deep sea
Space whales. Space. Whales. SPAAAAACE WHAAAAALES! Weekly Salvage: October 21, 2019
Dead whales, glass sponges, 3D-printing for the ocean, and more! Weekly Salvage: October 14, 2019
The Ocean Cleanup has an ocean of problems, whales, KISS, and more! Weekly Salvage: October 7, 2019
Deep-sea gator falls covered in isopods, more struggles for the Ocean Cleanup, a robot lost in the cold (but not the one you’re thinking of), and more! Monday Morning Salvage: February 18, 2019

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)
What do you do if you find yourself at the helm of a major Louisiana marine science institution? If you’re Dr. Craig McClain, you plant the first experimental Alligator falls in the deep Gulf of Mexico!

On the other hand, if you find yourself at the helm of a US Navy destroyer, you might want to review this incredible and exhaustive accounting of the USS Fitzgerald disaster and how training deficits, exhaustion, and poor decision making compounded to create a deadly situation.

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

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.

- Plastic pollution discovered at deepest point of ocean.
- The Most Terrifying Climate Disasters of 2018.
Amazing fish eyes, the real cost of halibut, and protecting local species: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, December 13, 2018

Cuttings (short and sweet):
- Follow UBC’s wildlife conservation economics lab on twitter!
- The Deep-Sea Fish with the Telescopic Tubular Eyes. By Craig McClain, for Deep Sea News.
- How to take action to help endangered species near you. A Revelator News Podcast by John Platt.
Spoils (long reads and deep dives):
- Why does halibut cost so much? By Larry Pynn, for Hakai.
- Feed a fishery, starve a seabird. By John Cannon, for Mongabay
- What I learned from an ocean radioactivity testing project. By Ken Buesseler, for Scientific American
- Unexpected consequences of hurricanes. By Dana Sackett, for the Fisheries Blog
- The effects of anti-depressants span generations in fish. By Diana Kwon, for the Scientist.
- Surviving Great Barrier Reef corals have greater heatwave resistance. By Ben Smee, for the Guardian
- What does climate change mean for our oceans? By Sarah Cooley, for the Ocean Conservancy blog
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!
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.
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)

LarvalBot gently squirts the coral larvae onto damaged reef areas. Credit: QUT Media
Apple’s war on repair, mining the deep sea, reflecting on the mid-terms, (not) repelling sharks, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: November 12, 2018.
Foghorn (A Call to Action!)
- Take a moment. Breathe. Then get back to work.
Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)
- Here Are All the Candidates With Science Backgrounds Who Just Got Elected. Note, my representative, Dr. Andy Harris, MD, also has a science background and he’s an awful, incompetent, ineffectual, and embarrassing representative, so having a “science background” isn’t everything.
- Mining the deep ocean will soon begin. What will that mean for existing denizens of the abyss? Featuring Drs. Diva Amon and Leigh Marsh!
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.
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)

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.