WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
The oceans provide the “fuel” for almost all the thunderstorms on Earth: water that evaporates from the ocean surface. But the oceans generally don’t provide the “trigger” for the big […]
Radio Program
Our regular Science and the Sea™ radio program presents marine science topics in an engaging two-minute story format. Our script writers gather ideas for the radio program from the University of Texas Marine Science Institute’s researchers and from our very popular college class, Introduction to Oceanography, which we teach to hundreds of non-science majors at The University of Texas at Austin every year. Our radio programs are distributed to commercial and public radio stations across the country.
WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
At the time of the dinosaurs, the oceans were filled with lots of big, scary creatures. The biggest and scariest might have been some king-sized ancestors of the modern octopus. […]
WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
Big ships can really stir things up—especially in shallow coastal waters. A ship’s wake can extend far below the vessel. It creates turbulence that mixes up the water. It can […]
WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
Some coastal areas along the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico have had a big, stinky problem over the past decade or so. Big mats of seaweed have been […]
WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
It’s hard to think of anything good coming from earthquakes. But for life in part of the Southern Ocean, they could be crucial. A recent study found that underwater quakes […]
WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
Most parents wouldn’t be pleased if you told them that their baby looks nothing like them. But some fish parents might be happy at such a description. The lack of […]
WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
In August of 2024, a fisherman in Costa Rica pulled in a fish that looked like a refugee from a “Finding Nemo” sequel—a shark the color of a Creamsicle with […]
WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
It’s hard to think of a Category-5 hurricane as a good thing. But in 2025, Hurricane Humberto helped save the East Coast from a direct hit by a smaller hurricane, […]
WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
The saltwater crocodile really gets around. It’s found throughout the Indian and western Pacific oceans. That makes it one of the most cosmopolitan reptiles on the planet. But it’s not […]
WRITER Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
Most of the time, life in the oceans works in one direction: the big guys eat the little guys. That passes nutrients up the food web. But sometimes, the little […]