Execute order 66
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In the third or, um, sixth Star Wars movie, Emperor Palpatine finally reveals himself as the evil Sith lord Darth Sidious when he orders the assassination of every Jedi in the Galaxy by clone soliders (who either later or earlier become the infamous storm troopers of the first or, er, fourth episode). This edict is . . . → Read More: Execute order 66

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TGIF – Pretty pictures from Okeanos Explorer
TGIF – Pretty pictures from Okeanos Explorer avatar

This week the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer has been dropping its ROV Little Hercules onto various features in the northern Gulf of Mexico, including an old wood/iron wreck, salt domes and man-made seismic trenches. Okeanos has an interesting remote arrangement where folks back on the continent can direct the ROV pilots in real time by . . . → Read More: TGIF – Pretty pictures from Okeanos Explorer

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Okeanos Explorer in the Gulf of Mexico
Okeanos Explorer in the Gulf of Mexico avatar

This is a time sensitive post. By the time some find it, there may be nothing showing, but right now at 1155hrs EDSL, there’s a great feed from the Little Hercules ROV at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, looking at some deep corals See more here . . . → Read More: Okeanos Explorer in the Gulf of Mexico

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How did Gulf of Maine cod suddenly go from “recovering” to “overfished”?
How did Gulf of Maine cod suddenly go from “recovering” to “overfished”? avatar

Image by Ray Troll The Gulf of Maine cod fishery was deemed to be on its way to recovery in 2008, with a chance of reaching “rebuilt” status by 2014. This was great news for this historically and economically important (and very tasty) fishery. Then, this year, fisheries scientists working on the 2011 stock assessment . . . → Read More: How did Gulf of Maine cod suddenly go from “recovering” to “overfished”?

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Jane Lubchenco’s message to scientists
Jane Lubchenco’s message to scientists avatar

My second week at UC Davis, and I’ve already met Jane Lubchenco. Last night the NOAA administrator gave a public lecture to a packed auditorium here on campus. Although her talk wasn’t particularly beefy, I captured a few interesting tidbits: It was refreshing to hear a government official state her steadfast optimism, and urge scientists . . . → Read More: Jane Lubchenco’s message to scientists

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When Far-Sighted Vision Meets Near-Sighted Politics or Zombie Worms For Congress!
When Far-Sighted Vision Meets Near-Sighted Politics or Zombie Worms For Congress! avatar

Some of these things are not like the other. Can you spot the Zombie worms? What’s the difference between a collection of Osedax “Zombie worms” and the 112th United States Congress? One is a population of spineless, sedentary, opportunistic life forms that thrive in darkness while devouring the bones of the dead. The other are . . . → Read More: When Far-Sighted Vision Meets Near-Sighted Politics or Zombie Worms For Congress!

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The 2011 Hurricane Season in 4.5 minutes
The 2011 Hurricane Season in 4.5 minutes avatar

From NOAA Visualizations on YouTube: The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season officially ends on Nov. 30 and produced a total of 19 tropical storms of which seven became hurricanes, including three major hurricanes. This level of activity matched NOAA’s predictions and continues the trend of active hurricane seasons that began in 1995. From Arlene to . . . → Read More: The 2011 Hurricane Season in 4.5 minutes

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Exploration, thy name is Atlantis
Exploration, thy name is Atlantis avatar

If everything goes smoothly, this morning at around 11 o’clock, four brave souls strapped to 800,000 gallons of liquid oxygen, hydrogen and hydrazine will ride a controlled explosion into near-earth space aboard the NASA shuttle Atlantis. For the last time. The NASA space shuttle program is drawing to a close after 30 years, and Atlantis . . . → Read More: Exploration, thy name is Atlantis

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Deepwater Horizon: Resources and Restoration
Deepwater Horizon: Resources and Restoration avatar

I have to say, I’m pretty impressed with NOAA. If you’ve been to their homepage lately, you’ll notice that the key Deepwater Horizon links have been inserted into a nice little banner across the top of the site. The historic archive! Restoration Projects! Seafood Safety! I’d like to think that Deep-sea News had something to . . . → Read More: Deepwater Horizon: Resources and Restoration

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Studying dolphins as sentinels of oceans and human health
Studying dolphins as sentinels of oceans and human health avatar

This week a really great project is unfolding in the waters of the Indian River Lagoon, Florida. It’s the annual Health and Environmental Risk Assessment for free-ranging bottlenose dolphins, one of the longest standing and most comprehensive health assessments of any marine animal. The project is spearheaded by Dr. Greg Bossart (Senior VP at Georgia . . . → Read More: Studying dolphins as sentinels of oceans and human health

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