kevin z | August 12, 2008YEAH!!!!! One of my favorite conferences (naturally) put up the first curricular for the 4th International Symposium on Chemosynthesis-Based Ecosystems. It was formerly called the International Symposium on Vent and Seep Biology, renamed to accommodate whale falls and emphasize the common link to these amazing deep sea habitats. The conference occurs every 3 years. I went in 2005 when it was in La Jolla and it was very interesting! Most of the papers are preliminary results from works in progress and it is very grad-student friendly offering many opportunities to interact with leading PI's in…
kevin z | August 12, 2008BBC reports:"The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species reveals that some large species, like humpbacks, have seen numbers increase.
However, it warns that smaller species, including river dolphins, have declined as a result of human actions.
The IUCN added that it was unable to assess more than half of the world's cetaceans because of a lack of data.
(snip)
The findings are likely to impact on the current stand-off between pro- and anti-whaling nations over the merits of a global moratorium on commercial whaling.
Pro-hunting nations could use the assessment to argue that the humpback whales'…
petnoyer | August 11, 2008
Can you name the genus of this deep-sea squid?
This is one of those WTF videos that came flying across my desktop today. I had never heard of the genus or seen the video 'til this morning, but even if you don't study squid, there's no forgetting this one. The video is attributed to Shell, from the Perdido section of Alaminos Canyon at 7800 feet depth in the Gulf of Mexico. MBARI has more footage here.
cmcclain | August 11, 2008The Blue Economy has started a list of hybrid sea going vessels. With with research institutes and industry starting to feel the crunch there seems to at least something other than apathy for the issue. The list is below the fold.
The African Cats hybrid Fast Cat 435 Vector K: The vessel combines a lithium-ion battery or an absorbed lead-acid glass mat battery with newly designed lightweight brushless electric motors that recharge while sailing. The version weighs less and sails faster mainly due to the lack of diesel engine. LEDs replace all external and internal lighting. The best part…
cmcclain | August 11, 2008Well not everything technically but copepods do. You may see poop but I see the beginning of a long happy process that ends on the deep-sea floor with an animal and a full tummy. Hat tip to Scribal Terror for bringing this to my attention.
cmcclain | August 10, 2008The National Oceanography Centre in Southampton is leading an expedition to the Cayman Trough to explore the world's deepest volcanic ridge. The will be using their new autonomous vehicle, Autosub6000, the ISIS.
kevin z | August 9, 2008We've talked about deep-diving seals here before. Now it appears oceanography is being outsourced to Antarctica. Grad students beware, seals are the latest species to steal deep-sea jobs away from hard-working americans! The Sunday Times UK reports:"SCIENTISTS are uncovering the deepest secrets of the freezing Antarctic waters by enlisting elephant seals to carry probes to places never before reached by humans.
The seals' diving ability is being used to collect data from far beneath the ice shelves of the Antarctic coastlines as well as from the open sea.
The creatures can reach depths of 6,…
cmcclain | August 8, 2008
It may have not smelled like a new car but it definitely smelled new. Yes we did get a new ROV here at MBARI! The new ROV will replace the beloved Tiburon that has been here since 1997 exploring every nook and cranny of the Northeast Pacific.
Why the new ROV? Because we can! Serious though the new ROV is more powerful and will able to carry heavier science equipment. However, the new ROV is currently nameless. A list of possible names is being compiled based on suggestions from MBARI's staff and visitors to MBARI's open house. You can feel free to suggest some name here and I will…
petnoyer | August 8, 2008There are a few theories about why sea turtles make occasional excursions into very deep (> 1000 m) waters of the bathyal zone. These involve escape from predation, thermoregulation, and prey availability. In the first two scenarios, sharks are fewer in deep-water, so turtles can evade predation and "cool off" at the same time. Like ladies tanning on the balcony. In the third scenario, sea turtles are foraging. New research suggests this theory is half-right.
We touched on this a year ago during Megavertebrate Week noting the abundance of deep sponges in certain habitats in the comment…
cmcclain | August 8, 2008
Home decorations to make you feel guilty. No if they only would make these in the form of floor mats for SUV's.
Link via Neatorama via Like Cool
petnoyer | August 8, 2008Rick MacPherson hosts this week's TGIF video at Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice, and Sunsets. He is advertising the Pelagic Magic Black Water Dive, a special night dive from Jack's Diving Locker in Kona, Hawaii where you can hang on a string in 60ft. of water with a little flashlight. The dive boat's called Sharkbait. Just kidding. Rick has a poll asking whether he should raise the courage, but the video shows at least two dozen stunning reasons to try it.
petnoyer | August 7, 2008
Welker Seamount peaks around 700m depth in the Northeast Pacific. Pillow lava is pictured here at 2700m depth, indicating an eruption on the seamount flank. The base is ~3500m. Gorgonians have settled nearby. Unidentified hexactinellid sponges with crabs and anemones are part of the habitat. This one below is relatively large. The lasers are set 10cm apart. This is one of many similar microhabitats at this depth range on the Northeast Pacific seamounts. Every sponge is an island.
These image are from Alvin Dive 4033 on the NOAA Gulf of Alaska 2004 Expedition, courtesy of NOAA's Office of…
cmcclain | August 6, 2008
When I do deep-sea research, I want to do it in style. It may be salty, dirty, rough work with long hours but there is no excuse for not being civilized. That is why I always wear a three button suit and ascot. I require regular breaks with dainty cookies and espresso. We celebrate the end of the cruise with a Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Rose '98. However, the research vessel doesn't always match my sophisticated taste. That is why I am planning to purchase the Raven Yacht when it becomes something more than a concept. No specs yet but I am sure it will be marvelous! Designed by…
petnoyer | August 6, 2008One of the best things about hot days in the summertime is you get to sit around watching movies all day. ScienCentral is offering exclusive footage and interviews from the upcoming IMAX 3D production "Under the Sea 3D" featuring cinematography's sweethearts Michelle and Howard Hall talking about what it's like to work in 50 feet of water with a 1200 lb. camera that shoots 3 minutes of film.
Howard and Michelle Hall are to me what Jacques Cousteau is to the Natural Patriot. They improved on his tradition, but don't necessarily appear to be having quite as much fun, you know, with the wine…
cmcclain | August 5, 2008The Te Papa Squid webcast of the colossal squid dissection is now up for your long term viewing pleasure. To bad smell-o-vision still isn't a reality or you could really "live" the entire experience.
cmcclain | August 5, 2008Listen. I know hot water, mainly because I am always in it. A new study reports the hottest water ever recorded 464 degrees C (867.2 F). That so hot the water is in the vapor-phase supercritical region (say three time out loud), basically somewhere between gas and liquid. But doesn't water boil, i.e. go into the gas phase, at 99.97 degrees C? It does at 1 atm but at 3000 meters the increased pressure allows water to stay a liquid at higher temperatures.
Of course all of this reminds me of the classic SNL skit.
petnoyer | August 4, 2008Think of an aquatic habitat as far away from the deep-sea as you can get without coming up on land, and we will find a connection to the deep-sea. River rock = settlement substrate. Kelp forest = urchin food. Beaches = spawning grounds for tuna food. Mangroves = seafood ... food.
Bumper stickers in the Carolinas say it best - "no wetlands, no seafood."
Now imagine for one moment that you actually depend on the ocean for your daily meal. That you couldn't go to the grocery store, or even a restaurant, for seafood. And, it's getting harder and harder to find your seafood. That's the story I…
kevin z | August 4, 2008Lots of cool stuff from New Scientist in the last week! Don't have much time to offer an analysis of them as I am down in North Carolina house-hunting. But I encourage you to "tawk amongst ya selves". Here are some wet offerings:
Giant Vacuum Cleaner Leaves Reefs Thriving"To create the Super Sucker, biologists modified a system designed for gold dredging. Seaweed from reefs is sucked up and dumped onto mesh sorting tables on a barge. Native organisms inadvertently vacuumed are removed and returned to the reef and the seaweed is eventually used by farmers as fertiliser.
(snip)
The researchers…