Tag: national oceanic and atmospheric administration
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Monitoring ocean carbon via satellite
Satellites now play a key role in monitoring carbon levels in the oceans, but we are only just beginning to understand their full potential. Our ability to predict future climate relies upon being able to monitor where our carbon emissions go. So we need to know how much stays in the atmosphere, or becomes stored…
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The Pacific Ocean Becomes a Caldron
Hurricane Patricia was a surprise. The eastern Pacific hurricane strengthened explosively before hitting the coast of Mexico, far exceeding projections of scientists who study such storms. And while the storm’s strength dissipated quickly when it struck land, a question remained. What made it such a monster? Explanations were all over the map, with theories that…
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Watch The Swirling Islands Of Plastic Trash That Are Filling Up Our Oceans
Courtesy of NASA, see where the 5 trillion pieces of floating plastic floating we’ve put in our oceans. Next year, a 20-year-old inventor will begin trawling the world’s oceans to try to clean up plastic garbage patches—the sprawling clumps where most of the world’s 5 trillion pieces of plastic trash end up. But a new…
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Sustainable Fishing: Easy Solution for Shrimpers and Smelt Alike
For the past four years, trawlers on the West Coast have been hauling in vast amounts of pink shrimp, much of it destined for dainty salads and shrimp cocktails across the country. But though these have been boom times for shrimpers, many are uneasy. Along with pink shrimp, their nets often scoop up a threatened…
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A Lifesaving Transplant for Coral Reefs
David Vaughan plunges his right arm down to his elbow into one of nine elevated tanks where thousands of tiny colonies of coral are growing at an astonishing rate in shaded seclusion next to the Mote Tropical Research Laboratory. “Now this is the exciting part. You ready for this?” he asks, straining to be heard…
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Avoiding ecosystem collapse
From coral reefs to prairie grasslands, some of the world’s most iconic habitats are susceptible to sudden collapse due to seemingly minor events. A classic example: the decimation of kelp forests when a decline of otter predation unleashes urchin population explosions. Three studies published in the Nov. 24 special issue of Philosophical Transactions of the…
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“Flock” of Nano Satellites to Capture High-Res Views of Whole Earth
A private San Francisco start-up has launched the largest-ever ensemble of satellites The constellation of Earth-imaging satellites launched yesterday—28 individual sputniks, called “Doves,” each about the size of its namesake and weighing in at a svelte five kilograms—is on its way to the International Space Station. If all goes well, by the end of the…
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Online citizen scientists: Classify plankton images
Plankton Portal uses crowd-sourcing to classify strange oceanic creatures Today, an online citizen-science project launches called “Plankton Portal” was created by researchers at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (RSMAS) in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) and developers at Zooniverse.org Plankton Portal…
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First global atlas of marine plankton reveals remarkable underwater world
Under the microscope, they look like they could be from another planet, but these microscopic organisms inhabit the depths of our oceans in nearly infinite numbers. To begin to identify where, when, and how much oceanic plankton can be found around the globe, a group of international researchers have compiled the first ever global atlas…
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New Robotic Instruments to Provide Real-Time Data on Gulf of Maine Red Tide
A new robotic sensor deployed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Gulf of Maine coastal waters may transform the way red tides or harmful algal blooms (HABs) are monitored and managed in New England. The instrument was launched at the end of last month, and a second such system will be deployed later this spring.…