Tag: Ocean Awareness

One Man’s Quest to Heal the Oceans—And Maybe Save the World

10/20/2023 - By Aryn Baker. Enric Sala—marine ecologist, conservationist, and ocean advocate—is standing under a life-size replica of a Northern Atlantic Right Whale at the natural history museum in Washington, D.C., and the air outside is smudged with wildfire smoke drifting down from Canada. It’s not surprising that Sala wants to talk about the… SEE MORE

How a Little Mussel could Help Save a Merrimack River Salt Marsh

10/17/2023 - By wbur.org. Annalee Tweitmann stood ankle deep in mud, hands wet with mud, peering at a steep riverbank of mud. Mud comes with the job, she said, and she's fine with that. Because mud is where the mussels are. Tweitmann, a coastal restoration ecologist with Mass Audubon, had come to a… SEE MORE

Правительство Австралии, CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Can a Map of the Ocean Floor be Crowdsourced?

10/7/2023 - By bbc.com. Many maps of the ocean floor are decades old. The race is on to properly chart them by 2030 – and crowdsourcing could be part of the answer. Tucked inside a federal government building in the American Rockies is the world's best collection of seafloor maps. Occasionally a… SEE MORE

Sculpture, mar, sea, underwater, animal, sea life, undersea | Wallpaper Flare

Underwater Museum of Art: Santa Rosa Beach, Florida

9/24/2023 - By atlasobscura.com. SWIM THROUGH A TUNNEL FORMED by the arched rib-cage remains of a prehistoric marine mammal at the Underwater Museum of Art off the Gulf Coast of Florida. Atlanta-based artist Pat Mclain’s 2023 installation, Cetacean Remains, forms the tunnel and creates a singular interactive diving experience that offers something mysterious, yet rightfully… SEE MORE

Heron in Louisiana marsh (Photo: AdobeStock)

Louisiana Living Shoreline to Protect Levees, Restore Wetlands, and Reconnect People to the Coast

9/23/2023 - By fisheries.noaa.gov. With $4.5 million dollars in funding from NOAA under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, Jefferson Parish is building the first living shoreline to protect a federal levee system. Standing outside of Mr. Ed’s Seafood & Italian Restaurant—one of the Bucktown, Louisiana, restaurants to come back… SEE MORE

Green seaweed Turimetta south, Caulerpa filiformis by Wikkicommons

Is Seaweed the Next Big Alternative to Meat?

9/13/2023 - By smithsonianmag.com From kelp burgers to bacon of the sea, sustainable food entrepreneurs are innovating to charm hungry omnivores When vertebrates first heaved themselves out of the sea some 390 million years ago, terrestrial life was good: the atmosphere was rich with oxygen, and competition for food was virtually nonexistent.… SEE MORE

Gray whale mother and her calf on their northbound migration.

Gray Whale Calf Count Increases from All-time Low, Positive Sign for the Population

9/12/2023 - By fisheries.noaa.gov. Almost twice as many gray whale calves swam north with their mothers to their Arctic feeding grounds this spring compared to last year, according to a new count completed by NOAA Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center. The results suggest that the eastern North Pacific population of gray whales that migrate… SEE MORE

Vessels removed from the Dog River in Alabama (Photo: NOAA).

Now Open: Two Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Grant Opportunities for Marine Debris Removal and Interception Technologies

8/30/2023 - By blog.marinedebris.noaa.gov. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Marine Debris Program is pleased to announce its Fiscal Year 2024 Notices of Funding Opportunity for both Marine Debris Removal and Interception Technologies under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. These two funding opportunities include the availability up to $28 million across the… SEE MORE

Derelict vessels and other debris in a Panama City marina following Hurricane Michael (Photo: NOAA).

Taking the Lead to Prevent Hurricane Debris

8/7/2023 - By blog.marinedebris.noaa.gov. As we approach the 2022 hurricane season, we are sharing NOAA Marine Debris Program resources to help you prepare for storms and prevent storm-generated debris from accumulating in waterways and on shorelines. Hurricanes and typhoons are among nature's most powerful and destructive events, and when these natural disasters… SEE MORE

Plastic bottles, foam cups, food wrappers, and other debris on a beach can deter tourists (Photo: Heal the Bay).

What is Marine Debris Program?

8/6/2023 - By marinedebris.noaa.gov. Marine debris can be dangerous for wildlife, damage sensitive habitats, and create safety and navigation hazards. But marine debris can also hurt the economy. Marine debris can keep tourists away from beaches, compete with active fishing gear, and reduce commercial catches. How does marine debris impact the economies… SEE MORE