Author: Andrew Thaler

Marine science and conservation. Deep-sea ecology. Population genetics. Underwater robots. Open-source instrumentation. The deep sea is Earth's last great wilderness.

What I’m watching for at this month’s ISA meeting: How the Council responds to the NORI-D Incident

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Featured, Policy

In November and December of 2023, Greenpeace activists boarded a deep-sea mining vessel conducting exploratory research in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone. The executive summary is that the ISA issued interim measure pursuant to Regulation 33 of the Regulations on Prospecting and Exploration for Polymetallic Nodules in an attempt to compel Greenpeace to halt its … Read More “What I’m watching for at this month’s ISA meeting: How the Council responds to the NORI-D Incident” »

Everything is Crabs: How many crabs do you need to land on the moon?

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Education, Featured, Science

In 2011, researchers from Japan and the Center for Unconventional Computing in the UK asked one of the most important questions ever asked. How many crabs do you need to build a computer? And then, they answered it. If you want to build a computer from scratch, you must first invent a logic gate. Using … Read More “Everything is Crabs: How many crabs do you need to land on the moon?” »

New Deep-sea Mining Bill Introduced in Congress

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Featured, News, Policy

Earlier this week, Congresswoman Miller of West Virginia introduced the Responsible Use of Seafloor Resources Act of 2024 bill into Congress. This bill is among the few significant pieces of new national legislation promoting deep-sea mining to be introduced in the modern era. The text is available here: A Bill to support international governance of … Read More “New Deep-sea Mining Bill Introduced in Congress” »

Updated financial model for deep-sea mining makes more sense, fewer dollars

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Education, Featured

On Friday, I posted about the financial model used to project the potential profits from a hypothetical polymetallic nodule mining model in the Clarion Clipperton Zone. This model, originally commissioned in 2018 and updated in 2021/22, had some puzzling prices for manganese in particular. This model is extremely important. Beginning late this month, member states … Read More “Updated financial model for deep-sea mining makes more sense, fewer dollars” »

Something is bothering me about the Economics of Deep-sea Mining

Posted on By Andrew Thaler

Note: please see the update to this post – Updated financial model for deep-sea mining makes more sense, fewer dollars This month, once again, the delegations from 169 countries will gather in Kingston, Jamaica to continue the negotiations on the Deep-sea Mining Code. At this point, I’ve written extensively about the potential environmental impacts of … Read More “Something is bothering me about the Economics of Deep-sea Mining” »

Dr. Craig McClain on How An Ancient Ocean Shaped US History

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Blogging, Science

12 years ago, Craig McClain wrote what is probably now the most widely read and discussed blog post in the entire ocean blogging community: How presidential elections are impacted by a 100 million year old coastline. A decade later, people are still talking about it. Watch Dr. McClain discuss this 100-million-year-old coastline on PBS Human … Read More “Dr. Craig McClain on How An Ancient Ocean Shaped US History” »

We Were Wrong About Megalodon: lessons learned from 10 years combating fake science in popular media

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Blogging, Education, Featured

Twelve years ago, Discovery Channel aired a documentary so egregiously bad, so wildly dishonest, and so utterly contemptuous of its audience, that it set the entire Science Blogging Community alight. And then, a year later, they followed it up with another. This was a clarifying moment for science, and especially ocean science, blogging. We weren’t … Read More “We Were Wrong About Megalodon: lessons learned from 10 years combating fake science in popular media” »

The people hunger for blogs: what you read on Southern Fried Science in February

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Blogging

It’s hard to overstate just how huge February was for us here at Southern Fried Science. When we did our soft relaunch this January, we expected visitor numbers to be flat for quite a while. No one wants to read blogs anymore, right? Short form videos and the infinite feed are king. I am very … Read More “The people hunger for blogs: what you read on Southern Fried Science in February” »

Your car has just been crushed by hagfish: Frequently Asked Questions

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Science

This Southern Fried Classic was first published July 13, 2017 and is one of Andrew’s all-time favorite articles. Wait, what? In 2017, Oregon State Police reported that a truck carrying a shipment of live hagfish overturned, spilling its slimy cargo all over the highway and damaging at least one vehicle. What’s a hagfish? Hagfish are … Read More “Your car has just been crushed by hagfish: Frequently Asked Questions” »

NOAA confirms North Atlantic Right Whale killed by commercial lobster gear

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Conservation, Featured, News

North Atlantic Right whales are on the brink of extinction. There are approximately 360 individuals left, of which only about 70 are reproductively active females. In 2017, an unusual mortality even resulted in the death of 37 individuals. Ship strikes and entanglements remain the leading cause of death for this population. On August 20, 2022, … Read More “NOAA confirms North Atlantic Right Whale killed by commercial lobster gear” »