Zoe Gentes
Fishy Crimes: How Indonesia Is Taking Back Its Fisheries
Fish poaching is a huge problem for countries around the globe, disrupting conservation efforts and damaging local economies. Indonesia, once a country plagued by the practice, has taken hard stances against illegal fishing and turned their fishing economy around.
Protecting Our Fish and Birds by Protecting Their Wetland Homes
Wetlands are the link between land and water, and are some of the most productive ecosystems on Earth. They need our protection, for the commercial fisheries we depend upon, for the recreational opportunities they provide us, and for the benefit of the species that use them.
The Bipolar See-Saw: Dansgaard-Oeschger Events and the Antarctic Climate
Within large timescales of glacial and interglacial periods, mini, rapid climate shifts may occur thanks to oceanic circulation processes and balancing global ocean budgets. The events in question originate in the North Atlantic; but, how do they affect the Antarctic?
Keeping Up the Fight: Tips for Science Policy Engagement
Concerned for the future of science? I’ve highlighted a few things you can do to stay engaged in 15 minutes a day.
New Year, new innovations: energy and climate science
Research in marine renewable energy and climate systems will grow ever more important in the future. The research for these areas are not just done on the coast, however – I ventured into the mountains to learn more.
Eat Organic at Your Local Gyre Margin
Paper: Letscher, Robert T., et al. 2016. Nutrient budgets in the subtropical ocean gyres dominated by lateral transport. Nature Geoscience, v.9: 815–819 If you were a marine organism looking for some grub, where could you find something nutritious? Nutrients in the ocean accumulate in the bodies of living things, which tend to sink to deeper waters […]
The Pacific Pacemaker: Using Models to Explain Warming Hiatus
While the Earth’s mean surface temperature is slowly increasing, there are occasional, temporary slowdowns in the overall trend. The Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation, a strong, varying climate pattern, may be held accountable for the phenomenon.
A Cluster of Typhoons: Intensification over the last three decades
Tropical Cyclones in the western Pacific Ocean have been intensifying in recent decades, but different data sets and methodologies made it hard to create accurate comparisons and models. Researchers adjusted these data sets to find that cyclones that make landfall are intensifying at faster rates than those that stay in the open ocean, and that the intensification is tied to rising ocean temperature.
Mediterranean Magnetism shows Ancient Oceanic Crust
Compared to the continents, oceanic crust is relatively young, less than 200 million years. But in a corner of the Mediterranean Sea, a remnant of the ancient Neo-Tethys Ocean lurks from the time of Pangaea.
Highlights from the International Marine Conservation Congress, Newfoundland, Canada
At the International Marine Conservation Congress this year, I got a first-timer’s look into the world of marine conservation research and in-depth discussions about the future of conservation.
Greenland ice melt may impact Atlantic Ocean temperature and climate
Paper: Claus W. Böning, et al. 2016. Emerging impact of Greenland meltwater on deepwater formation in the North Atlantic Ocean. Nature Geoscience, v.9: 523–527. We know the ocean is warming due to climate change. But did you also know there are huge paths that heat and energy takes through the global ocean? Although the ocean […]
Sea Lions and goose chases – a day at the Marine Mammal Center
I spent a morning learning about the Marine Mammal Center at Moss Landing in California, helped with the intake of a sea lion, and went out on a call with the team.
National Ocean Policy: a look inside Congress
Ever wondered what your government does for the oceans? Here’s a brief glimpse.
Iceberg Buffet: How giant icebergs bring food to plankton
While icebergs are calving from Antarctic glaciers at alarming rates, they may provide a negative feedback for the carbon cycle. Giant icebergs bring large amounts of iron to iron-poor areas of the Southern Ocean, stimulating primary productivity and boosting carbon sequestration.
Ports, Pups, Policy, and Low Sardine Stocks
While sardine stocks are seeing disturbingly low numbers along the US west coast, affecting fishermen and marine mammals that depend on them, scientists are working hard to provide forecast modeling and data than can better assist fishery managers to avoid this situation in the future.
Mountains vs. Climate, Recorded in Marine Sediment
Mountain ranges can actively evolve with Earth’s climate. A new study of the St. Elias Range in coastal Alaska demonstrates how dynamic and coupled our planet’s crust is to climate, and how we can investigate past erosion through marine sediments.
A Career in Marine Mammal Acoustics and the Arctic
This week, I interviewed Joshua Jones, a Ph.D. student in biological oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The focus of his thesis research is marine mammals in the Arctic, their acoustic behavior and relationships with sea ice, and the effects of human activities on the underwater acoustic environment.
Beyond the Science (Part 2): Sci-Com, Media, and Policy at GSA
I attended the annual meeting for the Geological Society of America as a first-timer, joining scientists, educators, policy-makers, industry buffs, and students from the international community at the second-largest geology conference in the United States. I had attended a geology conference before, but I had not been involved to the extent that I was at GSA. The conference provided me with so much more than just a platform to speak to a wide audience.
A First-Timer’s Look at a Scientist Congressional Visits Day
At Geosciences Congressional Visits Day, 2015, I joined a diverse group of over 60 geoscientists that gathered in Washington, D.C. to learn how to speak to policymakers and how to craft our message requesting continued strong federal support for earth sciences.
The Down, Up, and Down Again of Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay region is a densely populated area, and also experiences more rapid sea level rise than anywhere else along the North American Atlantic Coast. Why? Scientists look to the lithosphere for answers, finding that the subsidence of an ancient lithospheric bulge may be partially to blame, and will continue for millennia.
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