Tag archives for ocean
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The humble Maine Lobster has been exposed as a cannibal. University of Maine graduate student Noah Oppenheim and advisor Dr. Rick Wahle presented work at “The American Lobster in a Changing Ecosystem” symposium in Portland, Maine this last week, that showed lobsters prey on themselves in the wild. This phenomena had been seen in…
Above video from Barcroft TV. Like a scene from Moby Dick, a rare white whale was spotted off the coast of Spitsbergen in Norway by maritime engineer Dan Fisher of the UK. Swimming alongside a pod of other, regular grey humpback whales, this whale likely has a condition called leucism, which causes a reduction in…
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November’s “National Geographic” cover story is about life in Cuba — but it’s also about the ocean. Explorer Clare Fieseler shares photos from the Cuban coast that help illuminate the human-ocean challenges embedded in the new article.
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As we sail closer to port, mahi mahi fish have been hitting our lures and tropicbirds circle our masts. We have not seen land for over a month but as I write these words, we’ve just crossed the EEZ (U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone) within 200 miles of Hawaii. We’re now 34 days at sea and…
For the last few days, fully inured to life-a-tilt and the complex movements of the sea, we have plied south and southwest winds to continue sailing west. We’re 1,500 miles and 25 days out from California, with 900 miles and 12 days left at sea. Within a day we plan to turn south toward Hawaii. …
November’s “National Geographic” cover story is about life in Cuba — but it’s also about the ocean. Explorer Clare Fieseler shares photos from the Cuban coast that help illuminate the human-ocean challenges embedded in the new article.
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The oceans (or the ocean, singular; depending on your perspective), are (is) big. To paraphrase Douglas Adams’s Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, “You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mindbogglingly big it is” (Mr. Adams was actually referring to the universe, but seeing as we can swim, dive, and fish in the ocean, but –…
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One young man thinks so, and he’s started a for-profit business called ReefCam to do just that. Tim Richards, owner and founder of ReefCam, who is currently working on his MBA at American University, first developed the idea after mulling over different environmental business models he could implement in the Caribbean. He landed on…
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Mike Fay’s exploration of Gabon’s untouched wilderness led to 11% of the country being named national park land. This inspired Enric Sala to explore and help protect similarly pristine areas of the ocean around the world. Now the two explorers go back to the beginning to explore the murky waters off the coast of this African nation.
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Nobody likes bad news, and this is enough to make an ocean lover cry. A new study found that overfishing is worse than previous studies have suggested. What changed to reveal this sad conclusion? New methods allowed scientists to estimate the status of fisheries that were previously “status unknown.” Since these unknown fisheries make up…
Posted by We have taken too many fish out of the sea, faster than they can reproduce. We will run out of fish – and the livelihoods they support – unless we do something. Fortunately, there is something we can do, now, with proven results. Watch Mel, a ‘very weird’ fish who will show you how we can have our fish and eat them too.
Deep-Sea Methane, Wind that Could Power World?
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on September 13, 2012 The U.S. Energy Department announced plans to spend more than $5 million researching the potential to produce natural gas from deep-sea methane hydrates—ice-like formations that contain natural gas and are stable at depths of more than 300 feet. The Energy Department calls them “the world’s largest untapped fossil energy resource”—some estimate they are twice as abundant as all remaining…
In search of deep-sea corals that live much shallower in Patagonian fjords, Rhian Waller has spent weeks diving in frigid waters. Follow her account of the expedition’s final days and the work that’s still ahead.
Scientists: Mars Rover Can Help Us Better Understand Climate Change on Earth
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on August 9, 2012 NASA’s rover, Curiosity, made a successful landing on Mars earlier this week. Some scientists say the car-sized rover, the most high-tech ever designed by the space agency, could have a lot to tell us about our own climate. As Mother Jones reports, scientists have made great strides in predicting what will happen to our climate, but we only have one climate to…
Harnessing Sun, Wave Power for Energy
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on July 26, 2012 Oceans, which cover more than two-thirds of the planet, hold a large amount of energy. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates ocean wave and tidal currents have the potential to account for 15 percent of the nation’s electricity by 2030. While technologies harnessing energy from tides and currents have been domestically discussed for decades, the…
Posted by I recently wrote about some good news from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Fisheries Service regarding improvements in the health of U.S. ocean fish populations. In a little publicized but very important milestone, NOAA fisheries and the regional fishery management councils have completed a task set out by Congress in 2006: establishing enforceable, science-based annual catch limits (ACLs)…
Note: Holly Binns, director of Pew’s Southeast and U.S. Caribbean Fish Conservation campaigns, is my guest author today. She is going to provide some important information regarding the recreational fishing of red snapper. Recreational fishermen heading to the Gulf of Mexico face a conundrum if they want to hook a red snapper. Fishery managers have increased the total weight…
Journey to the Center of the Ocean: Tracking Tsunami Debris in the Pacific
Posted by Nicholas Mallos on May 25, 2012 
Like many Americans, I will be spending a good chunk of my summer on the water, gazing out at the ocean’s vast expanse. But this is no vacation – in fact, I’ll be miles away from the nearest beach. Instead, I’ll be out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean – and any “gazing” I…
Posted by Hello everyone: I’m Dr. Chuck Knapp, the Director of Conservation and Research at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois. When I started working at Shedd Aquarium as a young aquarist in 1991, I became fascinated with the world’s most endangered lizards: West Indian rock iguanas. Come along with me as I post blogs and photos of…
Read the full “The Bottom Line” series here. Rick Rosenthal has seen things that most ocean lovers only dream about. For the past 25 years, this filmmaker has had front-row seats to baitball feeding frenzies—when small schooling fish swarm together to defend against hungry predators—sleeping sperm whales, and mating right whales. During a career that includes…
Traveling for a month around the South Pacific can really open your eyes to the wonders and normalcy of the accomplishments of the ancient Polynesian navigators.
From feeding fish to building up coral reefs, see why humble algae are actually the unsung heroes of the undersea world.
There is silence on the “Claymore II” except for the deep noise of the engine, the wind and the rain, and the rolling waves crashing on the side of the ship. Foul weather has called an end to our expedition a day early.
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When I think of luminosity I think of the brightness of the sun or associate it with technology, light bulbs, light emitting diodes, and of course, the energy sources that make it possible. In many ways, creating light has promoted the “nightlife” or our ability to see, signal, and interact in darkness. Just a trip…
Some fish, with their delicate features and calm poised attitudes, always appear ready for their close-ups. Others, like this teetering triggerfish, look like you’ve just snapped a Polaroid of them in the middle of wild weekend in Las Vegas.
