The fate of the deep sea is being decided behind closed doors, plastic in the deepest trench, memories of whales, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: March 4, 2019

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

The voyage meant scientists could construct a 3D map of the hole. Picture: Thomas Bodhi Wade/Aquatica Submarines

Jetsam (what we’re reading from around the web)

“I imagine pollution in the Mariana Trench is an abstract concept for most people, but for those of us living in the Mariana Islands this has consequences for what ends up on our dinner plates,” says Angelo Villagomez, an indigenous Chamorro from the Mariana Islands who works for the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy Project. “So what can we do? The International Union for the Conservation of Nature recommends we protect 30 percent of every marine habitat to address human impacts, but that will only help if we’re also sustainably managing the remaining 70 percent, reducing carbon emissions, and limiting the pollution being dumped in the ocean in the first place.”

source
Scanning electron microscope examinations of pteropod shells show how the calcium carbonate dissolves in acidified water. In the first image, a healthy shell is smooth and full, while in the second, a closer zoom on a shell that had been exposed to acidified water shows it to be rough and pockmarked. Images by Nina Bednarsek

Lagan (what we’re reading from the peer-reviewed literature)

Feel free to share your own Foghorns, Flotsam, Jetsam, Lagan, Shipping News, Driftwood, and Derelicts in the comments below. If you enjoy Southern Fried Science, consider contributing to our Patreon campaign. For just $5 per month, you can support the SFS Writers Fund, which helps compensate your favorite ocean science and conservation bloggers for their efforts.