FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lobster Boat Loan Proves Priceless

Benefactor takes Rosenstiel School research up a notch, students out to sea

VIRGINIA KEY, FL (December 12, 2005) — Coral reef students have a boat to help them with their state-of-the-art research in the Florida Keys, thanks to a generous gift from a UM Rosenstiel School alum. Charlie Evans and his wife, Lisa L. Robbins, former marine geology students, loaned their spare 28-foot lobster boat to the School, which spends its days helping researchers to use more advanced techniques to map and inventory the underwater environment where lobsters and other economically valuable sea life call home.

“We like to give back to our alma mater however we can, and we had a boat that wasn't being used,” said Evans, who graduated with a Ph.D. in marine geology and geophysics from the Rosenstiel School in 1986. “We know all too well that graduate students cannot always afford the cost of renting a boat to conduct their research. This is one of those deals that works out for everyone.”

“This boat is invaluable,” said Art Gleason, a doctoral student at the UM Rosenstiel School who has relied heavily on it to conduct his dissertation research. “We have several concurrent coral reef mapping projects right now. Plus we are developing new methods of seabed mapping. This boat is an excellent platform for dive-based operations and has greatly enhanced our ability to do this type of research.”

Scientists dock the boat in Key Largo, where it is accessible to important research sites at Grecian Rocks, and Molasses, French, and Carysfort Reefs. In addition, the Rosenstiel School diving safety officer often uses the boat to train student divers while simultaneously assisting Gleason with “ground truthing,” a deep acoustic mapping technique used in deep water sites that requires special training and expertise.

Currently, the vessel is supporting three independent projects that ultimately complement each other by working at different scales within the broad area of coral reef mapping. The first is a project to map the distribution of elkhorn coral (Acorpora palmate), one of two coral species native to Florida and the Caribbean that NOAA Fisheries proposed to be listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), using a process called airborne hyperspectral imagery. A second project uses ship-based acoustic techniques to identify and map suitable habitat for grouper. The third project uses a technology called video mosaicing to map individual sections of the seafloor in very high resolution.

Evans purchased the boat, a lobster-style fishing vessel, in 2003. It had previously been used for commercial towing. Over the years, Evans has given her a facelift including a new engine. Graduate students agreed to help him with woodwork, minor repairs, and regular maintenance in exchange for its use.

Rosenstiel School is part of the University of Miami and, since its founding in the 1940s, has grown into one of the world's premier marine and atmospheric research institutions.

Media Contact:
Ivy Kupec, Communications Director
University of Miami
Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science
4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Virginia Key
305.421.4704 (o) 305.984.7107 (m)
http://www.rsmas.miami.edu