BIOS has a long history of oceanographic innovation. 1954 saw the implementation of the world's first significant time series in the ocean gyres, the Hydrostation "S" program, a biweekly sampling program that measures hydrographic properties of the 0-2600m water column. Hydrostation "S" was followed in 1978 by the Oceanic Flux Program (OFP) sediment trap time-series, whose focus is on particle flux in the deep Sargasso and its linkage to upper ocean physics, biology and climate. The longevity and successes of the Hydrostation "S" and OFP programs eventually led to BIOS linking with the U.S. Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) to initiate the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS), an upper ocean time-series study examining biogeochemical cycles in the Sargasso Sea, near the OFP mooring site.

The multidisciplinary framework provided by the time-series data streams attracts other scientists to conduct their research at Bermuda, either utilizing data provided by current programmes and/or conducting new studies either independently or in collaboration with the BIOS. These include the Bermuda Bio-optical Program (BBOP), formed in 1992, and the Bermuda Testbed Mooring (BTM) programme, a high-technology mooring outfitted with hydrographic, bio-optic, and chemical sensors that was first deployed in 1994. The Microbial Observatory, organized in 1997, also utilizes the Bermuda time-series site. These multi-disciplinary programmes were formally organized under the umbrella of BIOS's Center for Integrated Ocean Observations (CINTOO) in 1999.

The research being conducted at the Bermuda time-series site is proving invaluable in the arena of environmental science by producing data that helps us to better understand global climate change and the oceans' responses to variations in the Earth's atmosphere. BIOS scientists are committed to maintaining its leading role in the field of oceanography and educating future scientists in an environment at the forefront of scientific discovery.