Sea Monster

Author: John Bruno

  • New science indicates climate change is the primary threat to coral reefs

    Like so many other ecosystems, coral reefs are being greatly impacted by climate change. Greenhouse gases are trapping excess heat from the sun, and more than anything, are warming the oceans from tropical reefs to deep polar seas. Reef corals are sensitive to small amounts of warming. An increase of just a degree or two…

  • How did the BP oil spill impact salt marshes?

    A new paper in PNAS (Silliman et al 2012) begins to answer that question. BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Exacerbated Existing Environmental Problems in Louisiana Marshes ScienceDaily (June 25, 2012) — The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill temporarily worsened existing human-made problems in Louisiana’s salt marshes such as erosion, but there may be cause for optimism,…

  • Fish love GoPros

    Marine ecologists have discovered the value of GoPro underwater cameras. In this video, Michael Gil’s GoPro is attacked by a hungry triggerfish (Pseudobalistes flavimarginatus). Read Michael’s description of the event below from his blog. HT to Adrian Stier and thanks to Michael. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m42HmBuNuAE&[/youtube]   To pick up where I left off, after the Great Vermetid Surveys of 2012…

  • A new study forecasts sea level rise based on 2C of warming and the picture isn’t pretty

    Sea levels around the world can be expected to rise by several metres in coming centuries, if global warming carries on. Even if global warming is limited to 2 degrees Celsius, global-mean sea level could continue to rise, reaching between 1.5 and 4 metres above present-day levels by the year 2300, with the best estimate…

  • The NC sea level rise saga: the lowdown

    Below is a list of links and resources regarding the infamous North Carolina sea level rise saga. I will continue to update and will give this resource a permanent home in our sidebar. Please feel free to email me suggestions (jb@theseamonster.net) or leave them as comments below. Start here by reading Scott Huler’s piece “NC…

  • Cape Hatteras, NC marks the southern edge of a just revealed sea level rise hot spot

    A new paper published today in Nature Climate Change (Sallenger et al 2012) describes the discovery of a global hot spot of sea level rise. The team used a tide gauge database to examine how sea level has changed in the US over the last 70 years. Although globally, average sea level is widely known…

  • NC sea level rise saga: update 2

    Last week, the NC house of representatives voted 144 to 0 against the already watered down bill (in a good way) the Senate came up with “outlawing” accelerated sea level rise. This is a radical change of heart by a house that only the week before had voted in favor an even more anti-science bill.…

  • Impacts of climate change on the oceans: the feature film!

    For the NC Climate Change Fellows: Ove Hoegh-Guldberg NCSE talk from John Bruno on Vimeo.

  • Kristen Bell talking about shark tagging with the Hammerschlagies on Leno

    [vimeo]http://vimeo.com/22565878[/vimeo] Go here for more info about shark expert Dr. Neil Hammerschlag’s shark tagging program. 

  • North Carolina sea level rise assessment report

    The North Carolina Sea-Level Rise Assessment Report prepared by the  N.C. Coastal Resources Commission’s Science Panel on Coastal Hazards was published in March 2010. The report immediately attracted the attention of real estate investors and coastal development lobbying groups like “NC 20” that responded with anti-science propaganda like this (PDF). These groups successfully lobbied the state legislature to declare that coastal communities should…