reel will show you all the underwater action! 🫧🪸

08/17/2026

We're excited to share our very first check-in from the R/V Point Sur! FSUCML Faculty member Dr. Sandra Brooke, Ph.D candidate Laura Anthony, and Research Tech Katarina Simonson are all embarking on a 9-day-long research cruise out of Gulfport, MS! While at sea, they will be exploring the mesophotic coral ecosystems of the West Florida Shelf to understand how food availability impacts these relatively unexplored ecosystems. Funding for the expedition was awarded by the Florida RESTORE Act Centers of Excellence Program (FLRACEP) through the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO).

As we get updates from the team, we will continue to share them with all of you! Wishing them a safe and sucessful journey 👋⚓⛴️

08/17/2026

Travel to Fanning Island with Dr. Atwood & her team 🛫 It took two trucks, two planes, and two boats to finally reach their campsite, but they made it! The team will dive here for a couple days before heading back to Christmas Island.

Follow Atwood Tropical Paleo-Dynamics Group to keep up with the team and see photos from their dives 🤿🪸