This is Jim Fiorendino, your host for On the Ocean. Often when we hear the word hurricane, we associate it with physical destruction caused by flooding and strong winds from these storms. However, something we might not think about is the dramatic changes in coastal water chemistry that can also occur because of these storms. … Continue reading Student Research: Galveston Bay Oysters
Did you know that there really is a lost city in the ocean? The Lost City hydrothermal vent field is a site of towering white chalk chimneys ranging from 65 to 200 feet tall located in the Atlantic Ocean, several kilometers away from the underwater mountain range known as the Mid-Atlantic ridge. Hydrothermal vents are … Continue reading Student Research: Lost City
There is a lot of exciting oceanographic research being done at Texas A&M, over the next few weeks On the Ocean will be highlighting some of the work being done by graduate students in the department of oceanography. Phytoplankton are microscopic plants living in the ocean that photosynthesize, like trees, taking in carbon dioxide and … Continue reading Student Research: Marine Aerosols
Barramundi, meaning “large-scaled fish”, is the name the Aboriginal people of Australia gave to Lates calcarifer. It is also know as the “passion fish”, a name derived from a folk story in which two young lovers, forbidden from being together by their tribe’s elders, run away and are hunted down by their tribes. The story … Continue reading Aquaculture: Barramundi
A fish capable of growing to 6 feet, 132 pounds, and living as long as 12 years may sound like a difficult animal to grow, but aquaculture of the cobia, Rachycentron canadum, has been very successful because of this fish’s fast growth rates and excellent quality of flesh. China is the main producer of farmed … Continue reading Aquaculture: Cobia
The Tiger tail Seahorse, Hippocampus comes, is one of the most visually striking creatures in the ocean. Consequently, they are a prime target for the aquarium trade. Unfortunately, these animals are also collected and processed into pills to be sold in China to address a variety of maladies. 20 million seahorses may be caught each … Continue reading Aquaculture: Tiger-Tail Seahorse
http://abcmgr.tamu.edu/OTO/Aquaculture3.mp3 This is Jim Fiorendino, your host for On the Ocean. Every 10 minutes, the Amazonian Arapaima gigas, or pirarucu, must swim to the surface for a gulp of air, filling its swim bladder which is made of lung-like tissue that supplements oxygen the pirarucu obtains from the water through its gills. Pirarucu are large … Continue reading Aquaculture: Arapaima
http://abcmgr.tamu.edu/OTO/Aquaculture2.mp3 Broiled, in a chowder, or served raw with some hot sauce and lemon, oysters are a popular food around the world. The Pacific Oyster, Crassostrea gigas, is the most commonly grown oyster, with aquaculture operations on every continent except Antarctica. Pacific oysters grow to 10 inches long, with an elongated cupped shell that is … Continue reading Aquaculture: Pacific Oysters
http://abcmgr.tamu.edu/OTO/Aquaculture1.mp3 Fish are an important and healthy source of protein for humans. 20 kg of fish are consumed per capita per year in the United States, and as much as 50 kg per capita per year in countries like China. Globally, fish consumption has increased 3-fold since the 1960s; but this increase has not been … Continue reading Aquaculture
Antarctica -4 R.V.I. Nathanial Palmer I’m McKensie Daugherty, your host for On the Ocean. Antarctica claims many unique attributes as the southernmost continent on Earth. ....
Antarctica -3 Dangerous I’m McKensie Daugherty, your host for On the Ocean. The Antarctic is a beautiful place, with many scientific discoveries just waiting to be made. However, there are many challenges that come with working in the coldest place on earth, far away from any human civilization. The distance from populations poses a problem … Continue reading Antarctica -3 Dangerous
Antarctica -2 Ice making and ice melting I’m McKensie Daugherty, your host for On the Ocean. Ice is ubiquitous in Antarctica, and many different types of ice are found both over the continent and the Southern Ocean. Snowfall over the Antarctic Ice Sheets adds to the continental ice volume year round, which in turn … Continue reading Antarctica -2 Ice making and Ice melting
Antarctica -1 Brrrrrrrr I’m McKensie Daugherty, your host for On the Ocean. Feel that chill in the air? It’s getting cold outside. But beware, even now in the midst of summer at bottom of the Earth, it is much colder there. That’s right, this month we are talking about the white continent, and how the … Continue reading Antarctica -1 Brrrrrrr
http://abcmgr.tamu.edu/OTO/Marine%20Animals11.mp3 Did you know dolphins have names? Scientists believe that dolphins develop special whistles for other dolphins, which allows them to recognize and communicate with each other in the ocean, the same way humans identify each other. The Striped dolphin prefers deep tropical or warm temperate waters, between 52- and 84-degrees Fahrenheit. These dolphins live … Continue reading Marine Animals: Striped Dolphin
Large seabirds known as albatrosses were once thought to be an omen of good luck by sailors. Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s famous poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner recounts the tale of a sailor who shoots an Albatross at sea and brings misfortune to his ship and crew. The name albatross may refer to several … Continue reading Marine Animals: Albatross
http://abcmgr.tamu.edu/OTO/marine_animals_7_22jan2019.mp3 This is Jim Fiorendino, your host for On the Ocean. The Atlantic Puffin, Fratercula arctica, is the official bird of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada as well as a major draw for birdwatchers in the North Atlantic. These arctic avians stand just under a foot tall, with a bright white face and belly and glossy … Continue reading Marine Animals: Atlantic Puffin
http://abcmgr.tamu.edu/OTO/marine_animals_6_15jan2019.mp3 The famous novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville recounts the tale of Captain Ahab and his quest for revenge against the great whale that bit off his leg on a previous voyage. The whale in this story is likely based on sightings by whalers of the star of today’s show, the sperm whale. The … Continue reading Marine Animals: Sperm Whale
Gray whales are some of the greatest travelers in the oceans. Each year, gray whales migrate from North Pacific waters to equatorial waters off the coast of Mexico, a journey of over 10,000 miles that begins in the fall. The whales spend the winter months in warm waters where they breed before returning north in … Continue reading Marine Animals: Gray Whales
If mermaids existed, could they cope with climate change? Christopher Columbus once mistakenly reported a sighting of these mythical creatures when he sailed to the Americas. What he actual saw were manatees, describing them as “not half as beautiful as they are painted.” The legends of mermaids are apparent in the scientific name of the … Continue reading Marine Animals: Manatee
There are 17 species of penguin known to exist on planet Earth. Aptenodytes forsteri, the Emperor Penguin, is the largest, standing around 4 feet tall and weighing 51 pounds. Like all other penguins, emperor penguins are flightless, with specially-adapted flippers for swimming. The bodies of emperor penguins are counter-shaded, with black backs and white bellies, … Continue reading Marine Animals: Emperor Penguin