It Came From the Sea

BREAKING NEWS FROM TWO WEEKS AGO: Where did all those Alaskan snow crabs go? Some say climate change, others say UFOs, can science ever really know? And what all these eels? We know they end up in European rivers as adults, but no one has ever seen two eels in the wild boning down UNTIL NOW. More at 11. References: https://www.livescience.com/billions-snow-crabs-vanish-from-bering-sea https://twitter.com/Unpop_Science/status/1581660268555251712 https://peer.org/alaska-red-king-crab-dethroned-by-scientific-fraud/ https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-track-eels-to-their-ocean-breeding-grounds-in-world-first https://www.livescience.com/47333-155-year-old-eel.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eel_life_history https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brantevik_Eel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_eel#Life_history https://www.embrc.eu/newsroom/news/ernst-johannes-schmidt-detective-solved-eel-question-little-bit-help-good-carlsberg https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ancient-mystery-of-european-eel-migration-unravelled-to-help-combat-decline-of-critically-endangered-species

Remember when we talked about deep ocean circulation? Well, today we're going to talk about how one determined nerd with a bachelor's in Astronomy was the first person to figure out what was going on down there. Henry Stommel solved an ocean mystery, using math, decades before data would exist to support this prediction, and he didn't even have a PhD. Sources: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/oceandepth.html https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_currents/05conveyor2.html https://stommel100.whoi.edu/background/

Finishing out Ch. 1 of Dr. Naomi Oreskes 'Science on a Mission' we discuss how the petty rivalries and perceived slights of the previous episode would level up from workplace tension to matters of national security for Harald Sverdrup. Also, we find out Roger Revelle was a babe. Resources: Oreskes, Naomi. Science on a Mission: How Military Funding Shaped What We Do and Don’t Know About the Ocean. 2021. Chicago University Press. https://svenhedinfoundation.org/biography/sven-hedin-biography/

For humans, gender and sex expression are complicated and intensely personal parts of our identity and understanding of self. For a lot of fish, it's more of a vibe. Happy Pride <3 Resources: https://www.nature.com/articles/srep35461 https://evolution.berkeley.edu/fisheye-view-tree-of-life/gender-bending-fish/ https://marinemadness.blog/2020/02/04/parrotfish-the-gender-fluid-narcoleptics-that-poop-out-beaches/ https://www.karger.com/Article/Fulltext/449297

In the first chapter of Dr. Naomi Oreskes Science on a Mission we are introduced to some of the most iconic names and places in Ocean Science lore. Today, we're looking at pre-WWII oceanography to get a feel for where we started and how we get to a future that sees the US Navy as the biggest source of funding for ocean research in the middle of the 1900s. We'll also be getting a first look at how all that office drama you hate so much somehow looks even dumber when it's coming from...

With the blessing of its author, Dr. Naomi Oreskes, Sarah and Sam will be spending some time digging into Science on a Mission. We'll be exploring ocean science in the cold war and how military funding (particularly from the US Navy) impacted the science that was being done and the questions that were being asked. Feel free to find a copy and read along with us, or stick around to listen and learn as we dive into future chapters. Buy it here:...

Last time we learned that neuston exist and are grossly under appreciated. Today, we take a closer look at a few of these floating friends and ask that age old question: Can I Lick This? Will I Die? Sources: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/portuguese-man-o-war.html https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/facts/portuguese-man-of-war https://aquarium.org/tag/velella-velella/ https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/marine/colonial-creatures/wind-sailor...

Sometimes the most interesting and bizarre life is hiding right in front of us. Sam and I are back to learn about the creatures that survive, and dare we say thrive, in the most visible and least studied part of our oceans. Research for this episode by me, Sarah @barnacle_btch Production for this episode by the lovely Sarah @hikkikonormie Sources: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/ocean-cleanup-project-could-destroy-neuston/580693/...

You know how plate tectonics are definitely real and the oceans are full of seamounts and shit? Yeah, well, no one else did until 1959. Josie from A Hill to Die On joins Sarah to talk about Marie Tharp and how she provided pivotal insight into the seafloor morphology and seafloor mapping that allowed scientists to bring their understanding of how the Earth works into the 20th century. Resources: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/marie-tharp-maps-plate-tectonics-seafloor-cartography...

Did you miss us? Sarah and Sam are back to take things slow and kick off a new year by talking about sea ice, land ice, fast ice that doesn't actually go anywhere, and also mushrooms a bit. Why not. References: http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/ https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/SeaIce https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/seaice/characteristics/formation.html https://www.whoi.edu/know-your-ocean/ocean-topics/polar-research/sea-ice/sea-ice-glossary/...

Continuing our discussion of how we study the sea floor, Sarah and Sam talk about the wonders of SONAR and how sometimes scientists are really dumb for a bunch of smart people. Resources: https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/exploration-and-innovation/radar-sonar.html https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/lewis_clark01/background/seafloormapping/seafloormapping.html https://noaacoastsurvey.wordpress.com/2016/09/27/a-monumental-history/ https://www.bluehabitats.org/?page_id=1684...

It turns out ancient seafloor mapping looks a lot like seafloor mapping in the 1990s. We're starting off a short series on ocean bathymetry by talking about how we got started studying the shape of the seafloor. Resources: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=4718c81ade5e4fada01797fc175c796e https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00283/full http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Oc-Po/Ocean-Floor-Bathymetry.html...

If latitude is how far you are from the equator, why is longitude how far away we are from a town in the UK? Thumbnail only barely related. Resources https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/newsroom/blog/ordnance-datum-newlyn-100-years-old-today https://www.sea.museum/2016/06/08/where-on-earth-are-you-a-beginners-guide-to-longitude/ https://journal.hautehorlogerie.org/en/the-marine-chronometer-invention-and-rivalry-on-the-high-seas/ https://www.britannica.com/technology/chronometer...

Took a little time to discus some very good marine mammals. Resources: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/north-atlantic-right-whale https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/rare-footage-shows-endangered-north-atlantic-right-whales-hug?fbclid=IwAR0SLVq-I43U9joEiQ-yCydSN-xAW1eP8F_7GRZwC3pHB4rsEm iokYMW-Kk https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/endangered-species-conservation/north-atlantic-right-whale-calving-season-2021#right-whale-reproduction...

Have you watched Netflix's documentary Seaspiracy? If you have, I'm sorry but it was bad. If you haven't, thank god, please don't. Resources: These two were the best, I think https://www.inverse.com/science/seaspiracy-fact-check-debunked-interview https://earther.gizmodo.com/dont-watch-netflixs-seaspiracy-1846630338 https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-seaspiricy-dolphin-safe-labels-guaranteed-1579804...

Usually corporations and irresponsible governments are the ones to blame for environmental destruction, but sometimes one person can do a lot of damage by themselves. Also, there's birtherism. Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1P_QOn7ECurXx4Mqm6vi9fqaG1dsZHc6biEmNha0RshU/edit?usp=sharing Resources: https://www.propublica.org/article/hawaii-officials-promise-changes-to-seawall-policies-that-have-quickened-beach-destruction...

Sarah is joined by Joe Kassabian from The Lions Led by Donkeys podcast to discuss the infuriating reality of coastal construction. Resources: https://toolkit.climate.gov/topics/coastal-flood-risk/coastal-erosion https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/coastal-development https://explorebeaches.msi.ucsb.edu/beach-health/beach-nourishment https://www.nps.gov/articles/beach-nourishment.htm...

Rogue waves are real, and are far more common than you might think. A couple slides but no notes this week because I'm a hack and a fraud: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-A4myncaCJNk5HMt-8nuLeEUau3bBA1C1p3uQuBawZo/edit?usp=sharing

Waves are just math, but don't worry we aren't going to talk about that part (much) Resources: https://www.univie.ac.at/geographie/fachdidaktik/FD/site/external_htmls/imagers.gsfc.nasa.gov/ems/waves.html https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/waves/Lesson-1/What-is-a-Wave https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/wavesinocean.html https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_currents/03coastal1.html http://oceanmotion.org/html/background/wind-driven-surface.htm...

Tides go in, Tides go out, you can't explain that References: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/tides.html https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/predhist.html http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/observations/tides.html https://osr.org/blog/astronomy/johannes-kepler/ https://galileoandeinstein.phys.virginia.edu/1995/lectures/morekepl.html https://www.marineinsight.com/maritime-history/how-tide-predicting-machine-worked-in-the-ancient-times/...