We don`t know the half of it !
December 27, 2017 1:28 PM   Subscribe

The Top Ten Ocean Stories of 2017 from the Smithsonian.
From wind turbines to massive sunfish to octopus cities, the seas proved full of surprises this year.
posted by adamvasco (3 comments total) 13 users marked this as a favorite
 
Smithsonian website can "send me push notifications" when I can move to a goddamn octopus city, not before.
posted by thelonius at 1:42 PM on December 27, 2017 [4 favorites]


A reminder: It may be possible to slow or reverse coral decline via electricity.

As for the plastic in the worlds oceans you can have a direct effect if you choose - don't wear plastics or figure out how to not directly vent your lint.
posted by rough ashlar at 2:09 PM on December 27, 2017 [1 favorite]


3. Uncertainty for Coral Reefs

As Corals Wither Around The World, Scientists Try IVF (NPR, Dec. 26, 2017)
Corals along Guam's coastlines have been dying in recent years, and they're not alone. Warming seawater and increasing ocean acidity are damaging reef ecosystems around the world. Some scientists and environmentalists fear a worldwide collapse by 2050.

The coral reefs we see are actually colonies of millions of tiny animals. In a single night, the corals cast a fog of sperm and eggs into the water, some of which fertilize to make baby coral larvae. And some of those larvae settle back onto the reef, making it grow.

Dirk Petersen says, "OK, let's go. It's gonna be the night, guys. Spawning time."

Petersen is the founder and executive director of SECORE, short for sexual coral reproduction. His mission is to gather sperm and eggs from the corals, fertilize them in the lab and return the baby corals to the wild.

Think of it like IVF for the reefs.
...
"A bunch of us coral reef managers were just so sick of just watching things die," says Laurie Raymundo, a biologist at the University of Guam. "And [we] really felt we want[ed] to start doing something — restore, rehabilitate — those are technical terms. The emotional terms are: 'Let's just see if we can watch something live for once.' "
Fight on, coral reef managers!
posted by filthy light thief at 3:11 PM on December 27, 2017 [7 favorites]


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