global warming | Southern Fried Science

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.

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.

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!

Scallops, barnacles, and oysters- oh my! Thursday Afternoon Dredging, September 6th, 2018

Posted on September 6, 2018 by David Shiffman

Cuttings (short and sweet):

Follow COSEWIC, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, on twitter.
‘Scallop wars’: UK offers olive branch as French navy threatens to act. By Pippa Crerar, for the Guardian. Brexit is complicating some existing relationships between the UK and European nations, including some fishing rights issues. Don’t worry, though, it’s not like the UK would ever get involved in a shooting war over fishing… except for that one time. And three other related times.

Spoils (long reads and deep dives):

A new trick to keep barnacles from sticking to ships. By Veronique Greenwood, for the New York Times.
The World Of An Oyster: Scientists Are Using Microphones To Spy On Reef Life. By James Morrison, for NPR’s the Salt
An Orca in Grief: Tahlequah’s Call to Arms. By Rachel Clark, for the Revelator
From Fish to Humans, A Microplastic Invasion May Be Taking a Toll. By Andrea Thompson, for Scientific American.
Diverse family of algae could help corals survive warming seas. By John Cannon, for MongaBay
Hundreds of seals have died in Maine. By Dan Zukowski, for Hakai

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!

The real deep reefs of South Carolina, dolphin chatter, autonomous starfish killing robots, an exciting submarine discovery, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: September 3, 2018

Posted on September 3, 2018 by Andrew Thaler

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Robots versus Aliens is my favorite genre of conservation technology. Sea-Star Murdering Robots Are Deployed in the Great Barrier Reef.

Fish Bombardment is my other. Video: Utah Officials Restock Remote Lakes by Plane.

The Gam (conversations from the ocean-podcasting world)

Speak Up for the Blue with two great recent episodes.

Texting about ichthyology and climate change’s effects on indigenous culture: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, February 1st, 2018

Posted on February 1, 2018 by David Shiffman

Cuttings (short and sweet):

Follow Skye Augustine, a marine biologist studying traditional indigenous fisheries management practices, on twitter!
A plate of lies: seafood mislabeling. By Meghan Fox, for the Fisheries Blog.
2017 was the hottest year yet for the world’s oceans. By Sarah Gibbens, for National Geographic.
Helping sound out of water: new materials could help scientists to eavesdrop on marine mammals. From Nature’s research highlights.
Is your child texting about ichthyology? Prosanta Chakrabarty explains how to decode these messages, because if you don’t talk to your kids about ichthyology, who will?

https://twitter.com/preaux_fish/status/957479899605995521

Spoils (long reads and deep dives):

Tribal culture is underwater, and falling through thin ice. By Debra Utacia Krol, for the Revelator
How drones can protect Amazon river dolphins. By Sophie Yao, for the Guardian.
How a scientist counted the fish in a huge marine reserve in just 8 days. By Matthew Berger, for OceansDeeply.
Where plastic goes, coral disease follows. By Andrea Thompson, for Scientific American.
Was Your Seafood Caught With Slave Labor? New Database Helps Retailers Combat Abuse. By Clare Leschin-Hoar, 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!

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.

Lessons from Puerto Rico, mutant starfish, pictures of ships, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: October 9, 2017.

Posted on October 9, 2017 by Andrew Thaler

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

A fish scientist’s 10 tips for surviving a hurricane: Lessons learned from Puerto Rico from our friends at the Fisheries Blog.
Commentary: For Hurricane-Hit Puerto Rico, an Insider’s Guide to Disaster Management by gCaptain.

The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) arrives in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Oct. 3, 2017. U.S. Navy Photo

A shark for all floods, Crowdfunding scams, old fish, bold fish, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: September 18, 2017

Posted on September 18, 2017 by Andrew Thaler

Fog Horn (A Call to Action)

The fight for our Marine National Monuments isn’t over. We finally know *some* of the contents of Zincke’s monument review memo, and it’s not great. The DOI wants to see commercial fishing return to the Pacific Remote Islands and Rose Atoll Marine National Monuments. Longline fishing in these regions has historically been conducted by foreign fishing fleets which have been documented using slave labor. Many ecologists believe that maintaining these protected zones serve as a refuge that boost populations of many important commercial fish and improve the overall health of the fishery.
Here’s the good news: Any change to monuments created under the Antiquities Act must be approved by congress. You’ve got a lot of reason to call you representatives this week, so why not add “I opposed the reintroduction of ecologically and economically destructive commercial fishing to the Pacific Remote Islands and Rose Atoll Marine National Monument.” to your script?

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

Hero Shark, the shark who shows up to every flood, ostensibly to save us all from our own hubris, has a long a fascinating history. “Shark in flooded street” wasn’t even the first time that photo was used for fake news.

Photo by Thomas P. Peschak.

NOAA’s New Weather Satellite Captured Stunning Images of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. These are amazing and terrifying.

GOES-16.

Rick MacPherson and I made a bot that generates random ocean conservation solutions from a massive archive of policy jargon. Follow @OceanCon_Bot. It is good.

Chasing Genius, aquatic brain blobs, hurricanes, bats, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: September 4, 2017

Posted on September 4, 2017 by Andrew Thaler

Fog Horn (A Call to Action)

Hurricane Harvey has passed, but its impacts will continue to be felt for years to come. There’s lots of great organizations to donate to, but in the immediate aftermath,it’s often best to donate to local relief programs that already have a ground team in place, rather than national groups that will take weeks to build up their infrastructure. I’m a fan of the Texas Diaper Bank and Portlight Inclusive Disaster Strategies, both of which serve communities that tend to be particularly vulnerable during natural disasters.
Gratuitous self promotion! The OpenCTD and Oceanography for Everyone has been selected as a finalist in National Geographic’s Chasing Genius Challenge! Please help me win the People’s Choice award by voting for the OpenCTD. Visit http://www.natgeochasinggenius.com/video/776, create or sign into your Chasing Genius account, and click the yellow star to vote on my video. Thank you!

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

It will take months, if not years, to fully understand the impacts of Hurricane Harvey, which already looks to be the costliest storm in US history. These drone videos give you some idea of the sheer scale of the damage. The Washington Post has an interactive map to help visualize what the equivalent deluge would look like around the world: What the Harvey deluge would look like where you live.