cmcclain
Posts by this author
March 19, 2007
You may notice the new button on the sidebar that looks like this...
I posted last week on this great organization and will continue to leave the button on the side bar. In the coming weeks I will announce a campaign in which if certain donation levels are met, I will will reward readers with a…
March 18, 2007
The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss by Claire Nouvian is perhaps the most stunning book to grace this planet. Such praise seems superfluous until one views the cover-to-cover photographs of stunning deep-sea creatures that form the core of this hardback. The volume is 12x10…
March 16, 2007
A Scottish Sea Spider without kilt (from the Metro.co.uk) from the Rockall Trough off NW Scotland.
March 15, 2007
This beautiful, actively venting carbonate structure resembling a snow-covered Christmas tree is about 3 ft high. "The beehive" is perched precariously on the near-vertical side of the 200-ft-tall Poseidon tower. An almost identical structure was inadvertently damaged during sampling…
March 15, 2007
Yesterday, I looked out my window* and saw the next part of the MARS project falling into place (previous post 1, previous post 2, BBC story). Currently, the Global Sentinel, a cable laying ship, is anchored offshore as the last bit of cable is being joined to the shore station. This…
March 14, 2007
Today is my birthday! And although I won't get the birthday spectacular that PZ did, I share my birthday with some magnificent company, Strauss, Ehrlich, Jones, Einstein, Jones, and Crystal.
Peter decided to get me riled up for the ol' b-day by sending a link to a website of the utmost stupidity…
March 14, 2007
It took some mighty fine nets, but scientists who spent two years trawling the world's oceans for bacteria and viruses have completed the most thorough census ever of marine microbial life, revealing an astonishingly diverse and bizarre microscopic menagerie.
More at the Washington Post Hat tip to…
March 12, 2007
[OceansWide is a new nonprofit based in Maine dedicated to giving the opportunity of deep-sea exploration to youth. The program brings together students, the community, research scientists, and ROV pilots to educate youth through actual ongoing research. A wonderful program that is looking for…
March 11, 2007
"I was in here the whole time!" Says Giant Squid.
Most Giant Squid remains have been found in the stomachs of Sperm Whales. This has led some of the stupider Marine Biologists to theorize that the belly of the Sperm Whale is in fact the natural habitat of the Giant Squid.
March 9, 2007
Why bother collecting samples at depth, bring them to the surface, preserve them, bring them into the lab, and then sequence them when you can just do it on the ocean bottom?
MBARI researchers perform first DNA analysis in the deep sea
In a culmination of seven years of work, MBARI…
March 9, 2007
Paula Moore is quite unhappy about the colossal squid capture.
None of this is necessary. Leaving fish (and other animals) off our plates is the most humane choice--and the best way to help replenish the world's fragile oceans. It is the only way to ensure that spectacular animals like the colossal…
March 8, 2007
A celebration of International Polar Year
Picture: Craig R. McClain, Iceberg in Weddell Sea taken from the deck of R/V Polarstern
March 8, 2007
In the tradition of Internet adages, I'd like to add another. In any discussion of sea life, no matter how rare, strange or disgusting, some knucklehead will always ask how well it goes with lemon or butter. I am calling this Gorton's Law.
March 8, 2007
Laser line scan mosaic of a pool of brine surrounded by mussels at a depth of 700 meters in the Gulf of Mexico. From here.
What is a brine pool?
A brine pool is a volume of hypersaline (~4-5x) water that is denser than the surrounding water forming anywhere from a puddle…
March 7, 2007
From MBARI: This is a worm? This photograph of the newly named worm shows its mouth, which typically faces downward as the animal drifts about 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) below the ocean surface. Image: Karen Osborn (c) 2006 MBARI
The picture is of a new marine worm, Chaetopterus…
March 6, 2007
A great response from the readers to last week's Pose a Question post. Here are some answers.
Jim inquires, "What's the current take on a deep sea origin of life?" A great question that I addressed as part of the ongoing 25 Things You Should Know Series.
Mustafa ponders, "Does an octopus…
March 5, 2007
Tagged by the meme from Adventures in Ethics and Science and Retrospectacle...
I have OCD tendencies. All the hangers in my closet have to be the same color and oriented in the same direction. A stain on my clothing, no matter how small, will cause me to change clothes. My cd, books, and…
March 5, 2007
An expedition to reveal the secrets of a mysterious huge hole at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean started overnight.
March 5, 2007
Every since I worked at wine merchant in Natick, MA to pay for my tiny apartment during graduate school, I have enjoyed Italian wines. My favorite? Castello Di Gabbiano. My other favorite? Catello Banfi. Maybe they will both send me bottles for the online plug (hint, hint).
My love of Italian…
March 5, 2007
In celebration of IPY, the Canadian Post has released a set of stamps (above). One of these is the polar, deep-sea jellyfish, Crossota millsaeare. The size on the stamp of Crossota is about its actual size.
March 2, 2007
#17! The question posed by a reader was just too good not to include the series.
What's the current take on a deep-sea origin of life? I just finished reading Genesis by Robert Hazen where he discusses some of the hypothesis' pros and cons and how there is something of a divide between the…
March 2, 2007
I was slow to transition to Sb. Why? It was all the advertising that occurs on the pages (although much less than other sites). Those who have been around for the long haul and remember the old site may recall the noticable absence of advertising. The positives of the move to Sb far outweighed…
March 2, 2007
Picture from IPY website, Elephant Foot Glacier
From March 2007 to March 2009, grab your parka because it is International Polar Year(s). The organization of this falls to the International Council of Science and the World Meteorological Organization and involves 200 projects, 60…
March 2, 2007
From MBARI: When MBARI researchers explore the seafloor below 1,000 meters, the most common fishes they see are rattail fish such as this Coryphaenoides acrolepis, which was photographed in Monterey Canyon. Rattails are are very curious and will come to investigate any disturbance on or…
March 1, 2007
The picture is of DEPTHX. It weighs about 1.2 tons, shaped like a mushroom, and navigate itself into your bedroom. Just kidding. No not really. It can swim through a water-filled cavern creating its own map. It has already explored La Pilita, a 115 meter sink. So be weary not to let your house…
March 1, 2007
That's right, its a giant squid ready to eat the ivory-billed woodpecker! It is this years poster for the True/False Film Festival.
February 28, 2007
Prologue: The act begins with the gang leitmotifs established musically. The curtain rises. A conflict between two rival gangs, the Lobstermen and the Fishermen , is enacted through dance. The tension between the gangs is quite visible. The men are struggling for control of selling lobster. When…
February 27, 2007
From Bioluminescence Web Page: Nudibranchs are not generally thought of as bioluminescent organisms, but this pelagic form Phylliroe has the ability to produce light. (The head is on the left). (Length approx. 7 cm) See the SeaSlug Forum for more information
It has been a long time coming,…
February 27, 2007
Some of my favorite science writers are not at National Geographic or Nature, but rather at the Monterey County Herald. They skillfully cover much of the fantastic science being conducted at MBARI, my current home. Karen Ravin, provides some of the importance and background of the hagfish story,…
February 25, 2007
Unfortunately, this weekend I came across the complete stupidity of Paul Hollrah and Phillip Brennan.
In their own words...
...the "inconvenient truth" is that Gore's hypothesis of global warming is exactly wrong... upside down...In the January 15 edition of NewsMax, writer Phil Brennan…