Kevin the buoy is lost, and scientists and researchers need your help finding it. Kevin was placed in the West Flower Bank Garden, a coral reef off the Texas and Louisiana coast, to gather information on wave height, temperature, and oxygen, and to see how different species are surviving environmental changes.
This research is vital to understanding marine life because coral reefs provide habitat for 25% of the world’s marine life, even though reefs cover only 1% of the world’s oceans. Researchers are interested in the West Flower Bank Garden coral reef because, despite climate change, it is one of the healthiest coral reefs in the world.
Check out Chief Meteorologist Anthony Yanez’s deep dive into the reef researchers: Day 3: Finishing up the work at the Flower Garden
Now that you have a little background on why Kevin’s job is so essential, here’s what researchers need from you. If you are a boater, fisher, or just happen to be in the Gulf and spot Kevin, they want you to collect it and contact them at flowergarden@noaa.gov .
Kevin does have a GPS tracker on him, and you can follow his journey here: hulab.utmsi.utexas.edu/temp/Kevin/
