From: http://media.komonews.com/images/100503_gulf_oil.jpg
Technology has come a long way since the Exxon Valdez 1989 spill. However, scientists are furthering their efforts to efficiently clean up oil spills according to this article. They are testing new oil spill cleaning technology on the recent Gulf Spill, like multispectral and thermal imaging sensors, ADIOS2 (Automated Data Inquiry for Oil Spills), and oil eating microbes.
It sounds like the technology people of the world are trying to help, right? Well, actually some are saying that the testing of new clean up technology is inefficient, especially the microbe attempts. “Floating crude oil on the water does not readily lend itself to biological degradation, because the organisms cannot penetrate into the crude oil; rather, they munch at the boundary where water and oil meet.” So, is the testing really helping? Or is it just wasted money?
How is the testing benefiting the clean up process?
What other new technology is being created to help clean up this and future spills?
From: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Vxu_tx5NynY/R2asJzolSII/AAAAAAAADbY/u_NFQ1JPNpE/s400/_23580_Endangered_dugong.jpg
This article, talks about a net that was recently found off the coast of Queensland, Australia. This net has reportedly caught and killed three dugongs, an endangered species. Commercial fishermen have viewed the net and have confirmed that it is not a commercial fishing net, but rather a net purposefully made to trap and kill dugongs. The Australian Government’s Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Kate Jones stated, “The investigation into the incident is continuing with a number of government agencies involved.”
After just doing a project on the dugong, this article seemed pertinent. They are a very interesting species and one of the most endangered in the world. Why would anyone want to kill them? Honestly, this article concerns me about the state of humanity in our world. What is the purpose of illegally killing an innocuous animal? I can understand if it would be for food reasons, but what are the unknown people doing with them, making dugong soup?
How many dugongs are left off the coast of Australia?
How do they know that the net was specifically made for a dugong?
New Zealand and the United States are teaming up to explore underwater volcanoes! The chain of volcanoes known as the Kermadec Arc sits 1,000 kilometers northwest of the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand. Because this chain contains “some of the world’s most active submarine volcanoes and hydrothermal vents…as well as a wide range of marine life,” it is important that they are kept in good condition. That is why the New Zealand Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences ( GNS Science), the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts are teaming up to research, study, and protect this volatile volcano chain.
This topic looked interesting to write about because it showed a great example of how the world is uniting to protect the ocean environments. The ocean is a vital part of the ecosystem of the world and it is nice to see countries banding together to fight against potential harms to the ocean.
Vicinity of the Bay of Plenty and White Island
Main Volcanoes of the Kermadec Arc
How does this project benefit the United States?
What exactly will the scientists be accomplishing by studying these volcanoes?
From: http://arthurseverythingblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/elasticwater.jpg
According to this article, Japanese scientists at Tokyo University created a jelly-like substance that is 95% water; it is called Elastic Water. To create this, the scientists added “two grams of clay and a small quantity of appropriate organic matters into normal water.” This caused the water to coagulate into a gel-like substance.
This is a major advance in science and, because it is environmentally safe and safe for human contact, this new product could be used in medicine. The articles says that, “Its characteristics make it possible to use it in medicine for sticking together tissues. If its density is increased, the new material could be used for the production of ecologically clean plastic materials.” Elastic water is a huge leap forward in both the medicinal and environmental world! We should all be excited about this!
What other uses could “elastic water” have in the environmental field of science? In the medical field?
What is the “life expectancy” of this product (is it permanant or temporary)?
The president of the Maldives has been overreacting just a little bit. In this article on “Why the Maldives Aren’t Sinking” , it looks like the President of the Maldives, a group of roughly 1,200 islands southwest of Sri Lanka, is starting to hold his Cabinet meetings underwater, thinking that the islands will eventually be submerged. A scientist by the name of Nils-Axel Mörner said in a letter to the president, “So, Mr. President, you and your ministers in the Maldives really don’t need to worry about a future life beneath the waves. You should pass on this message to the people of the Maldives. It is high time to release them from this terrible psychological burden.” All in all, it appears that the president was overreacting not a little bit, but a lot.
After reading Kayleen’s article on Venice, I saw this article and thought it would be an interesting opposite to it. I personally think that the president used this as a political distraction from something, but that is just hypothesis. To read more on the Maldives, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maldives.
Why do you think that the president over exaggerated the sea level rises?
Should the Maldives Islands be prepared for a flood larger than what the scientists have been predicting?
Mexico’s ‘giant underwater museum’ describes a huge scientific and historical undertaking. Jason de Caires Taylor is heading up the creation of an underwater museum. In this museum, there will be statues depicting Mexican history that are made of a pH neutral concrete, which will promote algae growth. One of the main ideas of this project “is to reduce the pressure on the natural habitat in other areas of the park by luring tourists away from existing coral reef, which has suffered damage from hurricanes and human activity,” says Jaime Gonzales, the region park manager of the underwater park where the statues will be placed. The effect of these statues is to hopefully lure tourists away from the coral reefs that have been damaged by hurricanes and human activity.
This project is very beneficial to Cancun’s offshore environment. Having been to the Yucatan penninsula, I saw how high the tourist and native populations are and I know that they are damaging to the environment. Every little bit helps. When I saw this article, I read it because I was interested in how Mexico was trying to fix their environment.
What type of plant/animal life can benefit from this project?
Will the pH-neutral concrete erode more than what normal concrete does?
Photograph courtesy Institute for Ocean Conservation Science/Matthew D. Potenski
According to National Geographic (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/081010-shark-virgin-birth-2.html) somehow, against what has always been believed, a female shark was able to fertilize her own egg WITHOUT A MALE SHARK and it was proved by DNA evidence!
This happened at the Virginia Beach Aquarium in Virgina Beach, VA. Why did I choose to write about this? Because it totally proved our normal belief system wrong. Most mammals/fish reproduce by normal sexual reproduction but this particular shark, a Blacktip Shark, is apparently capable of what is called heterogamy, or the use of both sexual and asexual reproduction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asexual_Reproduction#Alternation_between_sexual_and_asexual_reproduction). On the wikipedia site, it states, “There are examples of parthenogenesis in the hammerhead and blacktip sharks. In both cases, the sharks had reached sexual maturity in captivity in the absence of males, and in both cases the offspring were shown to be genetically identical to the mothers.” This is what happened to this shark: she was in captivity for many years and when she reached sexual maturity, she had no male to reproduce with so she decided to do it herself (finally a fish that is a feminist). As a person who tends to be of a more feminist opinion, this article was very interesting to me. This event is transcendent in the world of science! An absolute anomaly!
Questions:
Has this ever happened before?
We all know that to create a fertilized child, you need a sperm and an egg. Does every one of these species of sharks (hammerhead and blacktip) have both sperm and egg or is it a freak thing?
Around noon on Tuesday, two tourists, who were visiting Campobello Island, Nova Scotia, decided to take a stroll across a sandbar and go see the Head Harbour Lighthouse. What they did not realize is that the body of water they were crossing, the Bay of Fundy, which is home to the largest tides in the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Fundy). The tide here can rise “from ankle to knee in a matter of seconds,” and is extremely dangerous if you are caught up in the undertow. Because they were not in the knowledge of these tides, one of the tourists, a man, died.
I chose this topic because it related to the topics we are discussing in the class. The Bay of Fundy was mentioned as having the most diverse tidal range in the world and this proves that when embarking on an adventure such as these people did, you really should watch the tides. Personally, I feel bad for these people, but if they had maybe watched the tides or taken a boat, this would not have happened. This just goes to show that people should be educated on the inner workings of the ocean; it just might save your life.
Questions:
What is the tidal range of the Bay of Fundy?
In July 2009, what was the Bay of Fundy a finalist for?
