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SUPER HI-CAT
C-MORE: SUPER HI-CAT (Center for Microbial Oceanography- Research and Education: Survey of Underwater Plastic Ecosystem Response Hawaii to California Transit) The SUPER HI-CAT research cruise was the first effort to study the microbial communities and the biogeochemistry associated with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The study was conducted aboard the RV Kilo Moana (T-AGOR-26) between August 25, 2008 and September 5, 2008 by researchers from UH Manoa, Oregon State University, and the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. Previous research on the Plastic Patch had mostly focused on the effects of the plastic pieces on jellyfish, fish, sea turtles, and seabirds. Relatively little was known about how this type of marine debris would affect the microbial communities that make up 98% of the biomass in the ocean and control oceanic biogeochemistry. During this cruise, 30 sites were sampled. At 15 of these sites, a modified surface net called a manta trawlBialik, Carl"How Big Is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
C-MORE
The Center for Microbial Oceanography (C-MORE) is a research and education organization established in 2006 as a National Science Foundation funded Science and Technology Center. Objectives It has been said that more is known about the surface of the moon than about the Earth’s oceans. C-MORE was designed to explore the largely unknown world of microorganisms in the sea and to educate the public and other scientists about these organisms. The motto of the center is “From genomes to biomes” meaning that the researchers want to look at how the diversity of microbes in the ocean influences the structure and function of the world’s largest biome, the ocean. Background The center was initially proposed, and is now directed by Professor David Karl, of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. C-MORE has affiliated researchers working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Oregon State University, the University of California, Sant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marine Debris
Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created waste that has deliberately or accidentally been released in a sea or ocean. Floating oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and on coastlines, frequently washing aground, when it is known as ''beach litter'' or tidewrack. Deliberate disposal of wastes at sea is called ''ocean dumping''. Naturally occurring debris, such as driftwood and drift seeds, are also present. With the increasing use of plastic, human influence has become an issue as many types of (petrochemical) plastics do not biodegrade quickly, as would natural or organic materials. The largest single type of plastic pollution (~10 %) and majority of large plastic in the oceans is discarded and lost nets from the fishing industry. Waterborne plastic poses a serious threat to fish, seabirds, marine reptiles, and marine mammals, as well as to boats and coasts. Dumping, container spillages, litter washed into storm drains and waterways and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Expeditions
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continents of Asia and Oceania in the west and the Americas in the east. At in area (as defined with a southern Antarctic border), this largest division of the World Ocean—and, in turn, the Hydrosphere, hydrosphere—covers about 46% of Earth's water surface and about 32% of its total surface area, larger than Earth's entire land area combined .Pacific Ocean . ''Encyclopædia Britannica, Britannica Concise.'' 2008: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The centers of both the Land and water hemispheres, Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere, as well as the Pole of inaccessibility#Oceanic pole of ina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biological Oceanography
Biological oceanography is the study of how organisms affect and are affected by the physics, chemistry, and geology of the oceanographic system. Biological oceanography may also be referred to as ocean ecology, in which the root word of ecology is ''Oikos'' (oικoσ), meaning ‘house’ or ‘habitat’ in Greek. With that in mind, it is of no surprise then that the main focus of biological oceanography is on the microorganisms within the ocean; looking at how they are affected by their environment and how that affects larger marine creatures and their ecosystem.Lalli, Carol M., and Timothy R. Parsons. "Introduction." Biological Oceanography: An Introduction. First Edition ed. Tarrytown, New York: Pergamon, 1993. 7-21. Print. Biological oceanography is similar to marine biology, but is different because of the perspective used to study the ocean. Biological oceanography takes a bottom-up approach (in terms of the food web), while marine biology studies the ocean from a top-down ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Project Kaisei
Project Kaisei (from 海星, ''kaisei'', "ocean planet" in Japanese) is a scientific and commercial mission to study and clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a large body of floating debris trapped in the Pacific Ocean by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre. Discovered by NOAA, the patch is estimated to contain 20 times the density of floating debris compared to the global average. The project aims to study the extent and nature of the debris with a view to capturing, detoxifying, and recycling the material, and is organised by the Ocean Voyages Institute, a California-based 501c3 non-profit organisation dealing with marine preservation. The project is based in San Francisco and Hong Kong. History Project Kaisei was started in late 2008 by Mary Crowley, owner of Ocean Voyages, Inc., a for-profit yacht brokerage, Doug Woodring, and George Orbelian, from the San Francisco Bay Area, all with many years of ocean stewardship and activities behind them. As ocean lovers, Mary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nitrogen Cycle
The nitrogen cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which nitrogen is converted into multiple chemical forms as it circulates among atmospheric, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems. The conversion of nitrogen can be carried out through both biological and physical processes. Important processes in the nitrogen cycle include fixation, ammonification, nitrification, and denitrification. The majority of Earth's atmosphere (78%) is atmospheric nitrogen, making it the largest source of nitrogen. However, atmospheric nitrogen has limited availability for biological use, leading to a scarcity of usable nitrogen in many types of ecosystems. The nitrogen cycle is of particular interest to ecologists because nitrogen availability can affect the rate of key ecosystem processes, including primary production and decomposition. Human activities such as fossil fuel combustion, use of artificial nitrogen fertilizers, and release of nitrogen in wastewater have dramatically altered the global nitr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carbon Cycle
The carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere of the Earth. Carbon is the main component of biological compounds as well as a major component of many minerals such as limestone. Along with the nitrogen cycle and the water cycle, the carbon cycle comprises a sequence of events that are key to make Earth capable of sustaining life. It describes the movement of carbon as it is recycled and reused throughout the biosphere, as well as long-term processes of carbon sequestration to and release from carbon sinks. Carbon sinks in the land and the ocean each currently take up about one-quarter of anthropogenic carbon emissions each year. Humans have disturbed the biological carbon cycle for many centuries by modifying land use, and moreover with the recent industrial-scale mining of fossil carbon (coal, petroleum and natural gas, gas extraction, and cement manufacture) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Planktonic
Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucial source of food to many small and large aquatic organisms, such as bivalves, fish and whales. Marine plankton include bacteria, archaea, algae, protozoa and drifting or floating animals that inhabit the saltwater of oceans and the brackish waters of estuaries. Freshwater plankton are similar to marine plankton, but are found in the freshwaters of lakes and rivers. Plankton are usually thought of as inhabiting water, but there are also airborne versions, the aeroplankton, that live part of their lives drifting in the atmosphere. These include plant spores, pollen and wind-scattered seeds, as well as microorganisms swept into the air from terrestrial dust storms and oceanic plankton swept into the air by sea spray. Though many planktonic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biofilms
A biofilm comprises any syntrophic consortium of microorganisms in which cells stick to each other and often also to a surface. These adherent cells become embedded within a slimy extracellular matrix that is composed of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs). The cells within the biofilm produce the EPS components, which are typically a polymeric conglomeration of extracellular polysaccharides, proteins, lipids and DNA. Because they have three-dimensional structure and represent a community lifestyle for microorganisms, they have been metaphorically described as "cities for microbes". Biofilms may form on living or non-living surfaces and can be prevalent in natural, industrial, and hospital settings. They may constitute a microbiome or be a portion of it. The microbial cells growing in a biofilm are physiologically distinct from planktonic cells of the same organism, which, by contrast, are single cells that may float or swim in a liquid medium. Biofilms can form ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manta Trawl
A manta trawl is a net system for sampling the surface of the ocean. It resembles a manta ray, with metal wings and a broad mouth. The net it pulls is made of thin mesh, and the whole trawl is towed behind a scientific research vessel.Moore, Charle"Trashed: across the Pacific Ocean, plastics, plastics, everywhere" ''Natural History'', November, 2003 The manta trawl is useful for collecting samples from the surface of the ocean, such as sampling the plastic pieces making up the great Pacific garbage patch as well as the associated plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucia .... External links a Photo at Flickrincluding video References {{Marine pollution Planktology Aquatic ecology Biological oceanography Oceanographic instrumentation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biomass
Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms biomass and biofuel interchangeably, while others consider biofuel to be a ''liquid'' or ''gaseous'' fuel used for transportation, as defined by government authorities in the US and EU. The European Union's Joint Research Centre defines solid biofuel as raw or processed organic matter of biological origin used for energy, such as firewood, wood chips, and wood pellets. In 2019, biomass was used to produce 57 EJ (exajoules) of energy, compared to 190 EJ from crude oil, 168 EJ from coal, 144 EJ from natural gas, 30 EJ from nuclear, 15 EJ from hydro and 13 EJ from wind, solar and geothermal combined. Approximately 86% of modern bioenergy is used for heating applications, with 9% used for transport and 5% for electricity. Most of the global b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seabirds
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine (ocean), marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding ecological niche, niches have resulted in similar adaptations. The first seabirds evolved in the Cretaceous geological period, period, and modern seabird families emerged in the Paleogene. In general, seabirds live longer, Reproduction, breed later and have fewer young than other birds do, but they invest a great deal of time in their young. Most species nest in Bird colony, colonies, which can vary in size from a few dozen birds to millions. Many species are famous for undertaking long annual bird migration, migrations, crossing the equator or circumnavigating the Earth in some cases. They feed both at the ocean's surface and below it, and even feed on each other. Seabirds can be hig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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