During a Pacific Ocean research cruise, Angel White peers into her microscope. The ship rides gentle swells and sways side to side. In her field of view, organisms the size of dust motes rise and fall through their own watery world. “It can be disorienting and enthralling at the same time. The microbes are dying [...]
Tag » Marine Science and the Coast
February 21, 2012
Taking stock of wave energy
Researchers make preparations for an emerging industry
These are the formative years of a West Coast wave energy industry, and scientists are working with businesses, communities and policymakers to gather environmental data, test new technologies and consider the options. Their work is coordinated through the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC), a partnership between Oregon State University and the University of [...]
February 17, 2012
State of Change: Nursery of the Sea
“The changing climate will likely have significant impacts along the coast and estuarine shorelines of Oregon. Changes associated with global climate change include rising sea levels, storminess, rising water temperatures and ocean acidification.”
– Oregon Climate Assessment Report
September 14, 2011
Speaking of Plastic
Plastic doesn't belong in the ocean, but let's get real
You might have heard a few supposed facts about plastic in the ocean: 1) There is a massive swirling gyre of plastic, the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” between California and Japan that is twice the size of Texas; and 2) this plastic debris outweighs plankton and is growing in size. Interestingly, the scientific literature does [...]
February 9, 2011
See wave tests at the Hinsdale Wave Lab
In this video from the National Science Foundation, simulated tsunami waves slam a model of an Oregon Coast community at the Hinsdale Wave Research Lab at Oregon State University.
December 22, 2010
Yellow tang study shows marine reserve benefit
The popular aquarium fish are rebounding after being nearly wiped out
Marine ecologists at Oregon State University have shown for the first time that tiny fish larvae can drift with ocean currents and “re-seed” fish stocks significant distances away – more than 100 miles in a new study from Hawaii.
November 30, 2010
In Earth’s deep crust, microbes abound
Near a mid-Atlantic Ocean ridge called Atlantis, scientists have discovered a rich microbial ecosystem in the deepest crustal rocks ever explored.
July 22, 2007
Winds of Change
Scientists link air and water currents as shifting conditions take their toll on the Oregon coast
In his 32 years as a crab fisherman off the central Oregon coast, Al Pazar has pulled up a lot of strange things in his pots: wolf eels, skates, huge starfish, fossilized rocks, octopi, fish that rarely stray south of Alaska, and others that prefer the warm subtropical waters off Mexico. But until July 2002, [...]
