DOER Marine

THROUGH SYLVIA’S LENS

doer — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:23:02 +0000

Before Sylvia Earle addresses a crowd, the famed oceanographer is sometimes asked how she’d like to be introduced. “Oh, I don’t know,” she says, ducking the question dozens of times each year. “Just tell them: here’s Sylvia.” Or instead you could pull a few lines from a list of achievements thick enough to float on: Earle is perhaps the most accomplished marine scholar, explorer, author, and lecturer since the original “fish man” Jacques Cousteau. Known as “Her Deepness,” she has been a founder of three companies, the chief scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and a long-time National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, leading more than 100 expeditions to sea—and beneath it. Among her latest efforts: a campaign to create a global network of marine protected areas—”Hope Spots,” large enough to help the ocean repair itself—and a push to build a pair of “all-ocean” depth submersibles, a step toward a world where, as she puts, “no child stays dry.” Until then, here’s a peek inside Earle’s personal photo album, images from a life spent under the sea.

James Cameron Responds to Robert Ballard on Deep-Sea Exploration

doer — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:22:01 +0000

The quickest way to destroy ocean science, James Cameron tells Newsweek, is to take human explorers out of the water.

I know Bob Ballard well and continue to admire and support his efforts. But here’s the problem with his argument: it’s not as if more funding is being made available for ROV (remote operated vehicle) and AUV (automated underwater vehicle) exploration as a result of cutting funding to piloted subs. No money is being freed up by these draconian cuts. Funding is being cut across the board, in the U.S., including for ROV and AUV operations, and deep-ocean science in general. Piloted subs, which are the most expensive to operate, are being cut most aggressively.

The Last Dive? Funding for Human Expeditions in the Ocean May Have Run Aground

doer — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:20:07 +0000

Legendary explorer Sylvia Earle is saying goodbye to the ocean floor, but are machines good enough to take her place? Tony Dokoupil reports in Newsweek on the robot takeover of ocean science. Plus, in a Newsweek exclusive, A-List filmmaker James Cameron takes on Robert Ballard, the marine biologist who discovered the wreck of the Titanic. Get the full issue today on your iPad and other editions.

Marine biologist warns fossil fuels making oceans more acidic

doer — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 17:27:28 +0000

ALAMEDA, Calif. (KGO) — A growing number of top marine scientists say the world’s oceans are in crisis. You may have already heard about the extreme threat from over-fishing, but another equally severe problem is just beginning to get attention. The oceans are turning more acidic and it’s happening fast.

ROV Visits the Bottom of the Sea

doer — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 17:24:20 +0000

From Oct. 13 to Oct. 21, a team of geoscientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Mexican research centers UNAM and CICESE visited the seafloor in search of tectonic history. Their rock collecting off the coast of Baja California took them to benthic seamount communities likely never to have been explored by humans. Take a quick tour of this invisible world with “Gizmo,” Scripps’ remotely operated vehicle.

Bay Area Science Festival

doer — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 17:18:49 +0000

10 Days. 50 Events. A celebration of science & technology from Santa Rosa to San Jose.

Antarctic adventure for NIU scientists begins with test run in fabled depths of Lake Tahoe

doer — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 17:06:37 +0000

The plan sounds like something from an adventure novel.

Just after Christmas this year, NIU scientists Ross Powell and Reed Scherer, with colleagues from nine other major universities, will traverse more than 600 miles across the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica, braving potential crevasses and wind speeds as high as 100 mph along the way.

Scientists finish testing new technology at Lake Tahoe

doer — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:57:32 +0000

In Lake Tahoe scientists finished testing new technology to assess the risk of earthquakes and landslide hazards.

New drill may reveal Tahoe quake history

doer — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:47:21 +0000

New drill may reveal Tahoe quake history

KQED Feature – This is Us: Sylvia Earle

doer — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:41:24 +0000

KQED – This is Us: Sylvia Earle