National Marine Mammal Foundation

Dates: Tuesday, October 13th OR Thursday, October 15th 

Location: Your couch! See your e-mail for the Zoom link!

Link: https://nmmf.org/

This week we are visiting with the National Marine Mammal Foundation. We will be discussing “Voices of the Sea”. According to the Foundation the program will cover the following:

Most marine mammals rely on sound for communication, foraging, navigation and predator avoidance. Scientists at the NMMF explore the sounds marine mammals make, the sounds they hear, and the effect human-made sound has on them. They can even distinguish dolphin “signature whistles” and determine if an animal is healthy just by recording the noises they make. The NMMF has developed technology that tests the hearing of stranded wild marine mammals, and has also determined the threshold criteria for exposure to sound that could affect marine mammal behavior and physiology, including hearing. This workshop describes the novel ways the NMMF studies acoustics and engages students in hands-on activities to demonstrate the science of sound and how we measure it. 

If you want to try your hand at a new oceans quiz, click to take it here:

Be sure to check the answers for more videos and articles to read in the quiz! That’s where all the fun, new stuff is buried!

The oceans account for roughly 70% of the Earth’s surface and we are learning more about it every day. Scientists estimate that the oceans contain anywhere between 500,000 and 10 million marine species. Up to 2,000 new species are described per year! Here are some more ‘fast facts’ about this amazing part of our planet:

• The sun is what makes the ocean blue! The sun’s red and orange wavelengths are absorbed by the surface of the water, allowing blue wavelengths to penetrate deeper. (The sun penetrates about the first 1,000 feet of ocean). The reason your glass of water outside doesn’t look blue is because there aren’t enough molecules in it to absorb all that light.

• In 2019, Victor Vescovo made history by becoming the first person to reach the deepest part of the ocean, known as Challenger Deep, in the Mariana Trench. For a long, but fascinating read, about this expedition to dive to the deepest points in the world’s oceans. 

Earth’s largest waterfall isn’t something you can hike - it’s underwater! Located in the Denmark Strait, warm water and denser, colder water converge to produce an underwater waterfall that is 11,500 ft tall!

• The most remote place on Earth is in the South Pacific. Known as Point Nemo, it is approximately 1000 miles from any neighboring islands or land. It is even helpfully marked on Google Maps, if you search for it! (This is just one of those fun trivia tidbits - my kids have asked me about this!)

• Up to 70% of volcanic eruptions are actually underwater. Molten lava spews from more than 1 million volcanoes under the sea.

• There’s a lot of treasure under the sea! The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) believes that somewhere around a million sunken ships strewn about the world’s oceans. Some think that the total value of the treasure might be as much as $60 billion - but don’t break out the wetsuits just yet! Most recovered treasure is likely to be claimed by governments or private parties, making recovery a risky, probably unrewarding endeavor. 

• Rubber duckies have helped us understand the ocean currents! In 1992, a shipment of the colorful little toys was headed from China to the U.S. when a container dropped from the ship. More than 28,000 ducks and other bath toys went into water in the North Pacific. As they began washing up on distant shores, oceanographers were able to track the ducks and learn about water currents. Some even landed in Europe and Hawaii - and continued to appear until the mid-2000s! Check out this 5 minute Ted-Ed video to explain how it worked!

The ocean is home to half the world’s species (and those are just the ones we know about)! Many we will likely never see, as they are submerged far beyond the reach of all but scientists and specially designed submarines. But there are many amazing and highly intelligent creatures in the briny deep, that have adapted and thrive in their watery world. Here are just a few examples:

-      Dolphins – dolphins have larger brains than us humans, and their brain-to-body ratio is actually greater than that of apes. (Our brain-to-body ratio is the highest.) Dolphins have some complex neuron groups, meaning they are self-aware and can even recognize themselves in the mirror and they play with toys, solve puzzles, and can even use tools. They have complex social systems and communicate with one another to hunt or even plan for the future. One study observed dolphins communicating to cooperate in pulling apart a PVC pipe to get the fish inside!

-      Octopus – (plural octopuses) even though they lack a backbone, these invertebrates are very complex creatures. They have a large brain and as many neurons as dogs, meaning they have a lot of receptors to get information to their brains! They have shown that they are able to learn and problem solve. Take a look at these examples of octopuses learning and showing off their genius:

-      Air Jaws – Leaping Great Whites – previously off the coast of South Africa, giant Great Whites hunt unlike any other place in the world. To capture their elusive and quick seal prey, they breach out of the water as they lunge to surprise and capture their prey. Amazingly, many of these leaping Great Whites seem to have been chased away from their hunting grounds off the coast of Africa (see the next bullet to learn more about that!). They have been spotted, with much less frequency, near New Zealand and Australia.

-      Sea Otters – these adorable little marine mammals have shown themselves to be cunning and intelligent. They use tools to eat, usually rocks to break open hard shells to get to the delicious prize inside. To watch them play at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, you can check out the live web cam here:

How deep does it go?

For a really fun way to help visualize how deep the ocean is (and what creatures can be found where, check out this website called “The Deep Sea”. Keep scrolling… and scrolling… and scrolling. My personal favorite was coming across the elephant seal!

Click here: https://neal.fun/deep-sea/

See you all this week to dive into some fun!

https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/oceanography/deep-ocean-exploration.htm

https://mymodernmet.com/anatoly-beloshchin-mexico-yucatan-cenote-angelita/

http://www.messagetoeagle.com/icyfingerofdeathantarctica.php

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/07/killer-whales-orcas-eat-great-white-sharks/#preparingEmail

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/population.html

https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/worlds-main-sources-protein-7395.html

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Ocean-fact-sheet-package.pdf

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/ice-beebe/

https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/history/timeline/?page=3

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/killer-whale/populations

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zrpshcw