Killer Sponges...

No, silly, not the sponge sitting next to your kitchen sink.  Real sponges.

Researches from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, after discovering a carnivorous sponge a few years ago, have discovered four more.  The discoveries were made using an ROV.

The video appears below.  Very cool.

Turtle Tots

Hawksbill Sea Turtle.  Image Credit - National Geographic

No, the title should not be 'tater tots.'  A long mysterious portion of sea turtles' life cycles has finally had some light shed on it.  I find sea turtles and their evolution one of the most fascinating topics in marine biology.  And they're really graceful in the water, too.

Well, we don't know much about their years between hatching and the reaching of sexual maturity.  This study/experiment has given us more insight as to what happens.

Check out this brief article from Discover:
Discover Blog - Newborn Turtles

Awesome Picture

Take a look at this amazing picture, courtesy of James Morgan, Cunard Line.

It's a picture of the ship's captain standing on its bulbous bow.  A bulbous bow decreases drag on the ship and achieves a higher fuel efficiency.

Here's the link to the article, which has some additional pictures:
http://twistedsifter.com/2014/04/standing-on-the-bulbous-bow-of-queen-mary-2/

Forecasting Sea Ice

Latest Snow and Ice Chart - Credit NOAA


I've heard of and read many sea ice observations/summaries, but I don't remember every reading a sea ice forecast.  The linked article refers to Arctic ice forecasts for the coming melting season and their accuracy (or lack thereof).

Science Daily - Forecasting Ice

Major Oil Spill - Houston Ship Channel

Damaged Barge.  Image Credit - ABC


A tanker and barge collided in the Houston ship channel around midday yesterday.  The barge was seriously damaged and began leaking some of its 900,000+ gallons of marine fuel oil.  Reports estimate the breached tank having a volume of about 170,000 gallons max.

As a result of the spill the channel remains closed and the 'traffic jam' of ships is increasing since there is currently no traffic into our out of Galveston Bay.

Read on for more details:
Environmental News Service - Houston Spill

European Climate

Image credit - ucsd.edu


We recently finished studying ocean circulation - surface currents and thermohaline circulation.  I just came across this interesting article regarding climate in Europe over the past millenium.

Science Daily - Warming Europe

The Sky Is Blue (Well, not always...)

Image Credit - NASA MODIS; Via accuweather.com

Yes, the sky does appear blue.  Blue, that is, except when it's filled with wind-borne dust.  Check out this awesome image from NASA's Earth Observatory site.

"How do dust and the oceans have anything to do with each other?" you might be wondering.  Well, wind-borne dust (otherwise known as Aeolian Transport) contributes significantly to the formation of marine sediments, especially in remote areas.