Deployment of an ICON Station at Discovery Bay, Jamaica

Originally in June of 2005, a Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC) and NOAA/AOML/ICON coral monitoring station was proposed to be installed off-shore from the Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory (DBML) on the north shore of Jamaica, at approximately latitude 18° 28.406’ N, longitude 077° 24.986’ W in 20 feet of water.

During the week of February 27, 2006, a supporting bottom plate was installed for this station at the precise coordinates 18° 28.367' N, 077° 24.949' W by Jules Craynock, Hector Casanova (AOML), and John Halas (EMI), with supporting help from Jim Hendee (AOML) and Peter Gayle of DBML and his staff (Anthony, Keeno and Dalton).

The week of Tuesday, May 1st, 2007, the completed DBJM1 'stick' was shipped to Discovery Bay Jamaica via container freight, by Michael Shoemaker of NOAA/AOML, together with Manny Collazo of UM RSMAS.

The pylon was succesfully deployed at the chosen site on May 22nd and 23rd, 2007 by NURP/UNCW divers Mark Hulsbeck, James Talacek, Jim Buckley, and Jay Styron, along with Jules Craynock as supervisor. Craynock judges that, 'The installation now is probably one of our strongest.'

Finally, at 10:00am local time, on June 7, 2007, the fully operational station began transmitting with all instruments in place.

The DBML ICON station has been installed under a cooperative Caribbean program called Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC) funded by World Bank and the Global Environmental Facility, with personnel support from NOAA and others. The main objective of the MACC project is to facilitate the creation of an environment for climate change adaptation in the Caribbean Community's small island and coastal developing states. Countries participating in the project are: Antigua & Barbuda; Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Dominica; Grenada; Guyana; Jamaica; St. Kitts; St. Lucia; St. Vincent & the Grenadines; Trinidad & Tobago.

The ICON station measures wind speed and direction, precipitation, barometric pressure, air temperature, photosynthetically available radiation above and below the water, ultraviolet light above and below the water, sea temperature, salinity and partial pressure of carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide studies are especially important in determining the influence of a changing global climate on coral reef growth patterns, while sea temperature and light studies help to determine the influence of a changing environment on the phenomenon of coral bleaching. The ICON station will provide data to establish long-term environmental trends. Such data and trends support many ongoing and future research programs in coral reef ecosystem dynamics at DBML.