HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
Black corals are different from most coral species. Most coral “skeletons,” for example, are made of calcium carbonate — the mineral that makes up chalk. The skeleton of a black […]
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.
HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
The Himalayan mountains climb miles high, forming a towering fence line across Asia. But they also plunge miles deep — buried at the bottom of the Bay of Bengal, off […]
HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
The lesser weever typically is no more than about five or six inches long. Even so, you don’t want to mess with it. It can give you a painful sting […]
HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
For a lobster, hotter water is a bad thing. So not surprisingly, biologists expect the crustaceans to hop out of a rapidly warming pot of water off the east coast […]
HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
If a modern-day Hollywood creature designer worked with a 1940s make-up artist, they might come up with something that’s shaped a little like a bat, walks on the ocean floor, […]
HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
If the fear of great white sharks has kept you out of the water, then get splashin’. It turns out there are probably no more than a few hundred of […]
HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
Mangrove forests are some of the most important on the planet. They protect the coastline from storms and provide habitat for fish and other creatures. They also sponge up carbon […]
HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
Some of the most amazing colors on Earth are seen in icebergs and their parent bodies, glaciers. The intense shades of blue and blue-green make them look like icy confections […]
HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
The guitarfish looks a bit like the result of an experiment by a junior mad scientist. The front half is wide and flat, like a sting ray. But the back […]
HOST Damond Benningfield
DISCUSSION
Tropical cyclones are a fact of life on the islands of southeast Asia. Among other things, they can damage reef systems that attract divers and other tourists, harming local economies. […]