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Coral RATS

WHOI geologist Pat Lohmann and MIT-WHOI Joint Program graduate student Tom DeCarlo deploy the RATS (Robotic Analyzer of the Total carbon dioxide System) sampler from scaffolding they built between coral outcrops on the Palau barrier reef. The RATS sampling platform continuously measures pH and various forms of carbon dioxide in seawater to study the effects of ocean acidification on coral reef ecosystems. Atmospheric carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels changes the chemistry of seawater when it dissolves in the ocean, hampering the ability of reef-building corals to grow. RATS allows in situ studies of how ocean acidification affects corals in a natural setting.(Photo courtesy of Anne Cohen, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)