Wet Tribe

Bleached coral reef

When corals 🪸 are exposed to temperatures 2-3 degrees hotter than 88°F 🌡️with increased levels of sunlight ☀️ it is lethal. The corals must expel the symbiotic algae or die. Row upon rows of stark white skeletons ☠️ are the result. #WetTribe #TidetotheOcean #CoralBleaching

Color photo of Ernest Hemingway writing at a small wooden desk

“If I walked down different streets in the afternoon, I could walk through the gardens and see impressionist styles I first came to know at the Art Institute of Chicago. I was learning something I was not articulate enough to explain. And besides, it was a secret.” ― Ernest Hemingway #WetTribe

A research zodiac over a coral reef with a diver down

A scuba diver from above, researching a combined wetland-coral habitat

Research diver in the water, handing research equipment over the side of the boat

While Shedd Aquarium and the Coral Restoration Foundation are leading coral transplantations and associated coral spawning research in the Dry Tortugas, Wet Tribe is performing a regional ocean acidification study. #WetTribe #TidetotheOcean #CoralResearch #OceanAcidification

Folks bar hopping along Duvall Street in Key West after dark

We’re in the @floridakeys.bsky.social this weekend for coral research. Bubba told us in his last days to keep the party going. So, from the #FridayPlaylist Conky Tonkin’ “Goin' conky tonkin' cruisin' down U.S.1 tryin' to catch up with the sun.” youtu.be/7Ay_N7-mAfY

Tiny ocean organisms missing from climate models may hold the key to Earth's carbon future The ocean's smallest engineers, calcifying plankton, quietly regulate Earth's thermostat by capturing and cycling carbon. However, a new review published in Science by an international team led by the...

phys.org/news/2025-10...

A blue latex-gloved hand holding a seawater sample in a test tube

A research scientist looking at a microscope to identify calcifying plankton

Calcifying plankton, Coccolithophore

Calcifying plankton regulates the ocean’s thermostat by capturing and cycling carbon. Coccolithophores, the main producers of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), are especially sensitive to ocean acidification, while foraminifers and pteropods face pressures from warming waters and oxygen loss.

Water sample kit on the dock overlooking the ocean

Testing seawater for pH due to ocean acidification

Other recent indicators include the Pacific Decadal Oscillation being at its most negative value in a 27-year series and continued ocean acidification. #WetTribe #TidetotheOcean #FridaysforFuture #FridayFieldUpdate #ClimateChange #OceanAcidification

Multiparameter water scanner on the dock overlooking the ocean

Multiparameter scanner data

Global surface temperatures were already the highest on record, with upper ocean heat content in 2024 also a record high. #WetTribe #TidetotheOcean #FridaysforFuture #FridayFieldUpdate #ClimateChange #OceanAcidification

The chart plots sea level rise against warming level for every scenario and time period used in the study. It highlights how higher levels of warming commit the world to ever higher seas.

Recent ocean and climate statistics reveal record highs for ocean heat content and global sea level, with both continuing a long-term trend of warming. #WetTribe #TidetotheOcean #FridaysforFuture #FridayFieldUpdate #ClimateChange #OceanAcidification

Thalassophiles, lovers of the sea, graphic lettering over sandy ocean bottom

We are surfers, sailors, divers, scientists, and activists on a hero’s journey to recover ocean plastic, restore habitat, and mitigate ocean warming and acidification. “We are not strangers separated by countries; we are a tribe connected by ocean.” #WetTribe #TidetotheOcean #ThalassophileThursday

Grassy and meandering waterways of a tidal wetland in the morning light

A senior Wet Tribe researcher recording field data on a clipboard while standing on the edge of the marsh

A researcher is taking a marsh soil core sample to test the rate of carbon sequestration

Wetlands capture and store more CO2 than forests, with long-term storage in the soil, making wetlands powerful carbon sinks. But this stored carbon can be released if the wetlands are degraded or drained. #WetTribe #TidetotheOcean #WetlandWednesday #CarbonSequestration #ClimateCrisis

Yes, they upgraded the status of manatees, and it was disastrous with an ongoing UME (unusual mortality event.)

A photo above and below the water of a green sea turtle or honu swimming toward a palm-treed coastline. Photo Credit: Sean Davey

A thermometer on a clipboard in the sand, next to a sea turtle nest marked with yellow tape.

A sea turtle nest being inundated by storm surge from an approaching storm at sunset

In a victory for ocean conservation, the green turtle has been officially saved from the brink of extinction through greater protection efforts. (But make no mistake, their habitats are still at risk due to pollution and climate change.) #WetTribe #TidetotheOcean #TurtleTuesday

Zero-waste reusable products kit: canvas tote, produce bag, reusable bottle and cup, bamboo cutler,y and straw.

Reusable bottle and tote bag

National Reuse Day promotes a culture of sustainability. It highlights the importance of reuse as a critical part of the "5 R's" of waste management: refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle. #WetTribe #TidetotheOcean #NationalReuseDay

Mangrove propagules floating upright on the ocean tide

Volunteer in a bucket hat carrying a bucket full of mangrove propagules for restoration planting

Two female volunteers sitting in the mangrove nursery to plant propagules

Mangrove propagules found during cleanups tie our ocean research, plastic recovery, and wetland restoration efforts together. Mangroves support biodiversity, capture carbon, and lower ocean acidification in adjacent waters, aiding local coral. #WetTribe #TidetotheOcean #MangroveMonday #BlueCarbon

Lighting a votive during Diwali Festival of Lights

Happy Diwali, Happy Deepavali, and Diwali Mubarak #Diwali #FestivalofLights

A UCSD researcher in a safety vest is testing the acidification level of a tidal pool

Tide pools mimic climate change in everyday cycles; the tiny shoreline ecosystems act as miniature laboratories for researchers, with a microcosm of life offering a highly accelerated analogue of the global phenomenon of ocean acidification. #WetTribe #TidetotheOcean #Research #Acidification

A rocky, partially submerged tide pool in Abalone Bay, with a Southern California peninsula extending into the bay

A still and clear tidal pool rimmed with jagged rocks

A starfish clinging to a crevice within a rocky tide pool

“Doc was collecting marine animals in the Great Tide Pool on the tip of the Peninsula. Starfish squat over mussels and limpets, attach their million little suckers, and then slowly lift with incredible power until the prey is broken from the rock.” ― John Steinbeck (Cannery Row)

Ocean spray on a rocky coast with a lighthouse on the horizon

“Salt spray blows in from the barrier, where the ocean waits for its rising tide strength, to permit it back into the Great Tide Pool again, and on the reef, the whistling buoy bellows.” ― John Steinbeck (Cannery Row) #WetTribe #TidetotheOcean #Steinbeck #ShakespeareSunday

A folding table setup on the beach for distributing buckets, bags, gloves, and pickers for coastal cleanup

After the protest, we are handing out bags, gloves, and pickers to anyone who wants to stay and help us clean up the coast. #WetTribe #TidetotheOcean #CoastalCleanup #NoKingsDay

Protesters arriving at the "No Kings Day" rally point under the shade of Live Oak trees

Protesters carrying "No Kings Day" signs and marching along the waterfront from the park to the beach

Protesters standing together to spell out "No Kings" on the beach for a drone photo

“There are in America no kings, princes, or nobles…we are all equal in here.” —John Adams. "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead. #NoKingsDay #Resist

“When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.” Declaration of Independence #NoKingsDay

The NOAA Coral Reef Watch (CRW) daily coral bleaching heat stress monitoring is based on global 5km satellite sea surface temperature (SST) data product known as CoralTemp.
coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/product/5km/...

The coral research vessel anchored above a reef in the bay.

A researcher performing a test on the deck of the research vessel.

Comparing field data to satellite data on a laptop aboard.

We are continuing to document the extent and severity of mass bleaching on coral reefs, submitting field data to, and comparing with, coral bleaching and mortality satellite data.
#WetTribe #TidetotheOcean #FridayFieldUpdate #CoralBleaching #Research

Satellite imagery from the International Coral Reef Initiative of the 4th Global Coral Bleaching Event.

Heat stress has impacted nearly 85% of the world’s coral reefs. NOAA and the International Coral Reef Initiative confirmed the 4th Global Coral Bleaching Event (GCBE4), the largest to date. #WetTribe #TidetotheOcean #FridayFieldUpdate #CoralBleaching

Wet Tribe mangrove restoration team in blue-branded-tees wading in the wetlands and holding seedlings to plant.

With plastic pollution, habitat loss, climate change, and social justice issues getting worse and not better, we are leaning into awareness, advocacy, action, and interconnectedness. We are a tribe; we are happy warriors. We can change the world. Join us! #OurRootsAreInTheSea

Surfers, Sailors, Divers, Scientists: Research divers below a sailboat at anchor with a surfboard on deck.

Nautical map on the teak deck of a sailboat anchored in the mangroves.

A research diver is swimming beneath the surface of a combined mangrove coral (CMC) habitat.

We are surfers, sailors, divers, scientists, and activists on a hero’s journey to recover ocean plastic, restore habitat, and mitigate ocean warming & acidification. “We are not strangers separated by countries; we are a tribe connected by ocean.” #WetTribe #TidetotheOcean

World Food Day graphic with a global map background in a blue-green gradient

Today is #WorldFoodDay, and we are celebrating #vegetarians and #vegans, highlighting the significant environmental benefits of plant-based diets, which are associated with drastically lower greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, and land use. #WetTribe #TidetotheOcean

Me diving on a degraded coral site

Comparing bleached and degraded coral to a photo of when it was healthy

Aerial of an at-risk shallow, warm water coral reef

Tragically, the ocean has reached the climate tipping point I've been warning about. Scientists from around the world agree that unless global heating is cut to 1.2°C as fast as possible, warm-water coral reefs will vanish. #TippingPoint #Climate #Coral

A test tube for pH testing of mangrove adjacent water

Mangroves sequester carbon and have been known to lower ocean acidification in nearby waters by releasing alkalinity, which increases pH levels (lowering acidity.) #WetTribe #TidetotheOcean #WetlandWednesday #Mangroves #Coral