This guest post was written by UNC-CH sophomore, Lily Olmo (@lilyMolmo). Lily participated in the UNC Institute of the Environment Field Site, study abroad program at the UNC-CH Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City, NC, this past Fall 2017. As soon as I could walk, I was meandering through nature preserves and aquariums. I … Continue reading
It’s funny, sometimes, the random facts you remember from when you were growing up. One I vividly remember is my 9th grade biology teacher telling us that lecithin, a common additive in food and cosmetics, was originally derived from algae. Who knows why this fact stuck with me (maybe because she challenged us to find … Continue reading
This is a guest post written by STEM education consultant Chris Anderson. Chris writes the science education blog Science Over Everything. 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by ocean. The oceans contain 97% of the Earth’s water and are home to 50% of the Earth’s species. And while 40% of Americans live in … Continue reading
Last month I wrote a post detailing what a reef is and why they should matter to you regardless of where you live. This month I am building off of that idea and talking about something that I get a lot of questions about. Artificial reefs and reef restoration. What is a reef? For review, … Continue reading
If you’ve been reading UNdertheC for while, then you know that I study coral reefs (specifically those in the Caribbean). If this is your first time here, welcome! Tell your friends 🙂 As the 4th year of my PhD dawns here at UNC, the first chapter of my dissertation work has finally been published in … Continue reading
Graduating from college can be a daunting adventure. Your friends may be getting jobs, joining the Peace Corps, or living with their parents. But maybe you’ve decided to go to grad school! Hopefully you have some clear motivations and experience for doing so. Now, how do you start? Luckily, your friends at UNdertheC have all … Continue reading
As anyone who’s watched Shark Week knows, marine science can be pretty glamorous. It’s easy to envy oceanographers when our office is a coral reef or salt marsh. But what happens during the winter, when temperatures in North Carolina plummet to a frigid 26 °F (shut up New England) and we’re stuck in our labs … Continue reading
Coral reefs are some of the most diverse and important ecosystems on earth. If you didn’t know that already you probably wouldn’t be here. For background on see these links (1, 2, 3). Also, reefs are beautiful and really cool (see below). However, corals are very sensitive to changes in their environment. They are especially … Continue reading
This is my first year at UNC Chapel Hill and all around basketball is in the air. I guess that is what happens when you go to an ACC school that the has a history of being one of the best college basketball teams in the country. I’ve never seen so much excitement around a sport. … Continue reading
This article is a guest post by ODU undergradaute Ben Maxie. Ben works in the Barshis Lab and studies the evolution of stress tolerance in corals and other organisms. The 2010 BP Deep-water Horizon oil spill was an environmental tragedy of immense magnitude. Five million barrels of toxic crude oil were leeched into the … Continue reading
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