Somehow it’s that time of the year – the leaves have fallen/changed/are still holding strong (depending on where in the Northern Hemisphere you are), the nights are getting longer, and the weather is turning cooler (again, dependent on where you live…). Regardless of the weather, it’s almost Thanksgiving which means lots of food, friends, family, … Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago a new study came out from NASA indicating that the Antarctica land mass is gaining ice. This study by Zwally and colleagues, indicates ice accumulation in East Antarctic continent exceeds the loss of ice from the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). This study is contradictory to many studies that have been published on … Continue reading
Before attending your first scientific conference, you’ll get a lot of feedback. Most of that commentary is about science, fittingly enough. “Be prepared to see at least 17 big wigs in your audience,” your advisor warns. “That graph is kinda nonsense,” your grad student practice audience frowns. “Will green and blue make it tough for … Continue reading
A positive outlook (and willingness to get dirty) is exactly the attitude you need to be a marine scientist! Larisa Bennett talks about research being conducted at UNC Institute of Marine Sciences this semester by UNC undergraduate students in her latest guest post. From freezing cold water to covered in mud, this field is not … Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago, I presented at my first big conference in Washington D.C.! It was aptly named Oceans but was a great departure from a lot of the ocean themed academia I see every day. There was a theme this year of “marine energy” but -I’m told- the conference is typically ocean engineering … Continue reading
My current research has a lot to do with coastal upwelling so I’ve been looking into ways to show people how it works. For those that do not know, upwelling is a wind-driven phenomenon where cool nutrient-rich water rises to the ocean surface. When wind blows across the ocean in a particular direction, surface water … Continue reading
If you’re reading this blog, you have probably heard of the issue of overfishing. In sum, our appetite for seafood has grown larger than what the ocean can supply, and this ravenous demand has resulted in plummeting fish stocks. In fact, it has been estimated that we have reduced the populations of large ocean fish … Continue reading
I have always wanted to be a scientist. I was fascinated by the world (and universe) around me when I was young. Planets and dinosaurs were my first obsessions and I had a microscope when I was in grade school. I always expected to be involved in science as a career and I am fortunate … Continue reading
This guest post was written by Ben Maxie. Ben is an undergraduate researcher at Old Dominion University who studies zooxanthellae genetics with Dan Barshis. Aside from marine biology, he is interested in beer brewing, car modification, and hiking. It’s estimated that 4.8 to 12.7 million metric tons of plastic ends up in the oceans per … Continue reading
Sometimes, science doesn’t always go as planned. Larisa Bennett explains how to make the best of a not-so-great situation in her latest guest post. If you haven’t visited us in a while, Larisa is a UNC undergraduate student spending a semester at the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences. See her first three posts, here, here, … Continue reading
UNder the C 