Craig is temporarily a post-doctoral fellow at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute who is looking for a permanent position. He spends most of his time balancing his overwhelming geekdom with normalcy so he can function in the real world. Luckily his wife likes his geekiness.
Peter Etnoyer is a Graduate Research Associate at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He studies deep corals and ocean fronts, and he loves to be on the water.
Kevin Zelnio is a Graduate Student Researcher at Penn State studying the ecology of hydrothermal vent and methane seep communities. He raises awareness of the plight of the spineless through folk music.
Via Rick, news on the wire is that the deepest spot in the ocean may soon be included in a marine monument.
As mentioned earlier today, my Saipan colleague Angelo Villagomez is leading the charge on the creation of a new marine monument in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The proposed monument would in part recognize the significance of the Mariana Trench, which at a depth of 6.8 miles is the deepest part of the world's oceans, and the deepest location on the surface of the Earth's crust.
The deepest part of the ocean, and deepest part in the earth's crust, is Marianas Trench at 10,911m (6.78 miles). In 1960, Picard and Walsh reached this spot in the Trieste. JAMSTECS's Kaiko, an unmanned ROV, repeatedly has visited the deepest part of the trench. Rick lists the "top five reasons that a Mariana Trench marine monument would be kick-ass". His number three "Mariana Trench provides convenient access to Earth core in event that mantle circulation needs jump start, a la The Core" However, because of the equatorial bulge (yes this post is laden with innuendo) you are closer to the earth's core when you in the Arctic abyssal plain (~4,500m; 3,947 miles from the core) than in the Marianas Trench (3,955,9 miles). The best of the list is new proposed slogan "The CNMI: You'll Love How Deep We Go". Other things to add to the list...
6. We can totally get this rockin' group to do the promos
7. We can protect Meg's habitat
8. DSN can shamelessly talk about the monument in post after post, driving up our hits, and putting more money in our pockets.
9. If the monument goes up we can spend long hours in workshops about how to "frame the issue", create an internet feud, and then tell others to F#$@ You Very Much.
10. One more reason I need to buy this.
Environment
Comments
#11 - I really dig Mariana's Trench....
Too bad Mariana never returns my calls.
(Tip your bartenders and waitresses, please.)
Posted by: Mike Haubrich, FCD | March 26, 2008 5:53 PM
Hey Craig....
Kudos for giving props to a local Vancouver Band! I've often thought of asking them to write a theme song I can use for my oceanography course.
J.
Posted by: John Dower | March 26, 2008 6:22 PM
innuendo indeed!
getting to the core via the trench?
equatorial bulge?
all that's missing from this post is a reference to an abyssal camel-toe and it'd be perfect...
Posted by: Rick MacPherson | March 27, 2008 12:56 AM
Hi Craig,
The Marianas Trench Marine Monument is somewhat of a misnomer when you consider that very little of the proposed Mariana Trench Marine Monument actually includes the Marianas Trench subduction zone. I would consider it more of a marketing ploy.
J. Gourley
Posted by: J. Gourley | March 29, 2008 9:15 PM
I appreciate the cynicism. However, I don't think its a marketing ploy. Although the proposed monument doesn't include all of the Trench, it does cover approximately 1/3 of the northern MTSZ. That being said, if the selling the Marianas Trench is what it takes to get people onboard to protect to establish a conservation area then by all mean lets get some T-shirts made up with with pictures of the trench.
Posted by: CR McClain | March 29, 2008 10:56 PM