Skip to content

Southern Fried Science

Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS

Tag: oceanography

Open-source science hardware for an Open Ocean: Reflecting on the Year of the OpenCTD

Posted on January 8, 2025January 8, 2025 By Andrew Thaler
Open-source science hardware for an Open Ocean: Reflecting on the Year of the OpenCTD
Conservation, Education, Featured

At the beginning of 2024, I made a commitment to make it the year of the OpenCTD. A CTD is an oceanographic instrument that measures salinity, temperature, and depth. It is an essential tool in the conduct and marine scientific research. Access to CTDs often present a barrier to communities and knowledge seekers interested in … Read More “Open-source science hardware for an Open Ocean: Reflecting on the Year of the OpenCTD” »

Oceanography’s Diversity Deficit

Posted on February 27, 2024February 28, 2024 By Kersey Sturdivant
Oceanography’s Diversity Deficit
Academic life, Education, Featured, Popular Culture, Science

Centuries of exclusion have resulted in a tangible human diversity deficit, where the diversity of oceanographers does not represent the global diversity of people impacted by ocean processes. Let’s explore the history of ocean science to understand how it ties into and influences the lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in modern day oceanography. … Read More “Oceanography’s Diversity Deficit” »

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

Posted on September 4, 2017September 3, 2017 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

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.

Read More “Chasing Genius, aquatic brain blobs, hurricanes, bats, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: September 4, 2017” »

Fun Science FRIEDay – Open-Acess Science for the Masses

Posted on July 15, 2016 By Kersey Sturdivant
Oceanography for Everyone, Open Science, Uncategorized

The oceans belong to all of us. With this simple statement in mind, the Oceanography for Everyone (OfE) project was launched with the goal of making ocean science more accessible. One of the biggest hurdles in conducting ocean science is instrumentation costs, and 4 years ago the OfE team began trying to make one of the most basic ocean science tools, the CTD (a water quality sensor that measures Conductivity-Temperature-Depth), cheaper… much, much cheaper!

Read More “Fun Science FRIEDay – Open-Acess Science for the Masses” »

How to brew beer in a coffee maker, using only materials commonly found on a modestly sized oceanographic research vessel.

Posted on February 8, 2010December 6, 2011 By Andrew Thaler 36 Comments on How to brew beer in a coffee maker, using only materials commonly found on a modestly sized oceanographic research vessel.
Science

The Flip - One research vessel you may a drink on
The Flip - one research vessel that mandates a drink

Originally published on April 26, 2009 How to brew beer in a coffee maker, using only materials commonly found on a modestly sized oceanographic research vessel has been one of our most popular posts. Over the past year, through experimentation and advice from fellow scientists and brewers, I’ve modified the recipe. The biggest criticism was that in order to make good beer, you needed to smuggle hops aboard. “Well, if you can bring hops aboard” they ask, “what’s to stop you from bringing any other brew supplies aboard?” The answer is nothing. So we went back to the brew pot, experimented with new reagents, and bring you now the definitive guide to brewing beer in a coffee maker, using only materials commonly found on a modestly sized oceanographic research vessel.

Read More “How to brew beer in a coffee maker, using only materials commonly found on a modestly sized oceanographic research vessel.” »

Recent Popular Posts

What Ocean Ramsey does is not shark science or conservation: some brief thoughts on "the Shark Whisperer" documentaryWhat Ocean Ramsey does is not shark science or conservation: some brief thoughts on "the Shark Whisperer" documentaryJuly 2, 2025David Shiffman
Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryShark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryAugust 10, 2014Michelle Jewell
Mermaids: The New Evidence is a Fake DocumentaryMermaids: The New Evidence is a Fake DocumentaryMay 28, 2013Andrew Thaler
What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?November 8, 2013David Shiffman
Your car has just been crushed by hagfish: Frequently Asked QuestionsYour car has just been crushed by hagfish: Frequently Asked QuestionsJuly 13, 2017Andrew Thaler
"Twitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Bluesky:" Our new survey shows that scientists no longer find Twitter professionally useful or pleasant"Twitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Bluesky:" Our new survey shows that scientists no longer find Twitter professionally useful or pleasantAugust 19, 2025David Shiffman
What is a Sand Shark?What is a Sand Shark?November 12, 2017Chuck Bangley
I can serve on your graduate thesis committee. Here’s what you can expect of me, and what I expect in return.I can serve on your graduate thesis committee. Here’s what you can expect of me, and what I expect in return.October 16, 2025David Shiffman
I built the cheapest 3D printer available online so that you don't have to: iNSTONE Desktop DIY (review)I built the cheapest 3D printer available online so that you don't have to: iNSTONE Desktop DIY (review)March 14, 2019Andrew Thaler
Jumping the shark: New study reviews the breaching behavior of sharks and raysJumping the shark: New study reviews the breaching behavior of sharks and raysSeptember 19, 2024David Shiffman
Subscribe to our RSS Feed for updates whenever new articles are published.

We recommend Feedly for RSS management. It's like Google Reader, except it still exists.

Southern Fried Science

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS


If you enjoy Southern Fried Science, consider contributing to our Patreon campaign.

Copyright © 2025 Southern Fried Science.

Theme: Oceanly Premium by ScriptsTown