This is a really cool video displaying the predator/prey relationship in the ocean, as well as the interaction with bird species!!
Check it out...check it out!
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/planet-earth/video/video.html#
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Sea Turtles in the Deep Sea
View this link to see a fascinating video on sea turtles!!!! An introduction to the biology of the oceans!!!! http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/planet-earth/video/video.html#
Sunday, February 25, 2007
P.S. another win/publicity for An Inconvenient Truth
Melissa Ethridge won for her song "I Need to Wake Up"--she said in her acceptance speech "Thank you to Al Gore who has taught me that Global Warming is not a red or blue issue (meaning government parties) but a GREEN issue..."
Here's a link to hear her song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaznAgpzZyA&mode=related&search=
Here's a link to hear her song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaznAgpzZyA&mode=related&search=
The Oscars Go Green
Okay...so after a solid 8 hours at the library today...I took some time out to relax and watch the Oscars. I was pumped to see my favorite main squeeze...Al Gore there with hybrid car owner, Leonardo Di Caprio to announce that the Oscars have gone green. producer Laura Ziskin and the entire production team endeavored to select supplies and services with a sensitivity toward reducing the threats we face from global warming, species extinction, deforestation, toxic waste, and hazardous chemicals in our water and food. With guidance and assistance from the Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-partisan environmental and advocacy organization, we learned that it was easy (and often cost effective) to make simple changes to reduce Oscar's ecological footprint. On the Oscar website, they present ideas to help our society in a green world.
Hopefully I can follow up with a clip of it from youtube sometime this week.
Rip Currents
A rip current is a strong flow of water returning seaward from the shore. It is often mistakenly called a "rip tide," though the occurrence is not related to the tides. Colloquially a rip current is known simply as a rip, or the misnomer undertow. Although rip currents would exist even without the tides, tides can make an existing rip much more dangerous (especially low tide). Typical flow is at 0.5 metres per second and can be as fast as 2.5 metres per second. Rip currents can move to different locations on a beach break, up to a few hundred feet a day. They can occur at any beach with breaking waves, including the world's oceans, seas and large lakes such as the Great Lakes.
There are signs to look for in the water to see if a rip current is present. Rip currents can be recognized by unusually calm waters, caused by the channel of water flowing out. The color of the water may be different from the surrounding area. Also, the waterline is lower on the shore near a rip current. It is advisable to look for the existence of a rip current before heading into the water.
Rip currents can also be extremely useful for surfers as they save the effort of having to paddle out to catch a set. They can also be used by lifeguards, who can use them to get out from the shore to perform a rescue much quicker than they could by swimming/paddling through the waves.
While the precise conditions leading to a rip current are not known, the general picture is as follows. When wind and waves push water towards the shore, the previous backwash is often pushed sideways by the oncoming waves. This water streams along the shoreline until it finds an exit back to the sea. The resulting rip current is usually narrow and located in a trench between sandbars, under piers or along jetties. The current is strongest at the surface, and can dampen incoming waves, leading to the illusion of a particularly calm area, luring some swimmers in. Rip currents are stronger when the surf is rough (such as during high onshore winds, or when a strong hurricane is far offshore) or when the tide is low.
There are signs to look for in the water to see if a rip current is present. Rip currents can be recognized by unusually calm waters, caused by the channel of water flowing out. The color of the water may be different from the surrounding area. Also, the waterline is lower on the shore near a rip current. It is advisable to look for the existence of a rip current before heading into the water.
Rip currents can also be extremely useful for surfers as they save the effort of having to paddle out to catch a set. They can also be used by lifeguards, who can use them to get out from the shore to perform a rescue much quicker than they could by swimming/paddling through the waves.
While the precise conditions leading to a rip current are not known, the general picture is as follows. When wind and waves push water towards the shore, the previous backwash is often pushed sideways by the oncoming waves. This water streams along the shoreline until it finds an exit back to the sea. The resulting rip current is usually narrow and located in a trench between sandbars, under piers or along jetties. The current is strongest at the surface, and can dampen incoming waves, leading to the illusion of a particularly calm area, luring some swimmers in. Rip currents are stronger when the surf is rough (such as during high onshore winds, or when a strong hurricane is far offshore) or when the tide is low.
Diagram of a rip currentTuesday, February 20, 2007
Trapped Whale in the Annapolis River
A humpback whale was trapped for more than a week behind a Nova Scotia power dam. Numerous attempts occurred in order to lure the humpback, nicknamed "Sluice" into the open waters of the Bay of Fundy. A team of whale resucers used the recorded sounds of feeding humpbacks to coax the 15-tonne animal through the sluice gates that separate the Annapolis River from the Bay of Fundy.Sluice followed the sonar carrot for more than 4 kilometers, and swam within 35 metres of the Annapolis Royal Tidal Generating Station before turning around.
Due to the abundant supply of fish in the river, the whale most likely enjoyed his stay in Annapolis.
As a result of the changing tides, on some days there was only a 30 minute window for Sluice to make a run for it.
To understand their action plan, please view this video: http://www.cbc.ca/newsatsixns/media/20040826ns_whale_intvu.ram
Friends In Nova Scotia
The Gully, Off the Coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, 1997Photograph by Flip Nicklin
"Symmetry in motion, two whales surface and exhale in union, emerging to the rarest of North Atlantic days—a clear sky and a glassy sea. Although small groups often maneuver in tight formation for a short time...research suggests that the social bonds of most bottlenose whales are as transient as a teenager's. A month from now these whales will be swimming in sync with new best friends."
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Using Seals, Sea Lions, Satellites Help Map Ocean
Seals, sea lions, sharks, and other marine predators are taking part in a unique project to create a detailed three-dimensional map of the ocean. Using satellite tags traditionally harnessed for animal tracking, scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), have outfitted their marine recruits to collect and transmit data such as water temperature and density.
The information can then be used to create detailed 3-D models, such as this temperature profile of the North Pacific generated by seven elephant seals.
"Satellites provide a two-dimensional view of the ocean," team co-leader Yi Chao of JPL said in a NASA release. "Animals give us a slice of the ocean. They're like weather balloons in reverse."
"As we are getting more data from the sea and improving our computer models," he continued, "we should be able to make routine ocean forecasts, similar to what meteorologists have been doing in the past few decades. People who open the newspaper or turn on the TV in the morning will see the updated ocean forecast and make appropriate decisions as they plan their activities on the sea."
Team co-leader Daniel Costa, a marine biologist at UCSC, said the project will also help researchers better understand how animals interact with their ocean environments.
"Just as there are different habitats on land, the ocean has fine-scale features that are very important to animals," Costa said in the media release. "We want to be able to look at the ocean and say the equivalent of 'this is a grassland' or 'this is a forest.'"
—Victoria Gilman
The information can then be used to create detailed 3-D models, such as this temperature profile of the North Pacific generated by seven elephant seals.
"Satellites provide a two-dimensional view of the ocean," team co-leader Yi Chao of JPL said in a NASA release. "Animals give us a slice of the ocean. They're like weather balloons in reverse."
"As we are getting more data from the sea and improving our computer models," he continued, "we should be able to make routine ocean forecasts, similar to what meteorologists have been doing in the past few decades. People who open the newspaper or turn on the TV in the morning will see the updated ocean forecast and make appropriate decisions as they plan their activities on the sea."
Team co-leader Daniel Costa, a marine biologist at UCSC, said the project will also help researchers better understand how animals interact with their ocean environments.
"Just as there are different habitats on land, the ocean has fine-scale features that are very important to animals," Costa said in the media release. "We want to be able to look at the ocean and say the equivalent of 'this is a grassland' or 'this is a forest.'"
—Victoria Gilman
An Octopus that changes colour....and texture!!!
February 9, 2007—A leopard may not be able to change its spots. A cyanea octopus, on the other hand, can change its colors and skin texture in the blink of an eye.
By contracting muscles that enlarge or shrink pigment cells called chromatophores, the cyanea can rapidly blend into its surroundings to avoid predators and stalk prey.
Watch one of these "masters of disguise" change from a humble rock formation to a deadly tent, and get a sneak peek under the octopus's spread tentacles to see how the cephalopod enjoys a crab snack.
National Geographic Digital Media
Check out this video!!!
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070209-octopus-video.html
By contracting muscles that enlarge or shrink pigment cells called chromatophores, the cyanea can rapidly blend into its surroundings to avoid predators and stalk prey.
Watch one of these "masters of disguise" change from a humble rock formation to a deadly tent, and get a sneak peek under the octopus's spread tentacles to see how the cephalopod enjoys a crab snack.
National Geographic Digital Media
Check out this video!!!
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070209-octopus-video.html
Hydrothermal Vents
Today on National Geographic's website, a news release displaying the first ever sound recording of "black smokers". The mysterious deep ocean feature has been explored previously, however recordings have always failed. "Just by looking at them, it is really surprising they wouldn't be making noise," said Timothy Crone, a doctoral student in oceanography at the University of Washington in Seattle.
"They're violent little features."
Water shoots out of the fastest and largest black smokers at about 300 gallons (1,135 liters) a minute—twice the flow from a typical fire hose and enough to fill a bathtub in a few seconds.
The discovery of the sounds may help scientists study how vent flows respond to tides, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.
Such information, Crone said, is key to understanding the cycling of chemicals from the Earth's crust into the ocean.
Most instruments used to measure flow, however, are short-lived when inserted in the scalding hot, acidic, and mineral-rich fluid.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
The Great Warming--Looks like Canada Agrees with Gore
Check out this trailer for a Canadian documentary on Global Warming...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrsFysw2kfI&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrsFysw2kfI&mode=related&search=
Hydrothermal Vents
Hydrothermal circulation occurs when seawater penetrates into the ocean crust, becomes heated, reacts with the crustal rock, and rises to the seafloor. Seafloor hydrothermal systems have a major local impact on the chemistry of the ocean that can be measured in hydrothermal plumes. Some hydrothermal tracers (especially helium) can be mapped thousands of kilometers from their hydrothermal sources, and can be used to understand deep ocean circulation. Because hydrothermal circulation removes some compounds from seawater (e.g. Mg, SO4) and adds many others (He, Mn, Fe, H2, CO2), it is an important process in governing the composition of seawater.
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