Category: Ocean Awareness

Inbreeding Contributes to Decline of Endangered Killer Whales

Ocean Awareness

4/10/2023 - By fisheries.noaa.gov. New genome sequencing shows Southern Residents are highly inbred. The small size and isolation of the endangered population of Southern Resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest have led to high levels of inbreeding. This inbreeding has contributed to their decline, which has continued as surrounding killer whale populations… SEE MORE

Is It a Seal or a Sea Lion?

Ocean Awareness

4/6/2023 - By fisheries.noaa.gov. Seals and sea lions are both pinnipeds, but there are distinct characteristics to tell them apart. Seals and sea lions, along with walruses, belong to a group of marine mammals called “pinnipeds.” Pinniped means fin or flipper-footed in Latin. These animals spend the majority of their time in… SEE MORE

brewbooks from near Seattle, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 , Flickr_-_brewbooks_-_Lichen_and_Plants_on_a_rock via Wikimedia Commons

Worried about Sea Level Rise? Look for the Lichens.

3/22/2023 - By Ian Rose. One of the great infrastructure challenges of the next few decades is to figure out which coastal sites should be abandoned and which can be saved. Lichens can help. [caption id="attachment_45020" align="alignnone" width="512"] Lichen on rock via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] The clock is ticking for many low-lying coastal areas.… SEE MORE

NOAA, Public domain, Marine_sanctuary via Wikimedia Commons

Ocean treaty: Historic Agreement Reached After Decade of Talks

3/21/2023 - By Esme Stallard. Nations have reached a historic agreement to protect the world's oceans following 10 years of negotiations. The High Seas Treaty aims to help place 30% of the seas into protected areas by 2030, to safeguard and recuperate marine nature. [caption id="attachment_45036" align="alignnone" width="512"] Green Sea Turtle grazing via… SEE MORE

Oceans

Rebeccakardel, CC BY-SA 3.0 , Antique_Boat via Wikimedia Commons

Going Electric

3/18/2023 - By soundingsonline.com As more builders introduce new models with electric propulsion, DIY types are converting their old boats with their own hands. When Dave and Danielle Baker and their two young children pull up to a marina and begin maneuvering into a slip, they often get wondering stares from people… SEE MORE

Michal Osmenda from Brussels, Belgium, CC BY-SA 2.0 , Fish_a_lot_of_fish_2152054969 via Wikimedia Commons

How Will Changes in Habitat Affect Fish in and Near the Chesapeake Bay?

3/14/2023 - By fisheries.noaa.gov NOAA-funded research has explored how different species, including the commercially important summer flounder and black sea bass, may change their habitat use due to climate change. In the Mid-Atlantic Bight—the coastal and estuarine waters from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina—water temperature is increasing at twice… SEE MORE

National Weather Service Aviation Weather Center, Public domain, Aviation_weather_forecast_chart via Wikimedia Commons

NOAA Explains: Why Electronic Charts are Better Than Paper

3/11/2023 - By noaa.gov NOAA Ocean Podcast: Episode 46 NOAA is moving into the digital age by phasing out paper nautical charts over five years. In this episode, we talk with NOAA Corps Capt. EJ Van Den Ameele, chief of Coast Survey's marine chart division, to learn how this transition will affect… SEE MORE

Barry Loigman, M.D. (User:Bloigman), CC BY-SA 2.5 , 512px-Seawise_University_wreck via Wikimedia Commons

Newly released video shows Titanic wreckage before decades of deterioration

3/8/2023 - By Scott Stump New footage from the first time the wreckage of the Titanic was seen by human eyes has provided a rare look at the ship in its best condition since tragically sinking in 1912. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution recently released uncut footage from nearly 40 years ago… SEE MORE

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Upper_Neuadd_Reservoir_-_geograph.org.uk_-_753942.jpg Upper_Neuadd_Reservoir_-_geograph.org_.uk_-_753942

December 2022 water levels break eight historical records

3/3/2023 - By noaa.gov From Alaska to Washington, several of NOAA’s water level stations observed their highest recorded water levels. December was an active month for NOAA’s National Water Level Observation Network (NWLON). A staggering eight stations observed all-time high water levels — some of which broke records in place for 40 years.… SEE MORE

Zac, CC0, 512px-Beach_in_Fiji via Wikimedia Commons

When beaches are trashed, who pays the price?

3/1/2023 - By noaa.gov If you arrived at your dream beach only to find it littered with plastic and other rubbish, would you stay and play — or be on your way? A recent NOAA-funded study found that when the amount of marine debris normally on beaches is doubled, coastal economies could… SEE MORE