Every Once In A While, Sanctuary Researchers Get A Treat – Like Getting To See This Tiny Baby Octopus!

by daviddoubilet

Recently, NASA Goddard released a visualization of aerosols in the Atlantic region. The simulation uses real data from satellite imagery taken between August and October 2017 to seed a simulation of atmospheric physics. The color scales in the visualization show concentrations of three major aerosol particles: smoke (gray), sea salt (blue), and dust (brown). One of the interesting outcomes of the simulation is a visualization of the fall Atlantic hurricane season. The high winds from hurricanes help pick up sea salt from the ocean surface and throw it high in the atmosphere, making the hurricanes visible here. Fires in the western United States provide most of the smoke aerosols, whereas dust comes mostly from the Sahara. Tiny aerosol particles serve as a major nucleation source for water droplets, affecting both cloud formation and rainfall. With simulations like these, scientists hope to better understand how aerosols move in the atmosphere and how they affect our weather. (Image credit: NASA Goddard Research Center, source; submitted by Paul vdB)

EXPLAINED WHY WHALE SHARKS CONGREGATE IN JUST 20 LOCALITIES WORLDWIDE

We know whale sharks (Rhincodon typus), the biggest fish in the world, aggregate at just 20 coastal locations globally.  Why these animals, which can reach more than 18 m in length, choose these specific places, has perplexed researchers and conservationists. Although whale-shark aggregations had been recorded near tropics, including Mozambique, the Maldives, Honduras, Australia and others places, what causes these aggregations remain unknow.

Aggregations typically occur in the fore reef and lagoon areas, leading out to the reef slope, reef wall or continental slope, which has a steeper slope, leading whale sharks to deep-sea environment. Researchers sugests whale shark can filter food at greath depths, where the water is cold, and then bask in the sun at shallow depths, warming their cold-blooded bodies, as they depend on external sources of body heat.

-  Location of aggregation and non-aggregation sites. Hotspots are in red.

These places are very productive, where plankton and small crustaceans abound. However, sharks swimming in shallow waters near the surface are vulnerable to accidents caused by vessels, as tourist boats which approaches them. The whale shark is considered Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, these findings increase our understanding of whale shark behaviour and may help guide the identification and conservation of further aggregation sites.

Photo by  Abe Khao Lak

Copping et al., 2018.  Does bathymetry drive coastal whale shark (Rhincodon typus) aggregations?  Aquatic Biology section

Blooms in the Baltic

Every summer, phytoplankton – microscopic plant-like organisms – spread across the North Atlantic, with blooms spanning hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles. Nutrient-rich, cooler waters tend to promote more growth among marine plants and phytoplankton than is found in tropical waters. Blooms this summer off Scandinavia seem to be particularly intense.

On July 18, 2018, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 acquired a natural-color image of a swirling green phytoplankton bloom in the Gulf of Finland, a section of the Baltic Sea. Note how the phytoplankton trace the edges of a vortex; it is possible that this ocean eddy is pumping up nutrients from the depths.

Though it is impossible to know the phytoplankton type without sampling the water, three decades of satellite observations suggest that these green blooms are likely to be cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), an ancient type of marine bacteria that capture and store solar energy through photosynthesis (like plants).

In recent years, the proliferation of algae blooms in the Baltic Sea has led to the regular appearance of “dead zones” in the basin. Phytoplankton and cyanobacteria consume the abundant nutrients in the Baltic ¬and deplete the oxygen. According to researchers from Finland’s University of Turku, the dead zone this year is estimated to span about 70,000 square kilometers (27,000 square miles).

Read more: https://go.nasa.gov/2uLK4aZ

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NSF cancels grant reviews due to WH executive order

The National Science Foundation (NSF)—the major funding agency for basic science—has canceled all grant review panels this week to comply with an executive order from the new administration. This is where independent panels of scientists discuss grant proposals they’ve reviewed for scientific merit and recommend which projects get funded to NSF project managers. A LOT of work goes into setting up and scheduling grant reviews. It will take time to reschedule these panels, delaying key decisions for many promising projects. This will wreak havoc on science grant funding for months to come.

Put simply, this action along with the halting of NIH-funded grants are blatant and reckless political attacks on science, from an administration that seeks blinding loyalty.

NPR

National Science Foundation freezes grant review in response to Trump executive orders

The National Science Foundation has canceled all grant review panels this week. It's unclear how long the pause could last.

james.garlick Milky Way Over Sea Sparkle Bay. Bioluminescent Phytoplankton or “Sea Sparkles” captured on the neck of the South Arm Peninsula in Tasmania

Hatfield Marine Science Center:

Sashay the Pacific Giant Octopus Gets Released Sashay, our stunning and extremely friendly Visitor Center octopus was released back into the wild on November 26th. After being gently introduced into the Yaquina Bay, she temporarily crawled onto land. This gave her human fans a final opportunity to say goodbye.

This type of behavior has not been seen at any of our previous releases and was an unforgettable moment for all who witnessed it. While it was difficult to bid this beautiful animal adieu, we want our octopuses to have the opportunity to reproduce and finish their lives in the wild. We hope you enjoy these photos!

Photos by Volunteer James Upton

Very cool. My lab group also works with Emiliania huxleyi and EhVs.

“ Volcan Osorno with Lago Llanquihue / Chile .”