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12/25/19
12/24/19
MCMURDO OCEANOGRAPHIC OBSERVATORY - ANTARCTICA LIVE UNDERWATER SOUNDS
DISCOVER MAGAZINE - MCMURDO GET'S MAJOR OVERHAUL by Roni Dengler
A hundred or so buildings will be demolished and six new buildings will be built. This article shows renderings of the buildings to be built.
12/16/19
THE OCEAN CLEAN UP - NEW MACHINE TO CLEAN UP PLASTIC GARBAGE PATCHES
THE OCEAN CLEAN UP NON PROFIT
EXCERPT: "Plastic pollution in the world's oceans is one of the biggest environmental issues of our time, impacting more than 600 marine species.
DAILY MAIL UK on INVENTOR'S OCEAN CLEANING BOOM : BOYAN SLAT
Boyan is only twenty five years old.
Excerpt: "Having addressed issues caused by the boom's drifting speed, large waves and damage at sea, the device is now successfully helping to clean up the Pacific.
The system, which drifts slowly across the sea and is emptied by visiting ships is currently gathering together rubbish between California and Hawaii.
The device is capable of catching floating waster ranging in size from discarded fishing nets and car tired down to plastic chips one milimeter in size."
EXCERPT: "Plastic pollution in the world's oceans is one of the biggest environmental issues of our time, impacting more than 600 marine species.
DAILY MAIL UK on INVENTOR'S OCEAN CLEANING BOOM : BOYAN SLAT
Boyan is only twenty five years old.
Excerpt: "Having addressed issues caused by the boom's drifting speed, large waves and damage at sea, the device is now successfully helping to clean up the Pacific.
The system, which drifts slowly across the sea and is emptied by visiting ships is currently gathering together rubbish between California and Hawaii.
The device is capable of catching floating waster ranging in size from discarded fishing nets and car tired down to plastic chips one milimeter in size."
12/9/19
MASSIVE OCTOPUS NURSERY UNDER MONTERREY BAY
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC - DEEP SEA - OCTOPUS NURSERY
EXCERPT: All in all, King estimates that more than 1,000 octopuses known as Muuscoctopus robustus were nestled among the rocks, most of which appeared to be inverted, or turned inside out. For this species, that inside-out pose is common among females that are brooding, or protecting their growing young. In some cases, the submersible's camera could even spot tiny embryos cradled within their mother's arms.
12/5/19
12/3/19
GULF OF MEXICO LITTERED WITH CIGARETTE BUTTS and PLASTIC BOTTLES
MARINE DEBRIS NOAA: Read all about the program of debris removal and the partners.
EXCERPT: Marine debris in the Gulf of Mexico ranges from large concentrations of litter ( i.e. cigarette butts and plastic bottles) that find their way through the storm drains to the beaches to large 190 foot derelict vessels that disturb marshes and seagrass habitats. The NOAA Marine Debris Program aims to prevent and reduce marine debris in the Gulf of Mexico thorough education, research, removal, and response to large debris events. ...
EXCERPT: Marine debris in the Gulf of Mexico ranges from large concentrations of litter ( i.e. cigarette butts and plastic bottles) that find their way through the storm drains to the beaches to large 190 foot derelict vessels that disturb marshes and seagrass habitats. The NOAA Marine Debris Program aims to prevent and reduce marine debris in the Gulf of Mexico thorough education, research, removal, and response to large debris events. ...
12/1/19
11/28/19
11/26/19
BUT 977,000 SHOES and 373,000 TOOTHBRUSHES ARE SHOWING UP ON AN ISLAND IN THE INDIAN OCEAN
THE GUARDIAN ENVIRONMENT : PLASTIC ON REMOTE ISLAND IN INDIAN OCEAN
Remote islands are good indicators of what's happening with plastic pollution of the ocean and beaches effecting ocean ecology and sea life. Why? Because there aren't people picking it up and putting it in the recycling and trash where it belongs.
EXCERPT: "Our excessive and unrelenting demand for plastics, coupled with ineffective policy and waste management, has resulted in myriad negative effects on marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments, including entanglement and ingestion of debris, and subsequent exposure to plastic-associated chemicals," the report said.
EXCERPT: "Our excessive and unrelenting demand for plastics, coupled with ineffective policy and waste management, has resulted in myriad negative effects on marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments, including entanglement and ingestion of debris, and subsequent exposure to plastic-associated chemicals," the report said.
11/23/19
THE INDIAN OCEAN DOESN'T HAVE MUCH OF A GARBAGE PATCH - WHY NOT?
HAKAI MAGAZINE : INDIAN OCEAN - DISAPPEARING GARBAGE PATCH by Kimberly Riskas
EXCERPTS: According to a new study led by Mirjam van der Mheen, a doctoral candidate at the University of Western Australia, the Indian Ocean's unique geography, ocean currents, and atmospheric conditions actually appear to be preventing waste from piling up in a garbage patch. ... Since they couldn't track individual pie es of plastic, the team used the next best thing: GPS date from more than 22,000 buoys that have drifted around the oceans since 1979. Running the data through computer simulations provided a picture of how floating objects are pushed around by currents and wind.
11/21/19
THE ATLANTIC OCEAN ALSO HAS A TEXAS SIZED SEA OF PLASTIC and GARBAGE
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ON ATLANTIC OCEAN SEA OF PLASTIC
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC - ATLANTIC OCEAN GARBAGE PATCH WORSE THAN EVER by Sarah Gibbons
If you're wondering how they know read these articles!
EXCERPT from the latest!
"To look for increases in North Atlantic Ocean plastic, scientists turned to an old, reliable contraption called the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR). The torpedo-shaped contraption has been sampling the North Atlantic for plankton since the 1930's."
11/16/19
BY THE SEA by EMILY DICKINSON - POETRY
BY THE SEA
a poem by Emily Dickinson
I started early, took my dog
And visited the sea
The mermaids in the basement
Came out to look at me
And frigates in the upper floor
Extended hempen hands
Presuming me to be a mouse
Aground, upon the sands
But no man moved me till the tide
Went past my simple shoe
And past my apron and my belt
And past my bodice too
And made as he would eat me up
As wholly as a dew
Upon a dandelion's sleeve
And then I started too
And he - he followed close behind
I felt his silver heel
Upon my ankle, - then my shoes
Would overflow with pearl
Until we met the solid town
No man he seemed to know
And bowing with a mighty look
At me, the sea withdrew
***** In this poem, the poet takes a walk on the beach and imagines what it would be to a mermaid. She ventures into the incoming tide...
a poem by Emily Dickinson
I started early, took my dog
And visited the sea
The mermaids in the basement
Came out to look at me
And frigates in the upper floor
Extended hempen hands
Presuming me to be a mouse
Aground, upon the sands
But no man moved me till the tide
Went past my simple shoe
And past my apron and my belt
And past my bodice too
And made as he would eat me up
As wholly as a dew
Upon a dandelion's sleeve
And then I started too
And he - he followed close behind
I felt his silver heel
Upon my ankle, - then my shoes
Would overflow with pearl
Until we met the solid town
No man he seemed to know
And bowing with a mighty look
At me, the sea withdrew
***** In this poem, the poet takes a walk on the beach and imagines what it would be to a mermaid. She ventures into the incoming tide...
11/12/19
11/11/19
11/10/19
11/9/19
11/7/19
11/6/19
11/5/19
11/1/19
10/15/19
10/9/19
CLEAN BEACH POSTER CONTEST - 3rd to 5th GRADERS ENTER SOON!
BEACHES - LA COUNTY - CLEAN BEACH POSTER CONTEST
Department of Beaches and Harbors! is sponsoring this contest and if you win, your art will appear on trash cans!
This site has a video and some fun activities for children.
Department of Beaches and Harbors! is sponsoring this contest and if you win, your art will appear on trash cans!
This site has a video and some fun activities for children.
10/5/19
TINY SEA TURTLE DEAD WITH PIECES OF PLASTIC IN IT"S LITTLE BODY
DAILY MAIL: TINY TURTLE DEAD FLORIDA BEACH - 104 PIECES OF PLASTIC
It would fit in the palm of your hand so this little turtle was stuffed with plastic.
It would fit in the palm of your hand so this little turtle was stuffed with plastic.
10/2/19
TEN RIVERS IN THIS WORLD BRING 95% OF PLASTIC INTO OCEANS
DAILY MAIL SCIENCE ; TEN RIVERS BRING MOST PLASTIC INTO OCEAN By Shivali Best
EXCERPT: Now a study shows the top 10 rivers - eight of which are in Asia - accounted for 88 to 95% of the total global load because of the mismanagement of waste.
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10/1/19
9/28/19
COLORING SEA LIFE BY NUMBERS
9/16/19
BAHAMAS - MUCH DESTROYED but MUCH IS NOT : HURRICANE DORIAN
OFFICIAL SITE OF THE BAHAMA ISLANDS
Did you know that the Bahama Islands - 700 of them - are in the ATLANTIC OCEAN and are NOT in the Caribbean ?
I must have read a hundred articles and watched as many videos, searching for NEW information, about the oil spill and the destruction that Hurricane Dorian caused, since the Bahamas claims to have the clearest water on the planet and it's clear that it will take millions - maybe billions of dollars to rebuild Abaco Island and some other parts of the Bahamas. It's so frightening, the changes in weather, the increased frequency and intensity of storms. People are experiencing intense suffering and loss.
But once you realize how spread out these islands are, you realize that you really can still enjoy much of the Bahamas. And so - weather permitting - I agree that vacationing in the Bahama Islands and stimulating their economy is something you can do to help the people of that nation of islands.
9/14/19
9/13/19
SEA OTTERS IN NATURE - CLEAN - INSULATED - FLOATING
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SEA OTTER INFORMATION
Twenty two years old is an average lifespan in the wild for SEA OTTERS, an aquatic member of the weasal family who was once hunted to near extinction for their fur.
9/12/19
SEA OTTERS : CHARLIE THE OLDEST LIVED TO 22 IN CAPTIVITY
LA TIMES : CHARLIE, OLDEST SEA OTTER IN CAPTIVITY DIES AT 22 By Jaclyn Cosgrove
Charlie was rescued during an El Nino year as a pup and lived out his life at the Aquarium of the Pacific, where he participated in science experiments.
Charlie was rescued during an El Nino year as a pup and lived out his life at the Aquarium of the Pacific, where he participated in science experiments.
9/6/19
SUMMER ENDS - SCHOOL BEGINS - REMEMBER TO REUSE and RECYCLE
Those of you who live by a beach probably know that you should not only take home with you anything you brought in, because even beach garbage cans with open lids can become scattered contents, but also take any other refuse you find, in particular glass, metal, and PLASTIC. Plastic can break down in the waves and against the rocks but into MICRO-PARTICLES that are digested when sea life eats and breathes.
MICROPARTICLES of plastic also make it into the FOOD CHAIN, and HUMANS have been tested and found to have plastic within their bodies.
This is especially serious when found in women's breasts.
It's possible that microparticles and other chemicals (after all plastic is a chemical) are causing CANCER in humans.
If possible, take water to the beach or out with you in containers that are not made of PLASTIC. Glass does break and the lids can be a problem, but clean water in clean glass containers is preferable to plastic or metal.
Some of my friends have bought reusuable aluminum water bottles.
I know aluminum is also controversial but I believe PLASTIC is the greater problem.
Siren
MICROPARTICLES of plastic also make it into the FOOD CHAIN, and HUMANS have been tested and found to have plastic within their bodies.
This is especially serious when found in women's breasts.
It's possible that microparticles and other chemicals (after all plastic is a chemical) are causing CANCER in humans.
If possible, take water to the beach or out with you in containers that are not made of PLASTIC. Glass does break and the lids can be a problem, but clean water in clean glass containers is preferable to plastic or metal.
Some of my friends have bought reusuable aluminum water bottles.
I know aluminum is also controversial but I believe PLASTIC is the greater problem.
Siren
8/31/19
8/22/19
BEACH CLEAN UP!
If you live near a shore, chances are there is some volunteer group that you can get together with to clean up the beach. Plastics are especially important to retrieve from the beaches, but all fast food containers, cold drink cans and bottles, everything you bring in, should be picked up and taken to a recycling place or put into home bins for pick up.
Group efforts give you a chance to meet other people who are ecology and animal welfare advocates. But if EVERYONE was mindful about taking all their trash home with them in the first place the beaches would have less refuse on them to clean up between group efforts.
Remember that it takes forever for plastics to degrade and even small worn pieces can be swallowed and kill fish and other sea creatures and birds.
8/14/19
8/9/19
TWELVE FOOT LONG GIANT SQUID CAPTURED ON FILM in GULF OF MEXICO
NEWSWEEK - RARE VIDEO OF 12 FOOT LONG GIANT SQUID by Aristos Georgiou
EXCERPT: "You feel very alive, " Nathan Robinson, one of the scientists aboard the expedition said in a statement, describing the moment that he saw the footage. "There's something instinctual about these animals that captures the imagination of everyone - the wonder that there are these huge animals out there on our planet that we know so little about, and that we've only caught on camera a couple of times."
The Medusa Camera System which uses red light in dark waters that won't scare the creatures was used.
EXCERPT: "You feel very alive, " Nathan Robinson, one of the scientists aboard the expedition said in a statement, describing the moment that he saw the footage. "There's something instinctual about these animals that captures the imagination of everyone - the wonder that there are these huge animals out there on our planet that we know so little about, and that we've only caught on camera a couple of times."
8/8/19
WATCH A RARE VIDEO of a RARE TRANSPARENT PIGLET SQUID!
MOTHER NATURE NETWORK : TRANSPARENT PIGLET SQUID by Ben Bolton
EXCERPT: The piglet squid is able to regulate boyancey with an ammonia-filled internal chamber, and it often floats with its tentacles above its head as you can see in the video (at the website above.) The video was recorded at about 4,544 feet below the ocean near Palmyra Atoll...
8/3/19
WHALE MOMS WHISPER TO BABES TO AVOID PREDATORY ORCAS
NEW SCIENTIST - WHALE MOMS WHISPER by Micheal La Page
EXCERPT: The whales feed near Antarctica during the summer and then migrate north to coastal waters during the winter to give birth and breed. The mothers and calves remain there for three months and often keep very close to shore, just beyond the breaking waves.
It is suspected they do this because the noise of the waves helps mask any sounds they make and thus makes it harder for predators such as killer whales and sharks to find them. The findings of Mia Nielson of Aarhus University in Denmark and colleagues suggest this is indeed the case.
8/1/19
7/29/19
GLOW IN THE DARK SHARK IS TINY and NEWLY DISCOVERED
SMITHSONIAN: TINY SHARK SPECIES by Brigit Katz
It may look like a tiny WHALE but it's a SHARK and it GLOWS IN THE DARK!
EXCERPT: The animal stretches just five and a half inches long and because of its bulbous head, looks a bit like a tiny whale, It has rows of small but sharp teeth, and like the 1979 specimen (which proved to be a different creature) two small pockets that produce a luminous fluid - a feature that may aid in attracting prey or eluding predators," according to the authors of the new study...
It may look like a tiny WHALE but it's a SHARK and it GLOWS IN THE DARK!
EXCERPT: The animal stretches just five and a half inches long and because of its bulbous head, looks a bit like a tiny whale, It has rows of small but sharp teeth, and like the 1979 specimen (which proved to be a different creature) two small pockets that produce a luminous fluid - a feature that may aid in attracting prey or eluding predators," according to the authors of the new study...
7/27/19
CHIMERA CRAB is 90 MILLION YEARS OLD (SEE THE FOSSIL) and LOOKS CARTOONISH
SCIENCE ALERT - FOSSILIZED CRAB "STRAIGHT OUT OF PIXAR" by Lindsey Bever of the Washington Post
EXCERPT: This crab sported a tiny lobster-eaque shell, with legs flattened like oars and huge Pound Puppies-style peepers that protruded from its head - a trait that indicates the creature used its eyes actively for whatever it did, researchers said. But its not only the critter's cartoonish appearance that has some researchers tickled, it's also what the ancient animal means to science.
EXCERPT: This crab sported a tiny lobster-eaque shell, with legs flattened like oars and huge Pound Puppies-style peepers that protruded from its head - a trait that indicates the creature used its eyes actively for whatever it did, researchers said. But its not only the critter's cartoonish appearance that has some researchers tickled, it's also what the ancient animal means to science.
7/25/19
GREY WHALE DEATHS LINKED TO CLIMATE CHANGE and WARMER OCEAN TEMPERATURES
PHYS ORG : GRAY WHALE DEATHS -STRANDED WHALES
by Lynda V. Mapes.
EXCERPT: As if gray whales didn't already have enough troubles, with transient killer whales preying on their calves as the mighty grays swim north in their annual migration from their birthing lagoons in Baja. But now, gray whale mothers in particular, depleted by the demands of lactation, are starving too.
by Lynda V. Mapes.
EXCERPT: As if gray whales didn't already have enough troubles, with transient killer whales preying on their calves as the mighty grays swim north in their annual migration from their birthing lagoons in Baja. But now, gray whale mothers in particular, depleted by the demands of lactation, are starving too.
7/1/19
SEA SHELL COLLECTION
Trying to find shells isn't as easy as it used to be.
In the past shell shops sold shells that had been dredged off the ocean floor.
This decimated their population and habitat.
Shell Collecting includes not only identifying the shell, but recording when and where it was found.
Siren here! It's April 2022 and I want to say that shell collecting that includes killing the sea creatures within the shell is harmful to the species as well as the entire ocean ecology.
6/26/19
HELPING THE CAUSE - GRUNION EGG HATCHING AT CABRILLO MARINE AQUARIUM
CABRILLO MARINE AQUARIUM - GRUNION ETC.
I have always wanted to witness the grunion fish who procreate by coming out of the water and laying eggs on beaches before moving on, but have never.
We visited the CABRILLO (Beach) MARINE AQUARIUM recently and were happy to partake in an activity, hatching grunion eggs. Thousands of these eggs are left on beaches and fertilized there and these were collected in glass baby food type jars full of sea water. They appeared to be little beads of light if you held up the jar.
A group of us were instructed to shake the jars gently, as if the sea waves were stirring up the water, and before out eyes the fish hatched. You could see their little black eyes and they were swimming around in the jars, which were collected to be taken to the beach and let go!
I have always wanted to witness the grunion fish who procreate by coming out of the water and laying eggs on beaches before moving on, but have never.
We visited the CABRILLO (Beach) MARINE AQUARIUM recently and were happy to partake in an activity, hatching grunion eggs. Thousands of these eggs are left on beaches and fertilized there and these were collected in glass baby food type jars full of sea water. They appeared to be little beads of light if you held up the jar.
A group of us were instructed to shake the jars gently, as if the sea waves were stirring up the water, and before out eyes the fish hatched. You could see their little black eyes and they were swimming around in the jars, which were collected to be taken to the beach and let go!
6/12/19
6/9/19
5/15/19
SLICK THE OLDEST SEAL LION - 30 YEARS OLD - DIES IN MILWAUKEE ZOO
WISCONSIN : OLDEST SEA LION - 30 YEARS OLD - DIES IN MILWAUKEE ZOO
EXCERPT He was the dominate male at Oceans of Fun, the marine mammal conservation and education facility, and sired 8 pups. Slick had an affinity for people, zoo officials said, and he enjoyed being with his trainers for daily back-rubs and affection.
EXCERPT He was the dominate male at Oceans of Fun, the marine mammal conservation and education facility, and sired 8 pups. Slick had an affinity for people, zoo officials said, and he enjoyed being with his trainers for daily back-rubs and affection.
5/1/19
4/22/19
SEA LION NIBBLING ON DIVER FINS
DAILY MAIL - SEA LIONS NIBBLING ON DIVER'S FIN
EXCERPT: The diver reckons the sea lion didn't want to actually eat the fin - rather, it was the animal's version of playing.
EXCERPT: The diver reckons the sea lion didn't want to actually eat the fin - rather, it was the animal's version of playing.
4/20/19
PREGNANCY TEST FOR HUMPBACK WHALES
NATURE : WHALE PREGNANCY TEST
EXCERPT: From a boat, a crew fires a dart into the body of a humpback to obtain a tissue sample.... the researchers measure concentrations of the hormone progesterone in the animal's blubber.
EXCERPT: From a boat, a crew fires a dart into the body of a humpback to obtain a tissue sample.... the researchers measure concentrations of the hormone progesterone in the animal's blubber.
4/17/19
DEAD GRAY WHALES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - BLUBBER TESTS - STARVATION?
DAILY BREEZE : DEAD GREY WHALE HERMOSA BEACH
EXCERPT: But researchers will most likely take blubber samples to determine the cause of the whale's demise, said Peter Wallerstein, director of the nonprofit Marine Animal Rescue...
EXCERPT: But researchers will most likely take blubber samples to determine the cause of the whale's demise, said Peter Wallerstein, director of the nonprofit Marine Animal Rescue...
3/9/19
3/1/19
2/14/19
2/4/19
IDENTIFYING WHALES BY SPOUT and FIN
ENVIRONMENT GOV AU: IDENTIFYING WHALES BY SPOUT and FIN
and how long they are under water.
This morning I saw spouting, and it seemed that either the whale was frequently doing so or there were more than one out there. The water was chopping and they were maybe a mile away, but clearly there were spouts. That it's grey whale migration time doesn't mean other whales are out there!
and how long they are under water.
This morning I saw spouting, and it seemed that either the whale was frequently doing so or there were more than one out there. The water was chopping and they were maybe a mile away, but clearly there were spouts. That it's grey whale migration time doesn't mean other whales are out there!
2/2/19
1/30/19
DOLPHINS FEEDING IN THE SEA KELP - WATCHING FOR WHALES
Though not in earnest, I've been looking over the sea cliff to see what I can see. In the last week I met a couple people who said they saw migrating whales in the Pacific near enough to shore. So I'm inspired to keep looking.
I think maybe I saw a small black whale or two feeding in the kept beds. I'm pretty sure I wasn't seeing a skin diver in a black wet suit because of the arch of back. But to identify these would be impossible, just to say the black was black.
This morning - a small pod of dolphins - grey - and the cry of a single sea lion.
I think maybe I saw a small black whale or two feeding in the kept beds. I'm pretty sure I wasn't seeing a skin diver in a black wet suit because of the arch of back. But to identify these would be impossible, just to say the black was black.
This morning - a small pod of dolphins - grey - and the cry of a single sea lion.
1/20/19
FAST OCEAN WARMING EFFECTS FISH PROTEIN FOOD SOURCE
NY TIMES : OCEAN WARMING FASTER THAN
EXCERPT: People in the tropics, who rely heavily on fish for protein, could be hard hit, said Kathryn Matthews, deputy chief scientist for the conservation group Oceana. “The actual ability of the warm oceans to produce food is much lower, so that means they’re going to be more quickly approaching food insecurity,” she said.
Because they play such a critical role in global warming, oceans are one of the most important areas of research for climate scientists. Average ocean temperatures are also a consistent way to track the effects of greenhouse gas emissions because they are not influenced much by short-term weather patterns, Mr. Hausfather said.
1/15/19
WHALE WATCHING SEASON IS NOW
There are so MANY POSTS about WHALES in SIRENS LINK TO SEA BLOGSPOT, that using the search feature embedded in the front page will bring them up. Will you do that little bit of research?
1/1/19
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