Research and Outreach Program Returns to Jamaica for Second Year

Undergraduate and graduate students from the U.S. and Jamaica collaborate with researchers and conservation experts to solve environmental problems. The research team meets throughout the summer and spends 2-3 weeks in Jamaica working with local colleagues to study coastal ecosystems. Our research focuses on modern coastlines, integrating research on coral reefs, river chemistry, mangrove forests, and other ecosystems as well as paleontological records of Jamaica’s past ecosystems (Pleistocene reefs and fossil terrestrial communities). Geoscience is often at the intersection of many different disciplines, so our activities combine hydrology, chemistry, biology, oceanography, paleontology, ecology, and other Earth sciences to connect integrated environmental systems and understand the natural world at the Jamaican coastline. The team works closely with the locals, both scientific experts and local community members, to develop sustainable goals for healthy Jamaican coastlines and communities while teaching everyone about geosciences. These unique experiences can be incredibly meaningful to the students and community members.

This is our second year of the program. The team included partners from The University of Texas at Austin; The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona; Georgia Institute of Technology; and the UWI Discovery Bay Marine Lab.