Deep-sea mining meeting convenes once again to negotiate the future of our oceans.

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Featured, Policy

Next week, delegates from 169 countries, NGOs representing civil society, and other experts will gather in Kingston, Jamaica to continue the work of developing a set of rules governing how the minerals of the deep sea, which fall beyond the borders of any nation, can be exploited, ostensibly for the Good of Humankind. In many … Read More “Deep-sea mining meeting convenes once again to negotiate the future of our oceans.” »

Election of ISA Secretary-General mired by accusations of bribery and corruption

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
News, Policy

In a little over 2 week, the International Seabed Authority will once again convene in Kingston, Jamaica to continue the 30-year process of establishing a regulatory regime for mining the minerals of the deep sea beyond the borders of any nation. This deep-sea mining negotiation is the most important meeting for not only the future … Read More “Election of ISA Secretary-General mired by accusations of bribery and corruption” »

“If you were eaten by an owlbear, would your skeleton come out the owl end or the bear end?” This month on Dugongs and Seadragons

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Blogging

The adventures of the Cephalosquad continue on our weekly marine science-themed Dungeons and Dragons podcast, Dugongs and Seadragons. This month, the party attends an academic lecture on renewable energy which gets a little out of hand. We’ve got a Patreon (separate and completely unrelated to the Southern Fried Science Patreon), where you can get behind-the-scenes clips … Read More ““If you were eaten by an owlbear, would your skeleton come out the owl end or the bear end?” This month on Dugongs and Seadragons” »

Oddly enough, chicken coops: What you read on Southern Fried Science in June.

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Blogging

June saw a major uptick in readers, and not necessarily for the articles you’d expect. The press release that me and David put out and David’s piece on the strange history of Trump and sharks both claimed top billing, but oddly, the short piece I wrote about all the chicken coops I’ve built struck a … Read More “Oddly enough, chicken coops: What you read on Southern Fried Science in June.” »

Stuff to do in Pittsburgh if you’re in town for JMIH 2024

Posted on By David Shiffman
Science

The upcoming 2024 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists is in my hometown of Pittsburgh! I can’t wait to show yinz around dahntahn n’at! Don’t be a jagoff, learn a little about the city before you go aht and explore! What’s with the weird accent? Lots of cities have regional dialects, and we have Pittsburghese. … Read More “Stuff to do in Pittsburgh if you’re in town for JMIH 2024” »

Decolonize the Pacific Remote Islands

Posted on By Angelo Villagomez
Conservation, Featured, Policy, Science

A groundbreaking journal article, recently published in Environmental Justice, calls for a significant shift in the approach to conservation in the Pacific Remote Islands Area (PRIA). The article, titled “Disavowing the Doctrine of Discovery: Indigenous Healing, Decolonization, and Implications for Environmental Justice in the Pacific Remote Islands Area,” presents a critical analysis of the proposal … Read More “Decolonize the Pacific Remote Islands” »

Did you calibrate you CTD today?

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Featured, Oceanography for Everyone, Open Science

The first time I went to test an OpenCTD head-to-head against a hand-held commercial CTD, something was wrong. It was early in the OpenCTD development, but we were deep enough into the weeds that we had what we thought was a pretty good calibration process. The OpenCTD looked good against our standards. But the devices … Read More “Did you calibrate you CTD today?” »

John Oliver covers Deep-sea Mining on Last Week Tonight

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Popular Culture

The ocean is a gigantic places absolutely chock full of weirdos. Oliver touched on quite a few points I’ve made over the year, including the fact that deep-sea mining is absolutely not inevitable and that new battery chemistries could dramatically reduce the demand for these critical minerals over the next decade. Read more about deep-sea … Read More “John Oliver covers Deep-sea Mining on Last Week Tonight” »

I built a DIY hardware store pressure vessel to test ocean science tools from the comfort of my shed.

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Featured, Open Science, Science

I have a problem with the OpenCTD. The OpenCTD is a low-cost, open-source oceanographic instrument that lets you take fundamental water quality measurements for a fraction the cost of commercial alternatives without sacrificing data quality. It’s rated to 140 meters, and we’ve tested that, once, in a bathymetric chamber, and then, occasionally, in the field. … Read More “I built a DIY hardware store pressure vessel to test ocean science tools from the comfort of my shed.” »