Ocean Station ALOHA designated a Milestones in Microbiology site

Ocean Station ALOHA (A Long-term Oligotrophic Habitat Assessment) the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s research site 60 miles north of Oʻahu has been designated a Milestones in Microbiology site by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM). ASM Milestones in Microbiology program recognizes institutions and scientists that have made significant contributions toward advancing the microbial sciences.

Since 1988, this open-ocean research station “has played a fundamental role in defining the discipline of microbial oceanography, developing a comprehensive understanding of the sea and educating the public about the critical role of marine microbes in global ecosystems,” ASM officials noted in their citation.

“It soon became a trans-disciplinary collaboration among individuals who traditionally did not interact (microbiologists, physical scientists, oceanographers, mathematicians and educators), and created unique opportunities for scientific discovery, knowledge transfer and outreach to society at large,” said David Karl, Hawaiʻi Ocean Time-series (HOT) co-founder, Victor and Peggy Brandstrom Pavel Professor of Ocean and Earth Science, and director of the Daniel K. Inouye Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education (C-MORE). “Station ALOHA may be viewed as the birthplace of microbial oceanography.”

Read more about the program, and about the events in November in celebration of it, in the UH System News.