We did it! Here is the Beach Chair Scientist’s 2011 version of the A, B, Seas.
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It’s as easy as A, B, Sea: U for Upwelling
Upwelling is the phenomenon of wind moving surface waters thus to make way for cold, dense water that comes from the bottom of the ocean. It seems to most often happen on the west coast of continents. That is why you typically need a nice wet suit all year round to go surfing in California.
And that concludes my “We affect what goes in our watershed” week
This week I shared insight on the theme what we do in our daily lives affects our waterways. It’s particularly surprising to come to the realization that even though we might not live anywhere near a river, lake, or stream our daily actions have massive consequences on the waterways – and ultimately the ocean. It’s […]
Scientists discover new living fossil. What is a living fossil?
A living fossil is not Russell Johnson (the professor from Gilligan’s Island) or dear Zsa Zsa Gabor (God bless you for holding on!). I’ll chop it down to say that a living fossil is an organism that more closely resembles a fossil than anything living. For instance, the Atlantic horseshoe crab resembles the fossil record […]
It’s as easy as A, B, Sea: K for Knot
Knot is a measure of nautical speed. More specifically one knot equals one nautical mile per hour. One nautical mile equals 6,080 feet. The term knot came from how sailors calculated speed. They threw a log with a rope attached to it overboard. The rope had knots evenly spaced (every 47 feet and 3 inches). […]
The Cove
The Oscars are this Sunday and there is one documentary which you may want to check out. I have posted a review of “The Cove” by Kenneth Turran, a film and book critic for the Los Angeles Times. Have you already watched the film? I would love to know what you think.
Who owns the oceans?
We all own the oceans … no, wait! No one owns the oceans. Sometimes it is very confusing to answer this question. Since the third United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea the jurisdictions of the oceans are known as this: 0-3 nautical miles from the coastline of the country is considered a […]
Linda Thornton, an inspiring aquaculturist on a mission for sustainability
If you’ve got some spare time this weekend, take some time to enjoy this fantastic documentary of one woman’s quest to transform shrimp aquaculture practices. Andrew Revkin of the New York Times helped produce this 16 minute documentary of Linda Thornton, a biologist who uprooted herself from her home in Illinois to Belize, and set out […]
What are those tiny black pods with tendrils near the ends?
They are egg cases from a juvenile thorny skate. The skate is related to sharks and rays. Sharks, skates, and rays all have a skeleton made up of cartilage, the flexible material that is found in our noses and ears. One tiny skate will hatch from each egg after nine months – hatching under the […]
Are horseshoe crabs dangerous?
No. I mentioned in the very first BCS blog entry that the horseshoe crab is a “sweetheart of an animal” and I will continue to defend that statement. Some people may think that the tail spine, or telson, is poisonous. What the telson is simply used for is to flip the animal over when a […]
How do fish know where to find food?
This is amazing! It was just discovered that the nine-spined stickleback fish (found in the UK) uses a technique called “hill climbing” to select the place where to be most successful for finding food. Basically, the fish stands aside and watched other fish and their feeding habits to learn from their successes and challenges! Read […]
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- Robert Emahiser on Why you should never walk on dunes
- Lesa on 10 brief facts on bioluminescence
- Lisa on Limulus Love
- Beach Chair Scientist on 17 facts about the wee sea potatoes
- Bernard Rejterada on 17 facts about the wee sea potatoes
- Brian on What is the difference between a summer and winter flounder?
- Inbound marketing on 15 facts about the Portuguese man-of-war that’ll have you saying “Didya know…?”
- Donnie Huckabee on Wordless Wednesday | Shell art
- John on Why you should never walk on dunes
- ItzJaylaD on What I know about whale sharks
Top posts & pages from BCS …
- Hurricane vs. Cyclone vs. Typhoon
- A House for Hermit Crab
- How to handle a horseshoe crab
- Snot's your house
- Wednesday Wisdom: Various quotes (Alaska scenes)
- A naturalist's must-see destination: Fossil Hunting at Bayfront State Park in Chesapeake Beach, MD
- Belly biology creates lasting memories
- Five awful puns about courtship in the sea
- Horseshoe crabs confirmed as members of arachnid family
- Beyond the bag: Other plastics being banned
Hey, this is a fabulous and fun series–thanks for the smiles!