Spotlight: Exploring the Ocean – “there’s still 97 percent”

"Only the ocean remains as the last great unexplored portion of our globe; so it is to the sea that man must turn to meet the last great challenge of exploration this side of outer space.” --Deep Challenge (1966) by H. B. Stewart Marine biologist David Gallo brings the mind-bending world of ocean exploration alive …

Spotlight: Creature of the deep: The see-through barreleye

Another fascinating creature of the deep ocean. This one, the barreleye (Macropinna microstoma), also called the "spookfish" for obvious reasons, provides plenty of mystery for scientists to unravel. http://youtu.be/RM9o4VnfHJU When researchers at MBARI sent ROVs to deep waters off the coast of California a couple years ago, they believe they solved the half-century question of …

Pic o’ the Week: Elephant Seal Enlisted in Research

Photo © Daniel Costa He or she didn't have a choice, but helped the cause of ocean research anyway. As Debra Black reports in The Star, this is one of many sea creatures enlisted in the cause of researching our oceans. To find out what really is going on down there -- or, in the …

Life in the Gulf’s Mississippi Canyon

Oil from the Deepwater Horizon's well is spewing 5,000 gallons of oil a day into the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico's Mississippi Canyon. Engineers try to build a dome over the gusher, while others work on digging a "relief" well nearby in a bid to stop the flow. Today we revisit some of …

Pic o’ the Week: Tiny Sea Life

Photo by Cheryl Clarke-Hopcroft/UAF/CMarZ A one-centimeter large larval-tube Medusae anemone. It's already begun fishing for food with its tiny tentacles and its dark stomach indicates it's finding food. This image was taken as part of the Census of Marine Life, a 10-year collaboration among more than 2,000 scientists from 80+ nations. The census, which will …