This past weekend St. Petersburg hosted the Tall Ship Festival at Bayboro Harbor (in the Innovation District). I was fascinated to see these historic vessels side-by-side with the R/V Weatherbird II. Each vessel has contributed to the maritime industry in an unique way. From transporting the earliest explorers, speeding privateers through blockades, and supporting researchers as they tackle critical issues such as the impact of the Deep Water Horizon incident. Their individual stories are remarkable. Built hundreds of years apart, they were designed for a purpose that was adapted as new situations arose. They are great examples of innovation in action.
In case you aren't familiar with the Research Vessel (R/V) Weatherbird II, its worth a moment. The Weatherbird is part of the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO) and homeported in St. Petersburg at the University of South Florida. Her mission is to provide a sea-going platform for oceanographic and marine science education and research at sea. During the Tall Ship Festival, students and the general public, got a rare "insider" view of the Weatherbird to learned about its work. The Weatherbird and her sister ship - R/V Hogarth - are tremendous assets for the State of Florida and we are luckily to be their home.
To learn more about the Tall Ships that visited St. Pete click here.
(This article was first featured in our March newsletter - to subscribe to our monthly newsletter click here)
The Tampa Bay Estuary Program works to build public and private partnerships to restore and protect Tampa Bay. Critical to this effort is the use of environmental indicators to describe status and trends of bay health. Dr. Marcus Beck will describe his work synthesizing multiple data streams with reproducible workflows to develop and report on bay health indicators.
Our summer youth tours are in full swing, and the learning hasn’t stopped. So far, we’ve hosted students ranging from elementary school to college age, with over 60 individuals touring the Innovation District. They’ve explored the world of phytoplankton with scientists from FWC and learned the basics of flight from the team at St. Pete Air.
Congratulations to the USF College of Marine Science for their collaboration with Telemundo on a powerful new documentary. This Spanish-language series explores how weather buoys help forecast storms and hurricanes forming in the Gulf. Meteorologist Rubén Capote and news anchor Samantha Díaz explain why this technology is vital for Florida and beyond.