Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online
At the beginning of 2024, I made a commitment to make it the year of the OpenCTD. A CTD is an oceanographic instrument that measures salinity, temperature, and depth. It is an essential tool in the conduct and marine scientific research. Access to CTDs often present a barrier to communities and knowledge seekers interested in … Read More “Open-source science hardware for an Open Ocean: Reflecting on the Year of the OpenCTD” »
More people care about marine biodiversity and saving the ocean than ever before. But progress towards evidence-based conservation is hindered by widespread public misunderstanding of the key issues in play. You’ve heard versions of this rant from me for 15 years, but this is not a post about sustainable fisheries, or shark conservation. This … Read More “The wrongest belief about the deep sea is wronger than you know” »
The year was 1916, the First World War raged, Woodrow Wilson was in a desperate three-way race for reelection, and sharks were about to experience a shift in public perception that would endure into the next millennium. Prior to 1916, sharks weren’t regarded as particularly dangerous in the United States. A 1915 letter in the … Read More “How the summer of sharks reshaped our understanding of US presidential elections.” »
Earlier this month, I released The Last Hunt for the Jabberwock, a Dungeons & Dragons adventure in ecologic succession. This campaign is an expression of my two favorite things: being giant nerd going on strange journeys with an odd assortment of friends and helping students of all ages learn about their world through experiential education. … Read More “‘Twas brillig… building a Dungeons & Dragons campaign for adventurers in and out of the classroom.” »
Welcome to the Warren. Within this tiny Domain of Delight, Rabbitfolk engage in an endless battle against the Jabberwock, a manxome foe that refuses to stay dead. With the aid of their Archfey and allies from near and far, they have forged an uneasy peace. Every 30 years the Emerald Moon rises, the Jabberwock returns, … Read More “Hunt the Jabberwock, Defend the Warren, Save the Forest: a D&D 5e Adventure for Environmental Educators” »
Five years ago, a small team of ocean scientists, conservationists, sea turtle patrollers, and distillers came up with a radical idea to create a sustainable, long-term funding model for Dominica’s Sea Turtle Conservation Organization and Ocean’s Forward. From dozens of meetings, market analyses, and viability assessments, the Rosalie Bay Distillery was born. The distillery would … Read More “This Rum Protects the Ocean: the world’s first conservation distillery is open for business.” »
Giant deep-sea tube worms. When the RV Knorr arrived above Galapagos Rift in 1977, a team of geologists, geochemists, and geophysicist, including Robert Ballard who would go on to locate the wreck of the Titanic among other ocean-shaping discoveries) was prepared to witness something never before seen: a geyser of superheated, chemical rich water erupting … Read More “Giant tube worms dwell in the deep places beneath the ocean floor.” »
The membership of the America the Beautiful for All coalition stretches from the Marianas to Maine, Alaska to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. We are the largest, most diverse coalition of its kind to ever exist in the United States. Last week, 170+ conservation, climate change, and community leaders from across the United States … Read More “6 Ways to Support the America the Beautiful for All Coalition” »
For close to two decades now, the venerable YSI Castaway has been the gold standard for small, relatively cheap, handheld CTDs. In the early days of OpenROV, the robot’s little payload bay was sized explicitly to fit a Castaway. When Kersey and I started building the OpenCTD, our benchmark for viability was how well the … Read More “Comparing the OpenCTD to a YSI Castaway” »
One of the most iconic images of shark behavior is a great white shark hitting its prey so hard from below that the whole shark flies out of the water. This behavior, called “breaching,” has been documented in many species, and is useful for a variety of ecological functions, not just hunting. I spoke to … Read More “Jumping the shark: New study reviews the breaching behavior of sharks and rays” »
