Science Scaffolding

Dongsha Atoll is a remote coral reef ecosystem in the South China Sea, about two meters below sea level. With no solid ground from which to work, researchers from Anne Cohen and UC Irvine’s Kristen Davis labs had to set up scaffolding to deploy and recover instruments that monitor physical and chemical conditions on the reef. The team has finished their expedition, but their measurements will be used to understand how this reef ecosystem is responding to changing ocean temperature and ocean acidification. (Photo by Pat Lohmann, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)