I’m first and foremost a marine scientist, but I’m going to admit something to you all–I’ve kind of got a thing going on the side with astronomy. I’ve been furtively watching the revamped Cosmos (Haven’t seen the show yet? Screw reading this post–head over here and watch it!) and reading about new Big Bang breakthroughs … Continue reading
Did any of you, when visiting National Parks as a kid, complete those Junior Ranger workbooks? I did. I completed one at every park we lingered in for longer than a bathroom break and a photo-op. You got these activity booklets from the Visitor Center, and when you finished the whole thing you took it … Continue reading
For this week’s photography Friday, we at UndertheC thought we’d indulge our love of GIFs–also known as the perfect marriage between photographs and film–with a collection of some of the best marine science-themed gifs. As our own Megan Schutt stated, “They’re like Harry Potter paintings, but in real life.” … Continue reading
Instead of doing my homework, last night I sat down and watched the entirety of the Bill Nye vs. Ken Ham debate/showdown. For those who avoided the whole thing, Bill Nye (a famous science educator) and Ken Ham (a Christian author who believes that Creationism should be taught in schools alongside evolution) agreed to meet … Continue reading
A few years ago, if I saw a cat with glowing green fur wandering around my yard, I’d assume that the poor animal had experienced radiation exposure that had left it eerily lit from within. After checking it for other superpowers and taking a few pictures (first things first, you know), I’d probably head online … Continue reading
As a fun wrap-up to this semester (my first semester of graduate school!) I thought I’d create my own version of the 12 Days of Christmas, one that represents a little of the life of a marine science grad student. PS: All of us at UndertheC will be taking a hiatus from blogging over the … Continue reading
It’s your quintessential dark and stormy night, and a wooden sailing ship is making its way across the Mediterranean Sea. The waves are large, washing over the walls of the boat despite the best efforts of the captain to turn its prow into the waves. When the sun rises a few hours later, the ship … Continue reading
When I was younger, I was obsessed with disasters of all kinds (yeah, I was a strange kid). I avidly read books about the bubonic plague and had a recurring dream that involved a black hole appearing in our solar system, ready to suck the earth into its depths. One of my favorite disasters, however, … Continue reading
So my research involves examining diatoms, which are free-floating aquatic phytoplankton with silicified cell walls (a substance similar to glass!). A lot of my time in the lab is spent culturing different species of diatoms, which is interesting but sometimes dissatisfying–since diatoms are microscopic, most of my cultures look like vials of clear or brownish … Continue reading
“The ocean is broken.” So argues Ivan Macfadyen, an Australian yachtsman whose voyage across the Pacific Ocean is detailed in a recent and popular newspaper article from the Newcastle Herald. The article, a few bits of which I’ve excerpted below, presents a tragic portrait of our oceans—barren wastelands of trash and debris, with not a … Continue reading
UNder the C 