Scientists produce first record of environmental data off coast of Hawai’i
An international team of researchers, including BGS geoscientists, have succeeded in acquiring a continuous record of environmental data using fossilised coral from Hawai’i.
01/03/2024 By BGS Press
The two-month long International Ocean Discovery Programme (IODP) Expedition 389: Hawai’ian drowned reefs, managed by a team from BGS, aimed to get a better understanding of sea-level changes by recovering samples of fossilised coral reefs. A total of 29 scientists from across the world participated in the expedition, with 10 scientists on board the MMA Valour, which set sail from Honolulu, Hawai’i, on 31 August 2023.
A total of 426 m of core was recovered from below the seabed at water depths from 130 to 1240 m. The core has now been opened, analysed and sampled by the scientific team, following almost a month of intensive work at the University of Bremen during February 2024.
Andrew McIntyre (University of Leicester) loading a core into the high-resolution core imager. Marley Parker @ ECORD/IODP.
The next phase of the research will involve scientists using cutting-edge methods in their laboratories to extract information about sea level and climate change from these tremendously important, high-resolution archives. The ability to look back at Earth’s history will provide valuable insights into the mechanisms that cause climate change, including abrupt events, and the impact of these changes on reef growth and health.
We are extremely proud to have coordinated this expedition with our UK and international partners, and to have successfully recovered high-resolution records of sea level and environmental changes over the last few hundred thousand years. Our team is now supporting the international science party to initially analyse the cores and create foundational datasets to support research on this important topic for many years to come.
David McInroy, BGS Marine Geoscientist.
About the expedition
The expedition is conducted by the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). IODP is a publicly funded, international marine research programme, supported by 21 countries, which explores Earth’s history and dynamics recorded in seabed sediments and rocks, and monitors sub-seabed environments. Through multiple platforms — a feature unique to IODP — scientists sample the deep biosphere and sub-seabed ocean to study environmental change, processes and effects, and solid-Earth cycles and dynamics.
More information
Relative topics
Related news
New platform highlights geothermal potential across the UK
11/08/2025
A new government-funded geothermal initiative, which includes an interactive map, has launched to help decision makers assess the geothermal potential across the UK.
Oasis revealed as Scottish capital’s ‘most seismic’ concert
07/08/2025
Twenty years of evidence from earthquake monitoring proves the Britpop legends are the most ‘ground shaking’ musical act to perform at Murrayfield Stadium, with the chance to secure their position at the top of the charts this weekend.
IODP³-NSF Expedition 501: successful offshore operations launches onshore phase
06/08/2025
Scientists have managed to take water and sediment samples from beneath the ocean on the New England Shelf for the first time, with the intention of understanding this offshore aquifer system.
New tool helps identify coal mine gas risk for housing developments in Scotland
05/08/2025
Scientists have co-developed a new tool for North Lanarkshire Council to help screen coal mine gas emissions prior to the development of new houses and buildings.
Kamchatka earthquake highlights the advances in tsunami early warning systems
31/07/2025
The response to the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Russia has emphasised how far scientific understanding of tsunamis has come over the last two decades, and the improved mitigation measures that are now in place.
New journal article reveals snapshot of forever chemicals in shallow English soils
31/07/2025
Data on the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance concentrations in English soils has been released.
BGS hosts India for ‘deep dive’ on carbon capture and storage
30/07/2025
Some of India’s top scientists visited BGS to explore the UK’s carbon dioxide storage research potential.
Zambia’s first critical minerals guide supports the country’s potential in global clean energy transition
18/07/2025
A new guide to Zambia’s critical minerals highlights the country’s current and potential critical mineral resources, including cobalt and lithium.
Funding awarded to UK/Canadian critical mineral research projects
08/07/2025
BGS is part of a groundbreaking science partnership aiming to improve critical minerals mining and supply chains.
AI and Earth observation: BGS visits the European Space Agency
02/07/2025
The newest artificial intelligence for earth science: how ESA and NASA are using AI to understand our planet.
Release of over 500 Scottish abandoned-mine plans
24/06/2025
The historical plans cover non-coal mines that were abandoned pre-1980 and are available through BGS’s plans viewer.
New collaboration aims to improve availability of real-time hazard impact data
19/06/2025
BGS has signed a memorandum of understanding with FloodTags to collaborate on the use of large language models to improve real-time monitoring of geological hazards and their impacts.