The largest research programme at the Bermuda Biological Station for Research (BBSR) has been recognised at a major international scientific conference in the US

The Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS), which conducts research in the Sargasso Sea off Bermuda, was noted for its important findings, which has contributed greatly to other studies.

The conference was organised by the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS), which is an international programme started in 1988 to study carbon cycle in the ocean and its impact on global climate change.

The five-day meeting in Washington DC was attended by more than 350 scientists from around the world, including BBSR faculty members Drs. Nick Bates, Tony Knap, Michael Lomas, Rick Murnane and Peter Sedwick.

Also in attendance were BBSR alumni Drs. Craig Carlson, Kjell Gundersen, Dennis Hansell, Tony Michaels, Astrid Schnetzer, and conference coordinator Dr. Debbie Steinberg.

Former US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Carol Browner gave the conference keynote address at the Smithsonian Institute, focusing on global climate change policy.

And Dr. Margaret Leinen, a former trustee of BBSR who is now the head of global geo-sciences research at the US National Science Foundation, said much of the unprecedented international cooperation involved in the JGOFS had involved research conducted in the Sargasso Sea.