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Author: Andrew Thaler

Marine science and conservation. Deep-sea ecology. Population genetics. Underwater robots. Open-source instrumentation. The deep sea is Earth's last great wilderness.

Building the future with open hardware. Monday Morning Salvage: March 27, 2017

Posted on March 26, 2017 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

I spent the last week at the annual Gathering for Open Science Hardware in Santiago, Chile exploring the future of science and the open-source movement with one of the most impressive hardware developers, hackers, makers, and artists in the world. It’s my travel day, so this will necessarily be a short one.

  • Among the many things still blowing my mind? 3D printing in steel using a MIG welder. So simple, so clever, so brilliantly implemented. See the paper below.

Read More “Building the future with open hardware. Monday Morning Salvage: March 27, 2017” »

“When we left the beach…” Monday Morning Salvage: March 20, 2017

Posted on March 20, 2017 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage


Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • The poetry of Derek Walcott.
Walcott, from the Trinidad Guardian.
  • Nobel laureate, poet, and perhaps the finest English-language writer of any generation, died this weekend. His poetry, particularly the epic poem Omeros, which draws upon the themes of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey to tell the story of colonization, imperialism, slavery, and humanity’;s relationship to the sea over more than 8000 lines.
  • If you’re new to the poetry of Derek Walcott, The Sea is History is a great place to start and the New York Times published a short selection of his poetry: The Pages of the Sea.

Read More ““When we left the beach…” Monday Morning Salvage: March 20, 2017″ »

Monday Morning Salvage: March 13, 2017

Posted on March 13, 2017 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • This Great White Shark, who definitely just poo-ed all over some unsuspecting SCUBA divers.
  • Watch a Great White Shark Shit All Over a Group of Cage Divers. 

Jetsam (what we’re enjoying from around the web)

Read More “Monday Morning Salvage: March 13, 2017” »

Help an ocean student catch a break!

Posted on March 6, 2017 By Andrew Thaler
Uncategorized

The Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON), located at the very tip of Louisiana’s boot, is a special place. The only marine lab in Louisiana, LUMCON serves public universities and supports marine science for the entire state. I had the pleasure of visiting LUMCON late last year to lead an underwater robotics workshop for local high … Read More “Help an ocean student catch a break!” »

Monday Morning Salvage: NOAA Special Edition (call your representatives!)

Posted on March 6, 2017March 6, 2017 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

This weekend, the Washington Post reported on a leaked proposed budget from the Administration which includes drastic, agency-breaking cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This comes in the wake of new Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross pledging to protect peer-reviewed researchers and shield NOAA climate scientists from partisan attacks and that the Department of … Read More “Monday Morning Salvage: NOAA Special Edition (call your representatives!)” »

Monday Morning Salvage: February 20, 2017

Posted on February 20, 2017 By Andrew Thaler 1 Comment on Monday Morning Salvage: February 20, 2017
Weekly Salvage

For all our US-based Readers: Happy President’s Day! For everyone else, this is the reason none of you USian colleagues are answering e-mails. Unless they are, in which case, *grumble grumble grumble* *something about work-life balance*

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • The ocean is full of garbage and even the deepest trenches aren’t safe. Here’s an interview I did with KSPN Saipan where I talked about the garbage the precedes us everywhere we go.
  • Also: Banned chemicals persist in deep ocean. This seems important.

Read More “Monday Morning Salvage: February 20, 2017” »

Monday Morning Salvage: February 13, 2017

Posted on February 13, 2017 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Bringing you the best of marine science and conservation from the last week.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • This giant isopod just wrecking a shark.

  • More.

Jetsam (what we’re enjoying from around the web)

Read More “Monday Morning Salvage: February 13, 2017” »

A Reading List for Environmental Resistance

Posted on February 7, 2017 By Andrew Thaler 1 Comment on A Reading List for Environmental Resistance
Blogging

We have entered a challenging new era for conservation and the environmental movement. Some of us feel as if we are hanging from the edge of a cliff. Others are preparing for the battles ahead. And many of us are still reeling from the whirlwind of changes taking place seemingly overnight.

We can’t tell you how to feel or how to act. We can’t really offer any comfort either, at least none that feels sincere. What we can provide are resources culled from a lifetime working in conservation science to provide, if not a map, than at least a scattered set of guideposts to remind us of where we’ve been and direct us to where we need to be going.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been collecting and curating a reading list for the conservation professionals, managers, and activists. I’ve culled from a diverse groups of writers to both focus and expand my vision of what conservation could become in the coming years.

This is, of course, not a comprehensive list of writings, but rather those which I have turned to, or turned back to, in the last few months, for inspiration and understanding. Some of them may seem a little out of place, but they have all offered guidance and insight as we move forward into this brave new world.

Read More “A Reading List for Environmental Resistance” »

Monday Morning Salvage: February 6, 2017

Posted on February 6, 2017 By Andrew Thaler
Uncategorized

Bringing you the best of marine science and conservation from the last week.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • The ridiculous, extensible jaw and neck joint of a Barbeled Dragonfish.

  • Deep-Sea Fishes That Are Built to Eat Big.

Jetsam (what we’re enjoying from around the web)

Read More “Monday Morning Salvage: February 6, 2017” »

No, there isn’t a UFO sitting in Antarctica.

Posted on February 2, 2017 By Andrew Thaler
Popular Culture

One of my favorite things to do is browse through google maps looking for weird formations and places of historical curiosity. Apparently I’m not alone, as there are hordes of map hunters searching for the bizarre on this increasingly bizarre world. That’s right! It’s time for yet another installment of “this thing on Google maps is not a sea-monster/alien/UFO/ancient pyramid”.

The Object on Google Earth.

This newest discovery comes from Antarctica, where monster hunters have found what looks like a perfect disc sitting on the ice. Could it be a UFO? The image is surprisingly compelling.

It’s very round for one, and it looks like it’s sitting on top of a glacier, partially covered by rock. The 60-foot-wide object looks remarkably like a classic flying saucer.

SPOILERS: It’s not a UFO.

Read More “No, there isn’t a UFO sitting in Antarctica.” »

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