Pacific Ocean
There and back again: Uncovering the mysteries of gray whale migration
Gray whales undertake one of the longest migrations of any animal, swimming 12,000 miles round-trip between their northern feeding grounds and subtropical breeding and calving grounds. But what could be the reason to make such a long and perilous journey? Julia ZehI am a PhD candidate at Syracuse University studying marine mammal communication. My research […]
A Small Pool Makes a Big Splash
Researchers find evidence that a small region in warm waters in the western Pacific could have played a big role in the global warming trend we have been observing. Shawn WangI am a PhD student studying climate physics and marine geology at MIT and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. I am interested in using geochemical methods […]
Surprising fin whale songs in Hawaii
After sifting through thousands of hours of recordings, a team of naval researchers is bringing the previously hidden complexities of fin whale song to light. Julia ZehI am a PhD candidate at Syracuse University studying marine mammal communication. My research focuses on analyzing underwater recordings of whale calls in order to better understand whale behavior. […]
Minke Boings: A 50-year mystery and the science of listening in the ocean
Whale sounds are weird and fascinating, but for a long time scientists weren’t even sure that whales made sounds. The history of the study of sounds made by marine animals starts with naval submarine recordings, World War II, and mysterious sounds like the minke boing. Julia ZehI am a PhD candidate at Syracuse University studying […]
Pacific flushing leads to carbon dioxide surges
While it might seem silly to care about what the ocean was doing 10,000 years ago, these old oceans impacted how Earth’s climate is today! Read more here to find out about what might have caused the Pacific Ocean to ‘burp’ the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which helped end the ice age! […]
A New Tool for Understanding Where Carbon Dioxide Goes
We know that CO2 is being absorbed from the air by the ocean, but how can we measure how much of the carbon in the ocean comes from human activity? By examining carbon data in the Pacific Ocean, scientists show that the ratio of heavy to light carbon atoms in the water can help answer […]
Is the Deep Ocean Warming Too?
It’s been shown that the surface of the South Pacific Ocean has been warming by absorbing excess heat from the atmosphere, but is this heat making it down to the deep ocean? Deep-ocean warming can lead to more rapid global warming in the future, but detecting it is tricky. Despite the challenges, a team of […]
Small MPAs: the new all-you-can-eat buffets?
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a popular conservation tool and are in many situations very effective. Unfortunately, as with many plans, there may be some unintended consequences, as seen in the case of small MPAs in Fiji, where they appear to have attracted corallivorous crown-of-thorns sea stars (Acanthaster spp.). Find out more in today’s oceanbites! […]
Species respond differently to climate shifts over time
Large-scale climate variably is well-known to have impacts on marine ecosystems. However, the response of species over time is not as simple as it seems. This study reveals that the relationships between seabirds and Pacific climate varies over time. Hillary ScannellHillary received her MS in oceanography from the University of Maine in 2014 and works […]
A sticky situation: Old black carbon and sinking particulate organic carbon
The attachment of aged dissolved black carbon to sinking particles may be an important process for transporting organic carbon to deep marine sediments. Kari St.LaurentI received a Ph.D. in oceanography in 2014 from the Graduate School of Oceanography (URI) and am finishing up a post-doc at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (Horn […]
by oceanbites 3 weeks ago
Not all outdoor science is fieldwork. Some of the best days in the lab can be setting up experiments, especially when you get to do it outdoors. It’s an exciting mix of problem solving, precision, preparation, and teamwork. Here is- by oceanbites 1 month ago
Being on a research cruise is a unique experience with the open water, 12-hour working shifts, and close quarters, but there are some familiar practices too. Here Diana is filtering seawater to gather chlorophyll for analysis, the same process on - by oceanbites 3 months ago
This week for #WriterWednesday on #oceanbites we are featuring Hannah Collins @hannahh_irene Hannah works with marine suspension feeding bivalves and microplastics, investigating whether ingesting microplastics causes changes to the gut microbial community or gut tissues. She hopes to keep working - by oceanbites 3 months ago
Leveling up - did you know that crabs have a larval phase? These are both porcelain crabs, but the one on the right is the earlier stage. It’s massive spine makes it both difficult to eat and quite conspicuous in - by oceanbites 3 months ago
This week for #WriterWednesday on #Oceanbites we are featuring Cierra Braga. Cierra works ultraviolet c (UVC) to discover how this light can be used to combat biofouling, or the growth of living things, on the hulls of ships. Here, you - by oceanbites 3 months ago
This week for #WriterWednesday at #Oceanbites we are featuring Elena Gadoutsis @haysailor These photos feature her “favorite marine research so far: From surveying tropical coral reefs, photographing dolphins and whales, and growing my own algae to expose it to different - by oceanbites 4 months ago
This week for #WriterWednesday on Oceanbites we are featuring Eliza Oldach. According to Ellie, “I study coastal communities, and try to understand the policies and decisions and interactions and adaptations that communities use to navigate an ever-changing world. Most of - by oceanbites 4 months ago
This week for #WriterWednesday at #Oceanbites we are featuring Jiwoon Park with a little photographic help from Ryan Tabata at the University of Hawaii. When asked about her research, Jiwoon wrote “Just like we need vitamins and minerals to stay - by oceanbites 4 months ago
This week for #WriterWednesday on #Oceanbites we are featuring @riley_henning According to Riley, ”I am interested in studying small things that make a big impact in the ocean. Right now for my master's research at the University of San Diego, - by oceanbites 5 months ago
This week for #WriterWednesday at #Oceanbites we are featuring Gabby Stedman. Gabby is interested in interested in understanding how many species of small-bodied animals there are in the deep-sea and where they live so we can better protect them from - by oceanbites 5 months ago
This week for #WriterWednesday at #Oceanbites we are featuring Shawn Wang! Shawn is “an oceanographer that studies ocean conditions of the past. I use everything from microfossils to complex computer models to understand how climate has changed in the past - by oceanbites 5 months ago
Today we are highlighting some of our awesome new authors for #WriterWednesday Today we have Daniel Speer! He says, “I am driven to investigate the interface of biology, chemistry, and physics, asking questions about how organisms or biological systems respond - by oceanbites 6 months ago
Here at Oceanbites we love long-term datasets. So much happens in the ocean that sometimes it can be hard to tell if a trend is a part of a natural cycle or actually an anomaly, but as we gather more - by oceanbites 6 months ago
Have you ever seen a lobster molt? Because lobsters have exoskeletons, every time they grow they have to climb out of their old shell, leaving them soft and vulnerable for a few days until their new shell hardens. Young, small - by oceanbites 7 months ago
A lot of zooplankton are translucent, making it much easier to hide from predators. This juvenile mantis shrimp was almost impossible to spot floating in the water, but under a dissecting scope it’s features really come into view. See the - by oceanbites 7 months ago
This is a clump of Dead Man’s Fingers, scientific name Codium fragile. It’s native to the Pacific Ocean and is invasive where I found it on the east coast of the US. It’s a bit velvety, and the coolest thing - by oceanbites 8 months ago
You’ve probably heard of jellyfish, but have you heard of salps? These gelatinous sea creatures band together to form long chains, but they can also fall apart and will wash up onshore like tiny gemstones that squish. Have you seen - by oceanbites 8 months ago
Check out what’s happening on a cool summer research cruise! On the #neslter summer transect cruise, we deployed a tow sled called the In Situ Icthyoplankton Imaging System. This can take pictures of gelatinous zooplankton (like jellyfish) that would be - by oceanbites 9 months ago
Did you know horseshoe crabs have more than just two eyes? In these juveniles you can see another set in the middle of the shell. Check out our website to learn about some awesome horseshoe crab research. #oceanbites #plankton #horseshoecrabs - by oceanbites 9 months ago
Feeling a bit flattened by the week? So are these summer flounder larvae. Fun fact: flounder larvae start out with their eyes set like normal fish, but as they grow one of their eyes migrates to meet the other and
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