Hawaii Ocean Time-series

The Hawaii Ocean Time-series (HOT) program is a long-term oceanographic study based at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In 2015, the American Society for Microbiology designated the HOT Program's field site Station ALOHA (A Long-Term Oligotrophic Habitat Assessment; (22°45′N 158°00′W / 22.750°N 158.000°W / 22.750; -158.000)) a 'Milestone in Microbiology', for playing 'a key role in defining the discipline of microbial oceanography and educating the public about the vital role of marine microbes in global ecosystems.' The Hawaii Ocean Time-series (HOT) program is a long-term oceanographic study based at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In 2015, the American Society for Microbiology designated the HOT Program's field site Station ALOHA (A Long-Term Oligotrophic Habitat Assessment; (22°45′N 158°00′W / 22.750°N 158.000°W / 22.750; -158.000)) a 'Milestone in Microbiology', for playing 'a key role in defining the discipline of microbial oceanography and educating the public about the vital role of marine microbes in global ecosystems.' Scientists working on the Hawaii Ocean Time-series (HOT) program have been making repeated observations of the hydrography, chemistry and biology of the water column at a station north of Oahu, Hawaii since October 1988. The objective of this research is to provide a comprehensive description of the ocean at a site representative of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Cruises are made approximately once per month to the deep-water Station ALOHA located 100 km north of Oahu, Hawaii. Measurements of the thermohaline structure, water column chemistry, currents, optical properties, primary production, plankton community structure, and rates of particle export are made on each cruise. The HOT program also uses autonomous underwater vehicles, including floats and gliders, to collect data at Station ALOHA between cruises. HOT was founded to understand the processes controlling the fluxes of carbon and associated bioelements in the ocean and to document changes in the physical structure of the water column. To achieve this, the HOT program has several specific goals: The dissolved inorganic carbon data set that has been accumulated over the course of the HOT program shows the increase of carbon dioxide in the surface waters of the Pacific and subsequent acidification of the ocean. The data collected by these cruises are available online. The 200th cruise of the HOT program was in 2008. HOT recently celebrated its 25th year in operation, with the 250th research cruise occurring in March 2013.