Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online
Well, it finally happened. Over the last two week, my usually well-curated feeds of videos from the deep sea have been overrun with AI slop masquerading as authentic images of strange and delightful creatures of the abyss. AI slop is permeating everything, but it’s particularly noxious when dealing with images from the deep. We generally … Read More “That’s not a blobfish: Deep Sea Social Media is Flooded by AI Slop” »
Earlier this month, the good folks at the Schmidt Institute for Oceanography, unveiled the first video footage of a colossal squid. Colossal squid were first described 100 years ago, but have never been seen live. What little information we have comes from specimens that washed up on beaches or from hard parts found in the … Read More “First live video of a colossal squid highlights one of the most exciting knowledge gaps in deep ocean exploration” »
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” »
In a region once thought to be so ecologically uninteresting that it was viewed as a useful testbed for deep-sea mining equipment, NOAA researchers have detected what could be the world’s largest cold water coral reef. “For years we thought much of the Blake Plateau was sparsely inhabited, soft sediment, but after more than 10 … Read More “The world’s largest cold water coral reef lies beside the first experimental deep-sea mining test site” »
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.
Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)
