The K-Tower monitoring system plays an important role to researchers and others in academia. Dr. Sandra Brooke, FSUCML faculty, is currently studying coral growth and reproduction in the Florida Panhandle. This region has a more variable and extreme environment than areas such as the Florida Keys, where the same species of coral occur. Dr. Brooke hopes to determine how temperature affects coral growth rates.

Normalized relations with Cuba could lead to clues to protecting our coral reefs. Through open collaboration with Cuban scientists and study of their healthy reefs, researchers could find answers to these questions and make strides in restoring marine habitats closer to home.

Our newest faculty member, Dr. Sandra Brooke, is in Norway right now observing the impact of drilling discharges on larvae of the coral Lophelia pertusa. This is a small component of a large project funded by The Research Council of Norway to investigate the effect of drilling muds used for oil and gas extraction on Norwegian cold-water corals, specifically Lophelia pertusa. The project is a collaborative effort led by Dr. Thierry Baussant from the International Research Institute of Stavanger (IRIS) and includes several scientists from the US, Norway and the Netherlands.