Radio Program
Our regular Science and the SeaTM radio program presents marine science topics in an engaging two-minute story format. Our script writers gather ideas for the radio program from the University of Texas Marine Science Institute's researchers and from our very popular college class, Introduction to Oceanography, which we teach to hundreds of non-science majors at The University of Texas at Austin every year. Our radio programs are distributed at to commercial and public radio stations across the country.
An oyster shell is like a time capsule — it holds information about the world in which it was created. And finding the key to that capsule may help scientists learn more about our planet’s changing climate.
A recent study, for example, looked at oysters in bays along part of the Texas coast. This region sees both prolonged droughts and big floods. But reliable climate records go back only about a hundred years. Scientists would like to know more about earlier times to better understand how conditions are changing as Earth warms up.
Life in the oceans is packin’ up and movin’ out — looking for a new place that’s a lot like the old one. Marine life is also starting families a little earlier, and letting those summer vacations linger a little longer.
All of these changes appear to be the result of changes in Earth’s climate. As the planet gets warmer, many organisms are finding ways to adapt. That keeps their species alive, but it alters everything from feeding grounds to breeding seasons.
The sand that squishes between your toes or works its way into uncomfortable places in your swimsuit is a little different for every beach. That’s because it comes from different sources — everything from coral reefs to mountain ranges.
Coastal residents have always relied on the bounty of the sea to help sustain them — even if that bounty didn’t always look especially appetizing. About 600 years ago, for example, residents of Carragheen County in Ireland tried a scraggly looking red seaweed, known as rock moss. They found that not only was it a good addition to some of their foods, it made a good medicine and fertilizer, too.
Not long after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, a local fisherman found an especially good fishing spot off the coast of Alabama. Suspecting that something unusual was going on, he brought out a diver, who found an underwater enchanted forest — giant logs and stumps from an ancient stand of bald cypress. Today, scientists are scrambling to study the forest before it’s destroyed by wood-eating creatures and the Gulf waters.
Like the icemaker in your fridge, the cold waters of the Arctic are constantly making chunks of ice. Most of them simply circle around the Arctic before they run aground. But a few survive to reach the North Atlantic shipping lanes.
When Spanish explorers first landed on a group of islands off the Pacific coast of South America, they were amazed to find the islands packed with giant tortoises — tens of thousands of them. The explorers called the islands the Galapagos — from the Spanish word for tortoise.
It’s been a tough road for the tortoises ever since. But one group is making a comeback. In 2013, conservationists introduced more than 100 juveniles to tiny Pinzón Island.
The 2013 hurricane season tied a record for the era of modern weather observations. The first hurricane, Humberto, didn’t form until September 11th. Since forecasters began using satellites in the 1960s, there’s been only one other season where the first hurricane formed that late.
Yet that’s nothing compared to the hurricane season of 1914. That year, the first tropical storm didn’t form until September 14th — and it was the only storm of the entire season. In fact, 1914 is the weakest Atlantic hurricane season on record.
Those tangled, smelly strands of seaweed that wash up on your favorite beach are little islands of life. They attract crabs, turtles, birds, and other creatures. And they can have a profound impact on the native ecosystems around them.
Researchers saw that impact in a series of tests in the Bahamas. They cleared the seaweed from some sections of beach and added it to others. Then they watched what happened over the following year.
The colorful clownfish is one of the best tenants in all the oceans. In exchange for protection from predators and a few scraps of food, it protects its household from invaders, keeps things clean, provides key nutrients, and even airs things out.
The clownfish’s home is a sea anemone — a mass of swaying tentacles lined with deadly stingers. Just about anything that swims into the tentacles is doomed — except the clownfish. Its skin is lined with a layer of mucus that protects the fish from harm.
