FSUCML Faculty, Dr. Sandra Brooke’s discovery of the first colony of Lophelia pertusa in the mid-Atlantic contributed to the White House decision to protect the region from drilling.

Dr. Sandra Brooke has been instrumental in the process of protecting deep sea corals in the Mid-Atlantic. NOAA Fisheries just announced the final rule for the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s action to designate a large offshore protected area, >38,000 sq miles of canyon and slope habitat from bottom tending gear.

Dr. Brooke is researching the changing environmental conditions on cold-water coral reefs located in Norway.

Learn about an exciting new project at the FSUCML, where researchers will assess the status of seagrasses along the west coast of Florida, and identify reasons why seagrasses are not recovering in some areas.

Dr. Sandra Brooke (FSUCML faculty) and team received the National Oceanographic Partnership Program's (NOPP) 2015 Excellence in Partnering Award for their work on the Atlantic Canyons: Pathways to the Abyss project. Throughout the course of this project, Dr. Brooke and team logged 90 at-sea days, conducted 414 hours of Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives, identified over 125 species of fish, and discovered large swaths of chemosynthetic mussel communities. Congratulations, Dr. Brooke for this fantastic accomplishment!