Ocean Science Radio

Project 2025, otherwise known as the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. The Project aims to promote conservative and right-wing policies to reshape the United States federal government and consolidate executive power, under the premise that Donald Trump wins the 2024 presidential election. If you haven’t read it, we don’t blame you, it is literally 900 pages written in the most mind-numbing legalease and political speak that you can possibly imagine, but the contents have HUGE ramifications if they were enacted. Our guest, and long-time friend of the show, Dr. Andrew Thaler actually took the time to examine Project 2025 and look for what impacts the policy proposals would have on the ocean.  Additional music "Convicted Felon Cult" by John Lopker 

The Ocean Science Radio team chats with "Deep Sea" Dawn Wright, a geographer and oceanographer and Chief Scientist at ESRI (The Environmental Systems Research Institute) - one of the world's leading suppliers of GIS software, web GIS and geodatabase management applications. We cover why mapping the bottom of the ocean is important, some cool ocean mapping history, and her recently released book "Mapping the Deep: Innovation, Exploration & the Dive of a Lifetime" about her 2022 dive to the deepest part of the ocean, the Challenger Deep.

Complex compositions made up of groans, moans, sighs, roars, and high-pitched squeals that can last for hours - The songs of whales are both beautiful and haunting. Humans have had a particular fascination with the sounds of cetaceans and the possible meanings behind it since Roger Payne, a marine biologist, first noticed the complex sonic arrangement of humpback whale sounds during a research expedition to Bermuda in 1967 But what if we could translate what they were saying? Really understand what the different clicks and codas actually mean? On this episode we're going to chat with the Cetacean Translation Initiative, also known as CETI, who is revolutionizing the latest advancements in cetacean research and discuss the potential implications of breaking the language barrier between humans and whales. Guests: - Giovanni Petri - Professor of network science at the Network Science Institute of Northeastern University and principal of research at project CETI - Shane Gero - A scientist in residence at Ottawa's Carlton University and the biology lead for project CETI

A new paper just dropped on incorporating environmental factors when determining conservation baselines for sharks on coral reefs by our very own Frances! (That's right, it is a META episode!)

In honor of the untimely passing of Ocean advocate, Turtle biologist, and author of the book "Blue Mind," Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, we are re-releasing our episode with him featuring the topic of "Blue Mind" and the benefits of being close to the ocean and other bodies of water.

Today on the show we're diving into a story that might surprise you. It doesn't involve dazzling coral reefs or majestic whales, but something a little closer to home... canned salmon! In this episode, we’ll be discussing how Dr. Natalie Mastick - a postdoctoral associate at the Yale Peabody Museum and a marine ecologist - used this unusual technique of examining super super old canned fish to track changes in a salmon and their parasites.

In this episode, we talk about ocean superstructures - a new scientific phrase that our guests hope start up some important conversations about how the bottom of the ocean was formed. Guests: Dr. Kevin Konrad -Assistant Professor of Geoscience and Director of the Nevada Isotope Geochronology Laboratory (NIGL) University of Nevada, Las Vegas Dr Val Finlayson - Postdoctoral Associate Department of Geology University of Maryland Dr. Andrea Balbas - Assistant professor at California State University Long Beach

It is February and we once again have our seasonal episode of Ocean Lovin - covering cool and strange ways ocean creatures make little ocean creatures. We speak with  Dr. Christine Dungeon, a senior research fellow at the University of Queensland and the University of the Sunshine Coast about sharks and a peculiar story of immaculate shark-ception. As with every year, we want to remind our listeners that Ocean Lovin episodes cover adult themes not meant for children without supervision, please listen to the episode before sharing it with youngsters.  Guest co-host:  Dr Skylar Bayer, a marine ecologist with expertise in shellfish population dynamics, invertebrate life history, fertilization ecology, and science communication.

The ocean is a vast and powerful carbon sink, absorbing about a quarter of the carbon dioxide we emit into the atmosphere. That carbon is pulled into the water column and is also buried under the layers of dirt and soil on the ocean floor. But this vital role could be jeopardized by a common fishing practice: bottom trawling. Today we will be talking to Dr. Tricia Atwood, an associate professor of watershed sciences at Utah State University who is also a researcher with the National Geographic Society’s Pristine Seas Program, whose team published a paper in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science looking at the CO2 impacts from bottom-trawling. Join us now as we take a deep dive into this silt-shifting practice on a brand new episode of Ocean Science Radio.

People with disabilities are often marginalized, face isolation, lack representation and even ablism, no matter the industry or space. We speak to an old friend of the show about how this shows up in STEM and academia, and a project to collect stories from those impacted by this phenomenon in the form of a book of essays. So come join us where we talk about the book Uncharted, and learn about scientists navigating their health journey. Guests include: - Dr. Skylar Bayer from the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Regional Office - Dr. Gabi Serrato Marks - a co-founder at Stelli Communications, a PR firm and an MIT-trained scientist with a passion for expanding access to science - Katie Harrison, an information specialist with USTA and a paleo-oceanographer - Maureen Hayden, a PhD candidate studying ecotoxicology - Dr. Stephanie Schroeder, the education and Engagement Director at the Center for Learning Health System Sciences at the University of Minnesota and a former marine biology behavior ecologist.

With the passing of Ocean Explorer and all around nice guy Don Walsh, we wanted to revisit our episode where we interviewed him about the anniversary of the Triseste dive.

Dr. Farabaugh is out sick so this episode is solo Andrew. We speak with Mattie Rodrique - the Science program Director for OceanX- about their work in ocean exploration, discovery, and storytelling while ALSO training the next generation of ocean explorers.

Have you ever wanted to explore the bottom of the ocean? Discover new crazy and beautiful species? Have you ever wanted to explore the remains of a sunken ship, lost to time? Well good news! Today, we're going to be talking with members of the Ocean Exploration Trust a group of explorers and expedition leaders about the work they do, their discoveries and the technology they use. We speak with ROV Operations Manager Josh Chernov, Director of Education and Outreach Megan Cook, and Renato Kane a navigator and mapper for OET.

The Port of San Diego has been making incredible strides with its Maritime Clean Air Strategy which is rather comprehensive ranging from cool tech to green practices to amazing economic incentives. The Ocean Science Radio team chatted with Rafael Castellanos - Chairman of the Port of San Diego, Jason Giffen - Vice President for the Planning and Environment Division, and Sylvia. Program Director of the Aquaculture and Blue Technology Department to talk about the advances and initiatives at the Port of San Diego.

Some new shark shows just dropped and you KNOW you want to check them out. From Discovery's Shark Week to Nat Geo's pieces there will be plenty of amazing shark content! From Sharkcano: Hawaii to Sharks vs Dolphins: Bahama Battle Grounds, these shows are set to thrill, chill and… hopefully educate about sharks. In this episode, we have Dr. Valeria Paz - dolphin scientist and star of Sharks vs Dolphins: Bahama Battle Grounds for a discussion about sharks, dolphins, and being on these types of documentaries.

You may have heard about it in the news, you may have seen the memes on social media but no mater what, it appears that there is a group of orcas that have gone rogue. These cetaceans around the Iberian peninsula seem to be ORCA-strating attacks against yachts in the area. To find out more, we brought on Cetacean scientist Chris Parsons to give us the scoop So join us now where we learn more about orcas, the teaching techniques of these whale-killers, and how serious a threat the cetacean uprising really is, on this episode of, Ocean Science Radio.

We get to chat with Brooke Fitzwater, a PhD Student in the Earley Lab of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa who has made a big splash with her unique approach to science communication and learn about how she researches the mating habits of a cool species of sex-changing mangrove fish.

We are diving into deep ocean heatwaves. These extreme warming events in the ocean's depths have been linked to changes in ocean currents, weather patterns, and marine life, and we are learning more and more about the what and possibly why of these phenomenon. In a paper published in Nature Communications, researchers used a combination of observations and computer models to generate the first broad assessment of bottom marine heat waves in the continental shelf waters around North America. Today, we have with us Climate scientist Dillon Amaya of NOAA, the lead author on that very paper, so join us now on this episode of Ocean Science Radio.

Something strange is growing in the middle of the Atlantic, it covers an insane amount of the surface, it smells of rotten eggs and it might be COMING FOR OUR BEACHES. While the truth of the matter isn’t as scary as social media and the news makes it seem, scientists still have a lot of questions about the annual sargassum mass. We sit down with Brian Barnes a research assistant professor at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science to get some answers.

It is February and it is time once again for our annual special on reproduction called Ocean Lovin. In this episode we talk about Snow Crab reproduction. You may have seen Snow Crabs popping up in the news recently.This is because back in October, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game cancelled the snow crab season because the population, which normally numbered in the billions, fell by an estimated 90%.The first time the fishery was shut down in recorded history. We speak with Chris Long, fisheries scientist at NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center's Kodiak Laboratory about this species, why it is in decline, and how they get it on.