Award: OCE-1316006

To understand the health and resilience of our oceans to acidification and warming, the Benthic Ecosystem and Acidification Measurements System (BEAMS) was developed as a tool to put over coral, sand, gravel, mud, shellfish, algae and seagrass. BEAMS can perform autonomous measurements of metabolism – how the bottom breathes and grows. BEAMS is a boundary layer flux method using principles that are used over land, ocean and ice.  The BEAMS measurement output includes net community production (NCP) and net community calcification (NCC). NCP is the balance between organic production and respiration, and NCC is the balance between calcification (reef building) and dissolution (reef erosion). Measuring NCC and NCP is important because these metrics indicate the total bottom structure and health. Coral-dominated reefs have higher NCC to NCP than reefs dominated by other organisms, such as algae. NCC and NCP also reflect the effects of stressors such as sedimentation, disease, ocean acidification or heating. When deployed directly on a reef, BEAMS detects NCC and NCP at sub-hour intervals.

In this project, BEAMS was deployed in coral reef environments. A pump retrieves water from different levels above the seafloor and pushes it past oxygen, pH, temperature and salinity sensors. BEAMS then uses these measurements with water velocity to calculate NCC and NCP.  Important results show that growth rates are significantly lower when coral systems are subject to algae mats. Also, when coral reef systems undergo bleaching their night time dissolution increases.

Last Modified: 08/14/2017
Modified by: Wade R Mcgillis