climate change | Southern Fried Science

The ongoing wonder of hagfish, deep-sea mining’s race to the bottom, saving whales with lineless lobster traps, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: January 21, 2019

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Andrew Thaler

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

It’s month two of the longest shutdown in US history and there’s only one party who won’t allow a vote to reopen the government proceed. Have you called you senator today?

The Shutdown Is Making the U.S. Less Prepared for Hurricane Season

And while I have your attention, FYI:

Thousands of Scientists Endorse Study Proclaiming Trump’s Border Wall a Disaster for Wildlife

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)3-D Printing the Ulitmate Deep-Sea Christmas Tree

Oceans Warming Faster Than Predicted, Scientists Say and Ocean Warming Is Accelerating Faster Than Thought, New Research Finds.
Ministry hints Putin’s Arctic ambitions are not realistic. There is unease in several Russian government ministries as officials start to understand that the President’s objectives for the Northern Sea Route can not be reached. The only way to please the president might be to expand the sea route itself.
Hagfish are so good. We don’t deserve hagfish.
- How hagfish launch slime missiles that swell 10,000 times in size.
- How hagfish can make enough slime to clog a shark’s jaws in seconds

Doodles from the deep sea, a mining company founders, finding lost warships, rogue scientists, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: December 24, 2018

Posted on December 24, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

‘We Are Not Prepared to Die’: Island Nations Push Ambitious Plan at UN Climate Talks.
This is beautiful: What the ocean floor can tell us about climate change.

Dive bombing birds, octopus intelligence, and a red tide update: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, December 6, 2018

Posted on December 6, 2018 by David Shiffman

Cuttings (short and sweet):

Follow Joe Cunningham, a marine engineer who was just elected to Congress, on twitter!
The dive bombing birds of Newfoundland. By Craig McClain, for Deep Sea News
How much does it cost to save a species? Less than you think! By Erik Vance, for the last word on nothing.

Spoils (long reads and deep dives):

Yes, the Octopus Is Smart as Heck. But Why? By Carl Zimmer, for the New York Times.
Global biodiversity treaty (Convention on Migratory Species) searches for its moment in the spotlight. By Isabel Esterman, for MongaBay. Do you know about CMS? Why do you think it gets less publicity than other conservation meetings?
It’s Time for Journalism to Ring the Alarm About Climate Change More Loudly. By Daniel Grossman, for the Revelator
Connecting fish, rivers, and people. By Abigail Lynch, for the Fisheries Blog.
The secrets of lonesome George: genome may contain clues about longevity. Editorial from Nature.
Code red: An update on Florida’s toxic seas. From the Save Our Seas Foundation blog.
Fishermen blame, sue energy companies for climate change that affects their catch. By Alistair Bland, for NPR.

Please add your own cuttings and spoils in the comments!

If you appreciate my shark research and conservation outreach, please consider supporting me on Patreon! Any amount is appreciated, and supporters get exclusive rewards!

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.

Chesapeake Requiem, the Black Friday for Climate Change, whale earwax, killing the GRE, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: November 26, 2018

Posted on November 26, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

Friend of the blog and submarine legend Erika Bergman is leading an expedition to Belize’s Blue Hole! Follow along as she maps this unique ocean feature: Belize Blue Hole 2018. Some dudes are tagging along, too.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

The Fourth National Climate Assessment is out and it is grim.

Climate change affects the natural, built, and social systems we rely on individually and through their connections to one another. These interconnected systems are increasingly vulnerable to cascading impacts that are often difficult to predict, threatening essential services within and beyond the Nation’s borders.

The Gam (conversations from the ocean-podcasting world)

Speak Up for the Blue on art and the ocean.

LarvaBots, turning the tide on captive dolphins, horror fish from the deep sea, ARA San Juan found, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: November 19, 2018.

Posted on November 19, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

Congratulations to Dr. Hal Holmes of Conservation X Labs for earning a Moore Foundation Inventor Fellowship for his DNA Barcode Project.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Reef RangerBot becomes ‘LarvalBot’ to spread coral babies.

LarvalBot gently squirts the coral larvae onto damaged reef areas. Credit: QUT Media

Turn of the tide: Seeing dolphins differently by National Aquarium Director John Racanelli.

Youth v Gov, thinking about oysters, how to talk climate change to radicalized conservatives, delightful dumbo octopuses, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: October 29, 2018.

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

The kids are alright. I’m suing the U.S. government for causing the climate change crisis #YouthVGov.
This fleet of underwater robots will help citizen scientists make the case for ocean conservation. Find out how you can get yours through the SEE Initiative!

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

The Deepest Volcanic Eruption Ever Documented Left a Gnarly Sight on the Ocean Floor.

A lava flow detected in the Mariana back-arc that’s evidence for the deepest historic eruption ever detected. Photo: Courtesy Bill Chadwick.

This comic comes at you like a kick in the teeth. Can Climate Science Be Rendered Conservative-Friendly? How to pitch environmentalism to climate change deniers.

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.

We haven’t earned the right to quit. Monday Morning Salvage: October 8, 2018

Posted on October 8, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

The new IPCC Climate Change Report is out and it is grim. With very little time left to hold back the worst outcomes of global warming, we need a massive multi-national coordinated effort at a scale that we have never before even attempted. The clock is ticking and the time for wishful thinking and hopeful platitudes is over. We’ve got a decade to pull off something currently unimaginable.
I echo David Robert’s concerns that the current political climate, and not just in the US, is directly opposed to making lasting climate solutions.

And yes, this is a dark, dark report. There’s no hearty, feel-good dose of Earth Optimism today. Maybe it’s discouraging. Maybe you just want to curl up in a ball and hide from the world. Well too bad. You haven’t earned the right to give up. None of us have.

That’s it. There is nothing else.

Cleaning beaches and saving right whales: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, September 13, 2018

Posted on September 13, 2018 by David Shiffman

Cuttings (short and sweet):

Follow marine biologist (and research tech in the lab I’m in) Wade VanderWal on twitter!
The science behind the International Coastal Cleanup. By George Leonard, for the Ocean Conservancy blog. Here’s a plastic pollution reduction program that works!
The hidden lives of deep-sea creatures caught on camera. By Amy Maxmen, for Nature News.

Spoils (long reads and deep dives):

Bid to reduce right whale deaths “extremely effective,” Canadian officials say. By Michael MacDonald, for CBC news.
Warming oceans are changing the world’s rainfall. By John Abraham, for the Guardian
In Washington, a farm-to-table restaurant tried to serve the best local fish. Instead, it stumbled into a debate over tribal fishing rights. By Doug Bierend, for the New Food Economy.
Wait, So How Much of the Ocean Is Actually Fished? One prominent study said 55 percent, its critics say 4 percent, and they both used the same data. Really interesting discussion of how fisheries data analysis works, by Ed Yong for the Atlantic.
Searching for survivors in a post-nuclear reefscape. By Greg Asner and Clare Reduff, for MongaBay
Endangered Languages, Endangered Ecologies. By Deb Krol for the Revelator.

SCALLOPPPPPPPPPPPP WARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR (An update on the brewing BREXIT-related war over scallop fishing rights between the UK and the EU):

Scallop negotiations end with no deal, say fishing leaders. BBC News alert. I am officially setting the Scallop War Doomsday Clock at 5 minutes to midnight.

Please add your own cuttings and spoils in the comments!

If you appreciate my shark research and conservation outreach, please consider supporting me on Patreon! Any amount is appreciated, and supporters get exclusive rewards!