Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network Launched

Summary

The Smithsonian announces the creation of the Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network, a long time project to study coastal marine biodiversity and ecosystems around the globe. The Network is made possible by a $10 million donation from Suzanne and Michael Tennenbaum. Michael Tennenbaum is a philanthropist and senior managing partner of Los Angeles-based Tennenbaum Capital Partners. The Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network is the first worldwide network of coastal ecological field sites to standardize measurements of biological change. By studying sites with the help of Smithsonian experts and collaborators in biology, ecology and anthropology, and using technologies like DNA sequencing, the project will provide an unprecedented understanding of how marine biodiversity is affected by local human activities and global change, such as ocean warming, acidification and rising sea levels. The initial five field sites for the Network are: the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, the Institution's marine stations at Fort Pierce, Florida, and on Carrie Bow Cay in Belize, and two of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's locations in Panama-Bocas del Toro on the Caribbean Sea and Naos Island station on the Pacific Ocean.

Subject

• Tennenbaum, Michael
• Tennenbaum, Suzanne
• Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC)
• Smithsonian Marine Station
• Naos Island
• Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network
• Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI)

Category

Chronology of Smithsonian History

Notes

• SI Email Announcements, "Message from the Under Secretary: Emmett Duffy Named Director of Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network," June 24, 2013.
• SI Email Announcements, "Smithsonian Launches Global Marine Biodiversity Project with $10 Million Donation," October 25, 2012.

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

October 25, 2012

Topic

• Marine Biology
• Marine ecology
• New Programs
• Carrie Bow Cay, Belize
• Marine sciences
• Marine resources conservation
• Gifts
• Ecology
• Marine biologists
• Marine biology
• Marine biology--Research
• Environmental monitoring

Place

Bocas del Toro (Panama)

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