A team of Clemson University students, led by Dr. Michael Childress, spent their fall break at Keys Marine Lab helping with Hurricane Irma recovery and clean up. Slowly getting up to speed with only the Admin Dorm available, this was the first group on site since the storm.
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| A perfect rainbow over Florida Bay to start the day |
In preparation for the trip, the Clemson University community took up a collection of much-needed Irma Recovery Supplies for the Childress Team to bring down to the Keys, which they donated to a local church for distribution to residents. Cleaning supplies, tools, diapers, canned and dry foods were among the items gratefully accepted.
The first big task at hand was to shovel muck and gravel out from under the seawater tables. Then all the seawater tables had to be emptied and scrubbed clean after sitting stagnant for 5 weeks. Meanwhile KML seawater manager Tom Bartlett ran a thorough check on all the system pumps and chillers before firing it up - and we had running seawater again!
Once water flow was restored to the Tide Pool, the students created mini reef habitats around the pool. And of course they took some time out to snorkel off the KML seawall to look for new creatures for the display.
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| Reward for all their hard work: a day on the water aboard the R/V Diodon! |
This was our first day out on the water to check on the nearby reefs. Visibility was generally good around Tennessee Reef, 11' Mound, and the Long Key Bridge Rubble.
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| Snorkelers and divers collected a large amount of marine debris on the reef |
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| Alive and well: Checking on one of our known Pillar Coral colonies at Long Key Ledge |
KML continues to make great progress cleaning up the lab and repairing damage, thanks to the continued support of University of South Florida, our host institution. Stay tuned for more updates in the weeks ahead.
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