BIRCH AQUARIUM AT SCRIPPS - SAN DIEGO

UCSD BIRCH AQUARIUM AT SCRIPPS   Here's what's happening....

Shark Summer

Each July, join us as we dive deep into the world of these amazing animals, with fin-tastic fun for shark fans of all ages! Shark Summer celebrates the vital role sharks play in the ecosystem, while shining a light on the important conservation work and research being done to protect them.

At Birch Aquarium, our commitment to ocean conservation and climate action starts at home. Through a variety of on-site initiatives, we bring our mission to connect understanding to protecting our ocean planet to life.

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It's been years since I posted and linked to this aquarium!

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE AQUARIUM?  WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT IT?  

THE QUEEN CONCH SHELL IS ENDANGERED : ETHICAL SEA SHELL COLLECTING

First, if the place you see the shell is a RESERVE, take photos but leave it on the beach. Even if it is not, it's best not to collect shells.

Second, DO NOT BUY SEA SHELLS FROM SHOPS. Often these shells have been obtained through dredging the sea bottom, upsetting the natural ecology.

Third, TRADE OR BUY ONLY THOSE SHELLS THAT HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY COLLECTED.

Fourth, Keep in mind that scientific sea shell collecting includes the date and place the shell was found and an accounting of the collection. This is data that may be useful to science. (You might tie it to weather research as well.)

Fifth, DO BEACH CLEAN UP INSTEAD. It's frustrating to have to clean up by other people who leave refuse on the beaches, to see broken plastic. Do it anyway.

 

PLANS TO DISMANTLE OCEAN MONITORING SYSTEM ABANDONED AFTER GREAT BACKLASH

FIRST CAME THIS NEWS : PBS TRUMP ADMINSTRATION DISMANTLES OCEAN MONITORING PROGRAM

Excerpt: Scientists across the country are expressing alarm as the Trump administration dismantles another tool for understanding how the planet is changing. More than 900 deep-sea ocean sensors will be pulled out of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans near Washington, Oregon, Alaska, North Carolina and Greenland. Researchers say these are critical ocean observation tools. William Brangham explains...

GO TO THE SITE TO READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT!

THEN THIS : SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN : TRUMP ADMINISTRATION REVERSES COURSE ON PLAN TO DISMANTLE OCEAN MONITORING SYSTEM

Excerpt: The Trump administration is backing off plans to dismantle a crucial U.S. ocean monitoring system, the National Science Foundation (NSF) confirmed on Thursday. The reversal comes after the agency’s May 21 announcement of its intent to remove hundreds of deep-sea buoys and sensors employed by the $368 million Ocean Observatories Initiative had drawn congressional and international backlash.

“Effective immediately, NSF will not proceed with further removal or descoping of equipment from the remaining arrays and will continue operations including planned maintenance,” the agency said in a statement on Thursday. The plan’s reversal was first reported by the New York Times.

On Monday 11 U.S. Senators sent a bipartisan letter saying that dismantling the ocean system “threatens the safety of our coastal communities,” as well as jeopardizing oceans research. A bill blocking the removal plan in the Senate on Wednesday. ...

GIANT TOXIC LION'S MANE JELLYFISH ON NEW ENGLAND BEACHES : DON'T TOUCH THEM EVEN IF THEY'RE DEAD!

UNILAD : OFFICIALS WARN OF GIANT JELLYFISH 

Excerpt: Experts say the jellyfish’s tentacles contain large amounts of neurotoxins that can cause things like skin rashes to respiratory problems, welts, and, in rare cases, even death.

According to the Mayo Clinic,, if you come into contact with a lion’s mane jellyfish, they recommend removing any visible tentacles using fine tweezers.

Then, soak the area in hot water between 110 and 113 degrees Fahrenheit, as well as keep the area immersed under hot water until the pain subsides.

Afterward, apply hydrocortisone cream or ointment.

Experts say the surge in lion's mane jellyfish is being driven by warming ocean temperatures, wind and tidal currents, abundant food sources, and sheltered coastal waters that allow the creatures to thrive before washing ashore.

While this is a strange occurrence, marine experts say this influx of the species could indicate something is changing.

BANDED ARCHERFISH : A SPECIES OF THE MANGROVE FORESTS : THE SPITTING SHARPSHOOTER

Since the Teen Climate Council at the Aquarium of the Pacific made me aware of this fish....

LOS ANGELES ZOO : BANDED ARCHERFISH PAGE

Excerpt: Archerfish are best known for their ability to precisely aim and shoot jets of water from their mouths to knock prey off of overhanging plants. Adults can fire as many as seven jets of water up to six feet in length in rapid succession! Developing this unique hunting technique takes time and practice. With no parental care, young fish must quickly master this skill to survive. As they practice, youngsters learn to calibrate the volume and force of water needed to knock down prey of varying sizes, even compensating for the refraction of light to accurately hit their targets.

Mangrove swamps of Australia, Polynesia, India, and Palau.

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Yes, the Los Angeles Zoo has an aquarium where this fish lives.

Check other Aquariums too!

AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC TEEN CLIMATE COUNCIL and OTHER YOUTH STEWARDSHIP PROGRAMS

AQUARIUM OF THE PACIFIC ; TEEN CLIMATE COUNCIL and OTHER OPPORTUNITIES 

"Teens are turning the tide at the Aquarium of the Pacific through volunteer leadership dedicated to conservation, science, and ocean stewardship. Youth-led programs by teens, for teens, are here to engage and change the world. "

This might just be an opportunity for you....

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Siren here!  I was able to sit in on a presentation of this group recently and was impressed!

Scholarships!

SPEAKING OF SUNKEN : STEAMER LAC LA BELLE : LOST IN1872 : FOUND IN LAKE MICHIGAN

https://www.shipwreckworld.com/articles/pioneer-wreckhunter-finds-lake-michigan-passenger-steamer-lost-for-130-years

EXCERPT: Pioneer Illinois Shipwreck Hunter and Scuba Diver Paul Ehorn is pleased to announce the discovery of one of Lake Michigan’s most sought-after missing ships.

The passenger steamer Lac La Belle had been missing in the depths of Lake Michigan since a stormy night in October of 1872. Ehorn located her upright, intact hull almost 150 years to the day after her loss. ... Many other wreck hunters had searched for the Lac La Belle, but the location of her sinking was poorly known, leaving a large search grid. In 2022, fellow wreck hunter and maritime historian Ross Richardson found a new historical clue that narrowed the grid down significantly.

Armed with the information Ehorn and his partner Bruce Bittner set out with Ehorn’s Klein sidescan sonar prepared for a long search. About two hours in on only their second pass, a large object crawled across the screen. They immediately turned around and viewed it at higher resolution, showing the unmistakable hogging arches of the Lac La Belle. “It was a moment of real jubilation” exclaimed Ehorn. “We knew we had done it.”

The wreck’s distance from shore and poor weather prevented Ehorn from examining the wreck for almost two years. Eventually Ehorn, who is now 80 years old, recruited divers John Janzen and John Scoles to dive and film the deep wreck. They were able to film the massive 217-foot ship, which is remarkably intact considering her violent end. “Although her superstructure is blown off, you can see all of her wooden framing and some of her cargo is visible,” stated Ehorn.

Ehorn’s plans for the wreck include creating a 3D photogrammetry model that will record the condition and layout of the wreck in detail before he releases the location.

CITIES SINKING OR SEA LEVELS RISING? : JAKARTA BEING EFFECTED THE MOST

If you click on the label Sunken Cities, you can read past posts about some of the cities that sunk long ago.  Today's cities are both sinking because the weight of building is compressing soil and being flooded because the sea levels are rising! 

DAILY MAIL SCIENCE : STUDY DETECTS WHICH CITIES WILL SINK

Excerpt: Between rising seas and sinking land, heavily urbanised areas of coast experience a relative sea level increase of about 6mm per year on average.

That is three times more than the global average for relative sea level rise, which stands at 2.1mm per year.

Likewise, land subsidence roughly doubles the absolute sea–level rise of 3.15mm per year, which measures the actual increase in volume and height of the ocean.

Lead researcher Dr Julius Oelsmann, of Technical University of Munich, says that this can 'significantly amplify the effects of climate–driven sea–level rise'.

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 Check out that map.  Is your city on it?

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Excerpt: Countries where relative sea levels are rising the fastest include Thailand, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, China, and Indonesia, where the ocean is getting seven to 10 millimetres higher each year.

The US, the Netherlands, and Italy also experience exceptionally rapid increases, with relative sea levels rising by around four to 5mm per year.

THE GULLS

 

PERFIDIA : THE VENTURES

PARROT FISH

ENDANGERED SEA SPECIES OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN : NOAA REPORTS : SEA TURTLES, STURGEON, CORALS,

FISHERIES NOAA : SOUTHERN ATLANTIC ENDANGERED SPECIES

Green sea turtle, Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, Leatherback sea turtle, Loggerhead sea turtle, Hawsbill sea turtle, Smalltooth sawfish, Shortnose sturgeon, Atlantic sturgeon, Nassau grouper, Oceanic whitetip shark, Giant manta ray, Queen conche, Elkhorn coral, Staghorn coral, Boulder star coral...

SAMS CLIMATE CHANGE STUDY : ATLANTIC OCEAN CURRENTS : NO CLEAR SIGNAL THAT THE AMOC IS WEAKENING AT THE SUB-POLAR LATITUTE

Marine scientists in Scotland have helped to develop the most comprehensive view yet of how large-scale north Atlantic currents that dictate our climate may be changing.

EXCERPT: Oceanographers across the world have long hypothesized that the AMOC could be weakening because of climate change, a view partly supported by a sub-tropical array of moorings known as RAPID, which has been in place since 2004. Because AMOC transports heat northwards from the tropics, a weakening, or complete collapse, of this ocean system could potentially plunge western Europe into freezing temperatures more commonly associated with higher latitudes such as Greenland and Siberia.

Project lead Dr. Neil Fraser of SAMS said SCOTIA had shown no clear signal that the AMOC was weakening at sub-polar latitude, but added this did not necessarily mean there was no overall weakening over a longer period of time. "The creation of the SCOTIA array and the methods we used to gather this data mean we are a step closer to answering one of the biggest questions in ocean science: is the AMOC weakening? It will allow us to effectively keep our finger on the pulse of the AMOC to give us the best chance of detecting a weakening or collapse."

100 MILLION YEARS AGO GIANT OCTOPUS - UP TO 62 FEET LONG - WERE PREDATORS IN THE OCEANS

CNN : GIANT OCTOPUS FOSSIL : TOP PREDATORS 100 MILLION YEARS AGO

Excerpt: Giant octopuses measuring up to 62 feet (19 meters) in length were among the top ocean predators around 100 million years ago, according to new research that uncovered rare fossils hidden within solid rock.

Remarkably well-preserved specimens of the octopuses’ powerful jaws show signs of intense wear from crushing hard prey including shells and bones, a study published in the journal Science on Thursday reports.

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Take a look at the photo of the fossil as well as artist interpretations of these giant octopus!  These were way bigger than today's giant squid!

FEELS LIKE SUMMER : CHILDISH GAMBINO

OCTOPUS? WHAT IS THE PLURAL OF OCTOPUS

 I challenge you to look this one up!

HE TAUGHT AN OCTOPUS TO PLAY THE HAMMER PIANO !?! IS THIS A DELICIOUS FICTION OR NOT?

 Hello my dear readers....  What do YOU think of this?

THE GOLD ORB : SCIENTISTS FIGURE OUT WHAT THIS BLOB IT IS!

NOAA : SCIENTISTS IDENTIFY MYSTERIOUS GOLD ORB

Excerpt: Scientists with NOAA Fisheries and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History used an integrative taxonomic approach combining a study of its physical structure with genetic analysis to identify the object. Initial examination found the object lacked typical animal anatomy but was a fibrous material with a layered surface packed with cnidocytes (stinging cells), suggesting it was a cnidarian (like corals or anemones). National Systematics Lab scientist Abigail Reft identified the cells as spirocysts, which are limited to the Hexacorallia group of cnidarians. The team also examined a similar specimen collected in 2021 during an expedition on Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Research Vessel Falkor and found similar cnidocysts.

SO MANY KINDS OF SHARKS!

TELL ME IF THIS VIDEO IS REAL OR A CREATION USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

No turtle soup for me! 

YELLOW BRICK ROAD AT THE DEEP BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN?

Is this THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD?   Liliʻuokalani Ridge Seamounts

SCIENCE ALERT : YELLOW BRICK ROAD OFF HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

Excerpt: Trust/E/V/Nautilus/YouTube)

The formation has been identified as "a fractured flow of hyaloclastite rock (a volcanic rock formed in high-energy eruptions where many rock fragments settle to the seabed)."

On the radio, the team notes that the ground looks almost like a "baked crust" that could be peeled off.

In one tiny section, the volcanic rock has fractured in a way that looks strikingly similar to bricks.

"The unique 90-degree fractures are likely related to heating and cooling stress from multiple eruptions at this baked margin," reads a caption to the YouTube video.

MERMAN and MERMAID

So nice to finally find an image of a merman!

 

300 MILLION YEAR "WORLD'S OLDEST OCTOPUS" TURNS OUT TO BE A COUSIN!

300 MILLION YEAR OLD FOSSIL SHOWING WHAT SCIENTIST BELIEVED TO BE THE OLDEST OCTOPUS !

Excerpt: Shockwaves echoed across the scientific community, this week, when what was believed to be the world’s oldest fossil of an octopus, was actually another animal entirely.

The fossil was even featured in the Guinness Book of World Records, dubbing it with the title as the “earliest known octopus,” existing during its lifetime not far from Chicago in today’s landlocked Illinois, USA. They even described it as, “resembling a flattened cow pat or a globular splat, but it possesses eight tentacles, two eyes, and what may be an ink sac – all features characterizing octopuses of today.”


SURFER COM : 300 MILLION YEAR OLD OCTOPUS FOSSIL

Take a look at that fossil!

WHALE SWIMS 20 MILES IN RIVER -DEAD - FEAR FOR SPECIES : GRAY WHALE POPULATION HALF IN A DECADE

Siren here!  I believe the whales are starving and humans are the reason. 

I first heard this story via the Seattle Times:

BBC: Gray Whale Dies Days After Swimming River


Excerpt: The juvenile whale, affectionately dubbed "Willapa Willy" by locals, was first spotted last Wednesday in the north fork of the river, about 145 miles southwest of Seattle, the marine mammal research group said.

The whale, "although thin, was behaving normally," the group said at the time, with no sign of injuries.

Its teams had hoped the whale would find its own way out of the river but it failed to do so.

ARE YOU CONSIDERING BECOMING A MARINE SCIENTIST?

Once in a while someone tells me that viewing SIREN'S LINK TO SEA inspires them to consider a career in MARINE SCIENCE...

IF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN CURRENT COLLAPSES WILL ICELAND BE DOOMED?

REUTERS : ICELAND DEEMS POSSIBLE ATLANTIC CURRENT COLLAPSE

Excerpt: Iceland has designated the potential collapse of a major Atlantic Ocean current system a national security concern and an existential threat, enabling its government to strategize for worst-case scenarios, the country's climate minister told Reuters.

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, current brings warm water from the tropics northward toward the Arctic, and the flow of warm water helps keep Europe’s winters mild.

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MARIANNA TRENCH : THIS MINI DOCUMENTARY MAY UPSET YOU : WAIT TILL YOU FIND OUT WHAT THEY FOUND ALL THE WAY DOWN IN THE TRENCH

The Marianna Trench is the deepest place on earth.  It is deeper than the tallest mountains.  And it went unexplored for decades due to the extreme pressure.  Watch this film all the way and let me know what you feel!

A SHARK THAT LOOKS LIKE A SEA SNAKE?!

DOLPHINS GANG UP ON SHARKS?!

NO ORDINARY SKIN - SHARKS

PDF FILE RESEARCH GATE DEEP DIVE INTO SHARK ECOLOGY

Yes YOU CAN READ THE WHOLE REPORT.  Link to this Research Gate report right here! 

RESEARCH GATE : Deep Dive into Shark Ecology 

 by Primo Micarelli

Centro Studi Squali - Sharks Studies Centre - Scientific Institute,

Francesca Romana Reinero

Centro Studi Squali-Sharks Studies Center

LARGEST WHITE SHARK EVER TAGGED OFF COAST OF FLORIDA : MALE ALMOST FOURTEEN FEET LONG! NAMED "CONTENDER"

Siren here!

We are going to the https://www.ocearch.org/tracker/detail/contender OCEARCH TRACKER SITE SO YOU TOO CAN WATCH CONTENDER SWIM!

What is his territory if he has one?!

over 1600 pounds too!

*** He keeps pinging !

GOLDEN SHARK CAUGHT OFF COAST OF COSTA RICA

 REAL CLEAR SCIENCE : GOLDEN SHARK CAUGHT

Excerpt: One spectacular example of this is a nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) caught and released by sports fishers off the coast of Costa Rica in August 2024. Not only was this shark not its usual brown cookie-dough color, but it was vividly orange-colored – with white eyes, to boot.

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WHY IS THIS SHARK THAT LOOKS TO BE THE COLOR OF A GOLD FISH ORANGE? sHE LIKES WARM WATER TOO!

Click on the link to see the photo!  Almost unbelievable!

IT'S EARTH DAY! WAYS TO CELEBRATE TODAY and EVERY DAY! 10,000 EVENTS

EARTHDAY ORG  Click on your place in the world....

Excerpt: Community cleanups, teach-ins, peaceful demonstrations, tree planting, voter registration, town hall meetings, community organizing — every action strengthens the movement. Add your event to the map and show the power of collective action.

DOLPHIN FISH

 

170O POUND GREAT WHITE SHARK TRACKED - FLORIDA TO NORTH CAROLINA : HE'S NAMED "CONTENDER"

CBS NEWS : 1700 POUND SHARK TRACKED OFF COAST OF NORTH CAROLINA 

Excerpt:

Sharks don't ping every day. Their movements are tracked by devices attached to their dorsal fins. The trackers can't transmit through water, OCEARCH senior data scientist John Tyminski said in a video published by the organization. To accurately confirm a shark's location, the tracker must break the surface while an Argos satellite is above. The satellites are only in a given spot for about 13 minutes. During that time, the tracker must send multiple messages for a location to be confirmed.

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ARE YOU AFRAID OF SHARKS? Leave me a comment!  Siren

DO YOU KNOW YOUR SHARKS?

 

Some are little - some are big -

AS ARTEMIS II RETURNS TO EARTH FROM SURVEYING THE MOON LET'S REMEMBER ...

70% 

OF THE EARTH 

IS OCEAN !

FIRST SHARK OFF ANTARCTICA CAUGHT ON CAMERA - WHY IT MATTERS

FORBES : ANTARCTICAS FIRST SHARK CAUGHT ON CAMERA 

Excerpt: Sharks have survived mass extinctions, shifting continents and dramatic climate swings for more than 400 million years. They patrol coral reefs, cruise open oceans, call kelp forests home and rule the deep sea. And while Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus) are known to rule the icy, dark waters of the Arctic Ocean, the Antarctic landscape has long been barren of this predator. The Southern Ocean is frigid, remote and punishingly cold, with temperatures dipping below zero. Which is why new footage captured near the South Shetland Islands is so remarkable: for the first time, a shark has been recorded on video in the Southern Ocean itself.

TOM GRUBER FIRST FOOTAGE OF HAWAIIAN DAY OCTOPUS WHO RECOGNIZED HERSELF ?! DO YOU AGREE?

I think Octopuses might be the most intelligent of sea creatures, other than the whales.  In this video, Tom  Gruber, the inventor of Siri, filmed one that saw itself in a mirror.  To be honest, I think the octopus saw another octopus.  DO YOU THINK IT KNEW IT WAS LOOKING AT ITSELF?

CARNIVOROUS DEATH BALL SPONGES! ZOBIE WORMS!?

Carnivorous!  OCEAN CENSUS ORG

Excerpt:

Its spherical form is covered in tiny hooks that trap prey, a clear contrast to the gentle, passive, filter-feeding undertaken by most sponges. ‘Zombie worms’ (Osedax sp.) were also observed. Although not thought to be new to science, these worms have no mouth or gut and rely on symbiotic bacteria to break down fats inside the bones of whales and other large vertebrates.

 

SMITHSONIAN : NEW SPECIES IN SOUTHERN OCEAN

HOGFISH

 

RARE SIGHTING OF GIANT PHANTOM JELLY FISH OFF THE COAST OF ARGENTINA

OOOH this BBC website has video of the swimming phantom!

BBC NEWS : RARE SIGNTING PHANTOM JELLY OFF ARGENTINA

Excerpt:

A rare phantom jellyfish has been spotted by scientists exploring the deep sea near Argentina.

Stygiomedusa gigantea, more commonly known as the giant phantom jellyfish, was filmed 250 metres below the surface in the South Atlantic Ocean.

Scientists from the Schmidt Ocean Institute documented the creature, which can grow up to 1m (3.3ft) in diameter, with their arms reaching up to 10m (33ft) long.

Their four arms, which look like long pink ribbons, are not stinging tentacles. Instead the jellyfish use them to catch their prey of fish and plankton, according to the institute.

The team also discovered 28 potential new species including corals, sea urchins, and sea anemones.

BLUE MARINE FOUNDATION : ACTION TO PROTECT OUR OCEAN : LET'S PROTECT 30 PERCENT OF THE OCEAN BY 2030

BLUE MARINE FOUNDATION  4.9 KM of OCEAN PROTECTED

Blue Marine is dedicated to protecting and restoring life in the ocean. Our mission is to see at least 30 per cent of the ocean protected by 2030 and the whole ocean sustainably managed. We support low-impact fishing and equitable use of the ocean and address overfishing – one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges.

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This is the time to check in with yourself. Are you overeating seafood?

ORCAS HAVE BEEN SINKING BOATS

It's true... there have been a number of reports.


DIVE MAGAZINE : ORCAS SINK BOAT - PORTUGAL


OUTSIDE ONLIE : WE SAILED THROUGH ORCA ALLEY - BOATS RAMMED -SINKING


Excerpt: Along the Iberian Peninsula, where the North Atlantic collides with the rugged coastlines of Spain and Portugal before pinching into the Mediterranean Sea, an endangered subpopulation of orcas has developed the unfortunate habit of ramming into sailboats. The powerful animals target the rudders, often breaking them and destroying or disabling a boat’s steering. Such force can sometimes also damage a boat’s hull and cause a leak.

Orcas, also called killer whales (Orcinus orca), are known for their prowess as marine predators, and they’re intelligent and highly social. Across their global range, they’re unusually flexible in what they eat, how they hunt, and where they call home. Among their many talents, they’re masters of surprise.

ZOOPHYTES

Zoophytes via Bibliodyssey

A zoophyte is a plantlike animal, especially a coral, sea anemone, sponge, or sea lily.

PANAMA : OCEAN WATERS DID NOT RISE SEASONALLY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 40 YEARS : TERRIBLE CONCERN THAT OCEAN SYSTEM IS COLLAPSING

NEWSROOM PANAMA : FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 40 YEARS

Excerpt: For over 40 years, seasonal upwelling in the Gulf of Panama has followed a consistent pattern. Between the end of the calendar year and early spring, trade winds from the north push surface waters offshore, drawing cooler, deeper water upward. The process delivers nutrients that stimulate phytoplankton growth, forming the foundation of the marine food web. .................

In early 2025, that system failed. No cold water rose to the surface. No spike in surface chlorophyll was recorded. Ocean surface temperatures remained elevated through the season. According to data collected by scientists aboard the S/Y Eugen Seibold, a research vessel jointly operated by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Max Planck Institute, the vertical movement of water that characterizes the upwelling was entirely absent. The study documenting the event, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, confirms it as the first complete suppression of the upwelling in the observational record. Researchers noted that this shift eliminated a key stabilizing mechanism in the region’s marine ecosystem and exposed vulnerabilities in the broader ocean-climate system.

Winds Weaken, With Cascading Effects

At the center of the disruption was a collapse in atmospheric drivers. The northern trade winds, normally responsible for triggering the upwelling process, were significantly weaker in early 2025. As a result, surface waters remained in place, and the temperature differential needed to initiate vertical mixing did not materialize. The absence of cooler waters had immediate ecological effects. Without an influx of nutrients, phytoplankton production declined sharply. Satellite observations confirmed reduced chlorophyll-a concentrations throughout the Gulf of Panama during the period when biological productivity typically peaks.

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Go to this important article which is excellent to learn about how this is supposed to work, and the effect on the sea creatures - including starvation!

OCEAN DEFENDERS ALLIANCE

OCNONPROFITCENTRAL : OCEAN DEFENDERS ALLIANCE

This looks like a great one!

Excerpt: In 23 years, ODA has performed just under 600 ocean cleanups in 7 different counties of California and Hawai'i. The debris that has been removed from harm's way includes:

Plastics: over 84 tons (168,000 pounds)
Traps: 540
Trap lines that entangle whales: 51,000 feet
Fishing line: 293,000 feet
Nets: 49,000 pounds
Misc Debris: 139,000 pounds
Lead fishing weights: 11,500 pounds

And so much more! Marine wildlife and their habitats are safer without this hazardous debris.

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Ocean Defenders Alliance (ODA) began protecting California's ocean ecosystems and wildlife in 2000. We are the longest running nonprofit focused solely on removal of dangerous man-made fishing gear from the coastal waters of California.  Since then, and because of the help of our many wonderful volunteers, we have removed vast amounts of trap-line and net that too often entangle whales, dolphins, and sea lions. We have also recovered hundreds of abandoned lobster traps and many tons of other debris that was threatening marine life. The result for sea life is simple: ODA's work has saved hundreds of thousands of animals from unnecessary and horrific death (most often drowning or starvation).  The world's oceans are in serious decline, primarily due to human abuse and neglect--but there is cause for hope! Working together with respect and focus, we will increase our already positive impact.  Please help us ensure healthy oceans for future generations. The time to act is NOW! Come join us!

PACIFIC MARINE MAMMAL CENTER - LAGUNA BEACH : REHABS VISITOR AREA : SEA LIONS HAVE HIGH RATE OF CANCER : NEXT WAVE EXPANSION

You may not be able to visit as a tourist, but you CAN donate, volunteer, or be a help to the cause.

PACIFIC MARINE MAMMAL CENTER : NEXT WAVE CAMPAIGN

Excerpt: We’re excited to invite you to join us as we usher in a new era for our organization - The Next Wave expansion.

The Next Wave Campaign will include:

A water reclamation system that will save our community 15,000 gallons of water every day

Increasing the standards of animal care

Improving our research capacity

Providing more students with access to our educational programming

Laying the groundwork for powerful advocacy that will help us as we Build a Better Ocean - one with fewer plastics and less chemical pollution.

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We care for the most common pinnipeds to southern California which are:

California Sea Lions

Northern Elephant Seals

Northern Fur Seals

Pacific Harbor Seals

MERMAID MANDALA

 

PREHISTORIC SHELL TRUMPETS STILL MAKE SOUND!

DAILY MAIL : SCIENCE : PREHISTORIC SHELL TRUMPETS 

Excerpts: Amazingly, eight of the instruments still worked perfectly, with the loudest toot reaching 111.5 decibels - as loud as a powerful car horn or trombone.

Researchers believe that these trumpets would have been used as an ancient form of communication technology, with simple codes shared between communities.

These blasts could easily travel the three to six miles (five to 10 km) between the Stone Age villages where the horns were discovered.

They could have been used to communicate between different settlements, warning of attacks or coordinating harvest times.

Others, found deep within abandoned mines, might have been used to send messages through the underground darkness.


*** See the photos of the shells and read more about the archeology!

HUNDREDS OF PINK DOLPHINS FOUND DEAD IN BRAZIL'S LAKE TEFE : THEY BOILED IN HEAT WAVE WATER HOTTER THAN A JACUZZI

CBS : DOLPHINS DEAD IN WATER HOTTER THAN JACUZZI BRAZIL LAKE TEFE 

Excerpts: 

Officials from the World Wildlife Fund Brazil said 153 dolphins were found dead the week of Sept. 23, 2023, including 130 pink dolphins, and 23 tucuxi dolphins. Both are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List and the latter of which are considered "the guardians of rivers and a symbol of good luck," according to RiverDolphins.org.

"The climate emergency is here"

What made it even more remarkable, said Fleischmann, was that the same temperature was found not just at the surface but throughout the two-meter-deep water column.

Using computer modeling, the team identified four key drivers: strong solar heating, shallow waters, low wind speeds, and high turbidity — a measure of water haziness.

These factors reinforce one another. Shallowness increases turbidity, which traps more heat, while low wind carries less heat away, leaving the water more exposed to clear skies and intense sunlight.

Another stressor for aquatic life was the large swing between highs and lows, with the peak of 41C in Tefe followed by a nighttime low of 27C.

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Siren here!  It's not just sad, it's terrifying!

ARISE

 

BLUE WHALES GONE SILENT?! CLIMATE CHANGE? ALL ENERGY USED TO FIND ENOUGH FOOD - KRILL

THE WEEK : BLUE WHALES NOT SINGING -CLIMATE CHANGE

Excerpt: The study tracked over six years of acoustic monitoring in the central California Current Ecosystem. During those years, blue whale sounds decreased by approximately 40%.

"We don't hear them singing," John Ryan, a biological oceanographer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and the lead author of the study, said to National Geographic. They are "spending all their energy searching." There's "just not enough time left over" for singing, and that "tells us those years are incredibly stressful." It's like "trying to sing while you are starving,"

"When we have these really hot years and marine heat waves, it's more than just temperature," Kelly Benoit-Bird, a marine biologist at Monterey Bay Aquarium and co-author of the study, said to National Geographic. "The whole system changes, and we don't get the krill." So the animals that "rely only on krill are kind of out of luck." High ocean temperatures lead to algal blooms that can kill krill. And blue whales are "forced to forage over a much larger geographic area when krill populations become depleted," said Newsweek.

Marine heat waves are only going to get worse due to fossil fuel usage. Oceans act as the world's largest carbon sink, meaning they "already absorb more than 90% of the excess heat from climate change," said The Independent. There are "whole ecosystem consequences of these marine heat waves," said Benoit-Bird. If whales "can't find food and they can traverse the entire West Coast of North America, that's a really large-scale consequence."

BLUE WHALES ARE THE LARGEST ANIMALS ON OUR PLANET!

LEAF SHAPED FANGS?! PACIFIC DISCOVERY LINKS UNPRECEDENTED FIND! GINKO BEAKED WHALES

Unprecedented!   OOOOH this is great!

UNION RAYO: GOODBYE TO DECADES OF ASSUMPTIONS : GINKO BEAKED WHALES

Excerpt: For the first time in history, a team of scientists managed to see, record and document the elusive ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens) swimming in open sea, off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. And the best part is that with this encounter they also solved a mystery that had been puzzling experts for more than a decade, a mysterious acoustic signal, the famous BW43, that no one had managed to attribute to a specific species.

.... For the first time, a species known only from stranded remains was alive, recorded, confirmed!!! Now scientists can track this species without seeing it, just by listening to its signals in the ocean.

Battles, wounds and sharks

The ginkgo-toothed beaked whale has a distinctive feature and it is that the males develop two flat leaf-shaped teeth near the tip of the snout. They do not use them to eat, but to fight with other males for the females.

The photos show long scars, cuts, white lines, many battles on their backs. In addition, many had circular bite marks made by sharks called “cookie cutters”.

CLAM ANALYSIS SHOWS NORTH ATLANTIC SUBPOLAR GYRE ACTING STRANGELY

LIVE SCIENCE : MASSIVE SYSTEM OF ROTATING OCEAN CURRENTS ACTING STRANGELY

Excerpt: An analysis of clam shells suggests the North Atlantic subpolar gyre has had two periods of destabilization over the past 150 years: one around 1920 and the other from 1950 through present. ....

"It's highly worrying," study lead author Beatriz Arellano Nava, a postdoctoral research fellow in physical geography at the University of Exeter in the U.K., told Live Science. "The subpolar gyre was recently acknowledged as a tipping element. We still need to understand more of the impacts of a subpolar gyre abrupt weakening. But what we know so far with the few studies that have been published is that it would bring more extreme weather events, particularly in Europe ... and also changes in global precipitation patterns."

.... But the other signal was a total surprise, she said. The clam data revealed that the subpolar gyre was unstable for a few years in the run-up to the 1920s North Atlantic regime shift. This previously described event was characterized by the strengthening of currents in the gyre. Instability in the subpolar gyre likely caused the 1920s regime shift, and the timeline suggests the period of instability may have reflected the subpolar gyre's recovery from its Little Ice Age collapse, Arellano Nava said.


Go to the article for more upsetting details and a globe showing the way currents work!

CALIFORNIA : VERY LITTLE PLASTIC BEING RECYLCLED

LA TIMES - Environment : VERY LITTLE PLASTIC BEING RECYCLED IN CALIFORNIA 

Excerpt:  Polypropylene, labeled as #5 on packaging, is used for yogurt containers, margarine tubs and microwavable trays. Only 2% of it is getting recycled. Colored shampoo and detergent bottles, made from polyethylene, or #1 plastic, are getting recycled at a rate of just 5%.

Other plastics, including ones promoted as highly recyclable, such as clear polyethylene bottles, which hold some medications, or hard water bottles, are being recycled at just 16%.

No plastic in the report exceeds a recycling rate of 23%, with the majority reported in just the single digits.

READ ON MY FRIENDS!  

DO YOU KNOW WHICH PLASTIC CONTAINERS ARE SAFE TO REUSE TO STORE OR COOK FOODS?

AS GOOD FISH IN THE SEA AS EVER WERE CAUGHT

A vintage Valentine published in 1909

 

HOLY MACKEREL BUT I LOVE YOU

 

SAVE THE SEA

 

MERMAID WEARS GLOVES! HAPPY SEVENTEENTH BIRTHDAY SIRENS LINK TO THE SEA!

SEVENTEEN years! 

ocean ecology, environmental activism, endangered species, whales, dolphins, sharks, octopus, marine science, mermaids, ocean, beach clean up, fish, and so much more!
 

CALIFORNIA BANS ALL PLASTIC SHOPPING BAGS

 No More Plastic Bags: All plastic carryout bags, including thicker reusable ones, are banned at checkout.

• Paper Bags Required: Retailers must provide recycled paper bags for a minimum fee of 10 cents each
  .
Fee Retention: Stores keep the 10-cent fee to cover bag costs and educational efforts.
Increased Recycled Content: By 2028, paper bags must contain at least 50% post-consumer recycled content.
Applies To: Supermarkets, large retailers with pharmacies, convenience stores, and food marts. 

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A WHALE DIES IN THE OCEAN ? : WHALE FALL - NOURISHING AN ENTIRE ECOSYSTEM

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM : UK : WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WHALES DIE 

Excerpt:

Whale carcasses take decades to fully decompose and can provide food for an entire ecosystem on the dark depths of the ocean floor. ...Decay sets in soon after the death of a whale, as the insides begin to decompose. The animal then expands with gas and sometimes floats up to the ocean's surface, where it can be scavenged by sharks and seabirds.

Eventually the ocean giant will begin to sink, falling kilometre after kilometre, until finally coming to rest on the seabed. This is when the carcass becomes known as a whale fall.

Whale falls can nourish an entire ecosystem of deep-sea creatures, from large scavengers to microscopic bacteria. They provide inhabitants of the mostly deserted ocean floor with a sudden and immense source of food...

***

Keep reading!

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A WHALE DIES BEACHED? THIS IS KINDA GROSS! THEY CAN EXPLODE!

This is an older article from the Guardian in September 2022

GUARDIAN : ENVIRONMENT : WHALE STRANDINGS : WHAT HAPPENS TO DEAD WHALE BODIES?

Excerpt: Two mass strandings in Tasmanian waters in a week has left about 200 pilot whales and 14 sperm whales dead. ... In warmer climates, the internal decomposition of dead whales can result in spontaneous explosions. Gut bacteria in the whales can multiply quickly, producing large quantities of methane gas. “If the rest of the body is still intact – if the outer layer, the blubber, is still intact and not broken up – then it can lead to an explosion,” Meynecke said.

In 2004, the decomposing carcass of a 60-tonne, 17-metre sperm whale expoded on a busy streetin the Taiwanese city of Tainan, “showering cars and shops with blood and organs and stopping traffic for hours”. ...

***

Check out the video of the whale stomach exploding! Ewwwe!

TERRIFYING DEEP SEA MONSTERS ? ARE THEY?

Youtube : SEA MONSTERS

Loved the beauty and creativity of this YouTube video by Bright Side Dark Side station

SANTA BARBARA CALIFORNIA : MORE OFF SHORE OIL DRILLING and ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS? The public comment period for the BLM draft plan ends March 6 2026

NOOZHAWK : FEDS COULD OPEN SANTA BARBARA

Excerpt: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM)  announced a new study on Jan. 13 that could open 850,000 acres of land across the state to a new oil and gas leasing program. The program will allow drilling and fracking on previously protected land, including in Santa Barbara and surrounding counties.

If the plan is approved later this year, around 400,000 acres in  Santa Barbara County could be eligible for drilling, including up to 100,000 acres of land around Vandenberg Village.

Surrounding areas like Lake Cachuma, Nojoqui Falls County Park and waterways such as the Sisquoc River could also be affected, according to Los Padras Forest Watch , a group that works to protect land within the Los Padres National Forest.

.................   “Of course, one of our chief concerns is the threat of another catastrophic oil spill,” Hall said. “Which (could cause) immediate and long-lasting harm to wildlife, coastlines, fisheries, and could result in extensive economic damage.”

If the leases are approved, they would be the first ones issued since 1984, according to Hall.

The first oil platforms in the Pacific Ocean were installed between 1967 and 1989 in federal waters, 4 to 10 miles offshore.

“The first major disaster occurred in 1969,” Hall said. “The well blowout at Platform A in Santa Barbara sent an estimated 3 million gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean, devastating wildlife, marine ecosystems and tourism.”

Another oil spill occurred in 2015 near Refugio State Beach, dumping crude oil into the shoreline and ocean. Hall said recent estimates put the cleanup cost at $800 million.

TO COMMENT GO TO THIS LINK:

https://www.regulations.gov/document/BOEM-2025-0483-0001

GOTHIC FISH

 I have no idea if these are artist's drawings of actual fish that exist

 or come from the artist's imagination!

THE DINOSAUR SEA MONSTERS : BBC EDUCATION CLICK ON THE CREATURE!

BBC UK : DINOSAURS and SEA MONSTERS  Gotta go to the site and click on the images! Now some look familiar - like the turtle - but others do not and are definitely in the DINOSAUR category. 

Here's one of them! :  A giant predator so big it would dwarf today's sperm whale, an AQUATIC REPTILE!

Liopleurodon was the mightiest aquatic predator of all time. Its 25 metre long body would have cruised silently through the shallow seas of the late Jurassic, propelled by its flapping flippers.

Liopleurodon was a hunter. Its long jaws and rows of needle-sharp teeth would have made marine crocodiles, the giant fish Leedsichthys, ichthyosaurs and even other pliosaurs vulnerable to attack.

Liopleurodon's nose allowed it to smell underwater. This allowed Liopleurodon to smell its prey from some distance away. Despite needing to breath air, Liopleurodon spent its entire life at sea and was unable to leave the water. Consequently, it would have given birth to its young alive and may have visited shallower water to breed....

THE KRAKEN ? MANY EYES AND TENTACKLES SUGGEST A GIANT SQUID

Public domain/Wikimedia Commons

Perhaps the Kraken was actually a Giant Squid ... But maybe not...

The story goes that they ate so many fish so vigorously that they created huge whirlpools that sucked ships and sailors into the sea...

THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM - UNITED KINGDOM : WHAT CREATURE INSPIRED THE KRAKEN? THE JENNY HANIVERS? THE MERFOLK

NHM- UK : DISCOVER SEA MONSTERS AND THEIR INSPIRATIONS

Excerpt: Originating in Scandinavian folklore, the kraken is usually depicted as an aggressive cephalopod-like creature capable of destroying entire ships and dragging sailors to their doom. .... 'Many cultures around the world have a myth or legend about a tentacled beast bothering seamen or generally getting up to no good,' Jon says. .... 'Squid and octopus really are unusual animals. Their body plan isn't similar to anything else that we know of in the sea. They move quickly and the way that their bodies, arms and tentacles move seem to stimulate something in our fear of the unknown.

***

Siren here!  This website has a great collection of art depicting the merfolk and other species!

SEA MONSTERS THAT ACTUALLY EXIST : FORREST GALANTE

Forrest Galante is a world renowned wildlife biologist.

MERMAIDS and SEA MONSTERS HAVE LONG CAPTURED OUR IMAGINATIONS

Siren here!  When I started this blog many years ago, I decided to put two tags or labels under posts.  One was and is Science Facts and the other was and is DELICIOUS FICTIONS.  Although this blog has been more devoted to the Science Facts, no doubt about it, I've been inspired by the mysteries of the oceans that cover most of our planet and the idea that MERMAIDS and SEA MONSTERS EXISTED or EXIST is still very exciting to me.

So I thought I would start this New Year, 2026 by posting a but abut those mysteries and the real creatures that have existed or still do exits!

Remember that if you have a link or a book you would like me to look at or post about to leave me a comment!

Siren

WORLD TRAVELER