Science and the Sea

Lake Agassiz – December 3, 2017

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

Climate scientists are debating just how much global sea level will rise by the end of the 21st century. Projections range from less than a foot to more than six […]

Making Ice – November 26, 2017

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

Thanks to El Niño, most of us know that there’s a connection between water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean and weather patterns in North America. Warmer water in the eastern […]

Lumpsuckers – November 19, 2017

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

As its name might suggest, the lumpsucker isn’t the most attractive fish in the ocean. It’s shaped like a ball, and it has a “sucker” on its stomach that it […]

Gulf of Carpentaria – November 12, 2017

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

The northern coast of Australia looks like something is missing — as though someone took a giant knife and carved out a square notch. But it wasn’t carved at all. […]

Hard to Breathe – November 5, 2017

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

Every year, a large “dead zone” develops where the Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico. It’s caused by a build-up of fertilizers and other nutrients that have washed […]

Getting Bigger – October 29, 2017

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

An adult blue whale can reach a length of a hundred feet and weigh up to 200 tons. That makes it the biggest animal on Earth — not only today, […]

Ghosts – October 22, 2017

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

Ghosts haunt the oceans. They scuttle along the shore, lurk among the corals, and glide through the dark ocean depths. Some of them blend into the shimmering water so completely […]

Making Waves – October 15, 2017

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

When a wave breaks gently on the shore, it may be completing a journey of many days and hundreds or thousands of miles. Yet the water that comes ashore has […]

Sea Scorpion – October 8, 2017

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

Modern-day scorpions are small but creepy, and the stingers on their tails pack a painful punch. Some of their ancient relatives were also creepy, but they were big, and their […]

Red-Tide Alerts – October 1, 2017

HOST Damond Benningfield

DISCUSSION

 A red tide can cause all kinds of problems. Neurotoxins in the microscopic organisms that cause red tides can contaminate oysters and other shellfish. Anyone who eats the shellfish can […]