Science and the Sea

First Submarine – March 15, 2020

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

Hundreds of submarines glide through the world’s oceans. Most of them are military, but some sail for science. They measure temperatures and currents, sample the water, map the sea floor, […]

Iceberg Alley – March 8, 2020

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

There’s an old saying that if life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Some folks in northeastern Canada are following that advice — with a twist. When life gives them icebergs, […]

A New friend – March 1, 2020

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

Biologists have been sampling life in the Gulf of Mexico for decades. Yet they’re a long way from getting acquainted with everything that lives there. Consider a tiny shark that […]

Empire Builder – February 23, 2020

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

A massive tsunami in northwestern Sumatra wiped out coastal villages for miles. Only one survived. But by a century later, its influence began to wane — the result of a […]

Night School – February 16, 2020

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

For the flashlight fish, school doesn’t end at night. In fact, the schooling is just getting started. The fish is one of the few known to congregate in schools at […]

Damaged Seagrass – February 9, 2020

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

When Hurricane Harvey hit Texas in 2017, it killed almost 70 people and inflicted more than a hundred billion dollars’ worth of damage. Not all of the damage was visible, […]

Long Waves – February 2, 2020

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

With a top speed of a few hundred feet per hour, the giant tortoise won’t win many races. Compared to some of the longest waves in the oceans, though, it’s […]

Double Trouble – January 26, 2020

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

One Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Harvey is a disaster. But having two such hurricanes hit the same area within a few weeks of each other is catastrophic. Coastal infrastructure is […]

Kelp Oil – January 19, 2020

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

For more than three months, giant kelp off the coast of California bobbed up and down like a pumpjack in an oil field. The goal of that motion was to […]

Deep Edge – January 12, 2020

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

The Pacific coast of South America is a bit like a medieval castle surrounded by a moat. The “castle” is the Andes Mountains, which hug the coast. And the “moat” […]