china | Southern Fried Science

Burning driftwood, new protections for Canada’s oceans, dolphin errant, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: May 13, 2019

Posted on May 13, 2019 by Andrew Thaler

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

Some light, but useful, advice: Don’t Burn Driftwood at the Beach (or Anywhere).

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Good news everybody! Canada bans deep-sea mining, oil and gas drilling in marine protected areas.

The Tough Sell of Turtle-Saving Tech (and check out David’s article from… a very long time ago: Turtle excluder devices: analysis of resistance to a successful conservation policy).

Nicolas Pilcher (left), from Malaysia’s Marine Research Foundation, shows a fisherman how to install a turtle excluder device (TED). Photo courtesy of Marine Research Foundation Asia

Live from the International Seabed Authority, sand strikers, strange typhoons, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: February 25, 2019.

Posted on February 25, 2019 by Andrew Thaler

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

We’re live from the 25th General Assembly of the International Seabed Authority. Watch here!
Update your indices. This marine worm is called the Sand Striker.

This is the Sand Striker
[source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/26598370@N00/5205585822]

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

This is very much not normal. An Extremely Rare February Typhoon Is Approaching Guam.
US Coast Guard Officer Suspected Of Terror Plot Faces Charges.

5000 dives under the sea, plastic nomming fungi, scanning Belize’s Blue Hole, the thawing Northwest Passage, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: December 3, 2018.

Posted on December 3, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

With ice melting in Canada’s Northwest Passage, the area will soon be a new route for international shipping. Follow Life Under the Ice on OpenExplorer!

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Legendary submarine pilot Erika Bergman is exploring Belize’s Blue Hole using state-of-the-art SONAR scanning tools and ROVs. A couple floppy-haired dudes are going too.
DSV Alvin made its 5000th dive. Way to go, little submarine!

A boon to ocean conservation? Certain fungi can degrade marine plastics.
I missed this over the summer, but Nash was an incredible guide and touring ancient Chamorro caves with him was the highlight of my time in Guam. He will be missed by many: Traditional seafarer Ignacio ‘Nash’ Camacho dies.

Ignacio R. “Nash” Camacho, a Traditions About Seafaring Islands member, and codesigner of the Chamoru Sakman outrigger replica canoe “Tasi,” talks about his creation during a ceremony at the Guam Museum on June 29, 2017.

Coral reefs lose their champion, which laptop is really the greenest, new sea slugs, and an octopuses garden in the sea. Monday Morning Salvage: November 5, 2018.

Posted on November 5, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

Help the Victims of Typhoon Yutu.
Ruth Gates dedicated her life to saving the world’s reefs and training the next generation of reef scientists. The Fight for Corals Loses Its Great Champion.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Scientists Have Just Named 17 New Sea Slug Species, and They’re All Fabulous.

The newest members of the nudibranch family. (H. iba comes in 2 color morphs.)
Photo: California Academy of Sciences

A close-up photo of the sponge that is being studied. NHM.

How goats got the bends, a new ship for VIMS, a new deep-sea submersible for all of us, our looming destruction, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: October 15, 2018.

Posted on October 15, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

It ain’t going to be easy, but it isn’t over yet and none of us have earned the right to quit. What genuine, no-bullshit ambition on climate change would look like.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Goats are magnificent. We don’t deserve goats. The Dark Story of How Scientists Used Goats to Solve the Bends.

Bends in the foreleg of a goat after experiments performed by physiologist John S. Haldane, published in the Journal of Hygiene Vol. 8, 1908.

There’s a new full-ocean capable submarine in town, and for $50 million, you could buy it! Discovery and Science Channel to Document the Five Deeps Expedition in Limited Series.

Photo courtesy Discovery.

Crab industry in crisis, world’s largest deep-sea mining vessel takes to sea, Bayou Women, ocean trash, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: May 7, 2018

Posted on May 7, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

The Eruption at Kilauea on Hawai’i’s Big Island is truly spectacular, however hundreds of people are displaced from their homes. The mayor has directed those interested in giving donations to contact the Salvation Army at +1 (808) 756-0306.
Yale study: Newspaper op-eds change minds and The Long-lasting Effects of Newspaper Op-Eds on Public Opinion. Scientists and conservationists, this May, make an effort to publish a Letter to the Editor or OpEd in your local paper. If you’ve done so, please leave a link to it in the comments.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Without seasonal workers, the Maryland crab industry is barreling towards a crisis. “Nearly half of the Eastern Shore’s crab houses have no workers to pick the meat sold in restaurants and supermarkets.” Crab crisis: Maryland seafood industry loses 40 percent of work force in visa lottery.
Trash on the seafloor. Megan McCuller has an eye-opening thread on all the trash they’re finding on the deep seafloor.

Lionfish Traps! Jake Levenson has been trying something similar in Dominica. New Weapons in the War on Lionfish, a Beautiful but Deadly Invader.

A second trap design from Gittings. Lionfish are attracted to the structures inside. (Steve Gittings/NOAA)

The Levee (A featured project that emerged from Oceandotcomm)

Women of the Bayou: Stories of resilience and ingenuity in south Louisiana’s changing landscape.

Listen to the Bayou Women radio production, too!

Smart phones are worse than you think, SeaWorld takes a dive, this week in deep-sea mining, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: April 9, 2018

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

Stop raising awareness already (and start translating information into action).
Scott Pruitt still has a job [As of 16:59 on 4/8/2018 ~Ed.]. A Running List of Wild Shit Scott Pruitt Hasn’t Been Fired For (Yet).
What to up you outreach skills? Sign up for Andrew Lewin’s Podcasting for Environmental Communications course.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Smart phones. As you know I have a love/hate relationship with tech and the resources needed to fuel our increasingly demanding hardware. Now, we’ve got the most clear picture yet of the impact of smartphones on the environment and it’s not pretty.
- Smartphones Are Killing The Planet Faster Than Anyone Expected.
- Smartphones are warming the planet far more than you think.

GIF by Anthony Antonellis

The Levee (A featured project that emerged from Oceandotcomm)

Knitting *and* environmental justice? Sign me up! Stitching Hope for the Coast: Creative pieces that celebrate coastal optimism for Louisiana.

Snot Bots for whale health, critical dolphins, lobster considerations, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: January 15, 2018.

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Fog Horn (A Call to Action)

2018 is almost certainly going to be a record year for FOIA requests. Learn how to do them right and get results thanks to Pro Publica: I’ve Sent Out 1,018 Open Records Requests, and This Is What I’ve Learned.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Dr. Michelle LaRue is off to Antarctica and you can follow along through the magic of Twitter. #AccioAntarctica!

The Cinematic Legacy of Jacques Cousteau: The man, the myth, the legend, and his persistent influence on screen.
Lake Michigan’s Latest Ice Ball Outbreak Was Incredible. Earther has the best GIF game in town.

Paul May via Storyful.

See a Great White Shark from the inside with OpenROV, Vaquita, Narwhals, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: November 6, 2017

Posted on November 6, 2017 by Andrew Thaler

Fog Horn (A Call to Action)

Science Communication folks! Are you ready for OceanDotComm? Register now!

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Go shark diving with OpenROV Trident and maybe get a bit too close an personal with a great white shark.

Yes, that is the esophagus of a great white shark, in the wild. No, you should not attempt to replicate this experience.

#IAmSeaGrant, Octopus Beats Dolphins, Deep-sea Mining, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: May 29, 2017

Posted on May 29, 2017 by Andrew Thaler

Fog Horn (A Call to Action)

#IAmSeaGrant. Despite being one of the most bipartisan research programs in the United States, with a huge return on investment for coastal communities and businesses, Sea Grant is under attack from the current administration. Deep Sea News has been collecting stories from marine researchers who’ve benefited from Sea Grant programs: Ben Wetherill, Nyssa Silbiger, and Christy Bowles.
27 National Monuments are under review by the Department of the Interior. Our Nation Monuments are our National Treasures. Don’t let them be sold to the highest bidder! Submit formal public comments on the DOI Monument Review and make your voice heard.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Zach Weinersmith has perfectly capture the essence of what it is to be a marine biologist in the United States right now. Pure. Abyssal. Horror.

The Deep Sea News crew is at sea, and Dr. Craig and his team did a hilarious, fascinating, informative Ask Me Anything over at Reddit. Worth reading the whole thread, even though it’s done for now.