FAU wins $22.5 million grant to explore, protect ocean habit

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SETIsLady
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FAU wins $22.5 million grant to explore, protect ocean habit

Post by SETIsLady » 05-13-2009 12:54 AM

Florida Atlantic University researchers have won a $22.5 million grant to explore underwater worlds at the frontier of the continental shelf and beyond.

The five-year grant, announced by the school Tuesday, is the single largest competitive research award earned by the university and its Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, which will oversee the grant.

The money will also be used to build new submersible technologies and seek out unique deep-sea coral colonies that scientists hope will lead to a better understanding of ocean health and how to preserve it.

"A lot of marine scientists in the last 30 years have been documenting declines and changes," said Dennis Hanisak, director of the center for marine ecosystem health at Harbor Branch, which is in Fort Pierce. "We need to be more in the mode of solutions."

Harbor Branch scientists will team with peers from other groups including the University of North Carolina Wilmington and University of Miami's Rosentiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

While specific projects must still be discussed with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which awarded the grant, the general goal is to protect ocean habitats.

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