fbpixel 2013 - Page 21 of 24 - Mission Blue

Yearly Archives: 2013
Photo of the Day ~ Curious Hudson’s Bay Belugas

For many of us, the Arctic is just a far-away corner of the planet that we may never see. So why should we care about it?  “It isn’t just about polar bears,” says Dr. Sylvia Earle. “Although they are the Arctic’s biggest predator and cutest mascot, there is much more at stake in this rich and largely unexplored ecosystem than you’d think.” Our lives depend the stability of the Arctic – one reason that Dr. Earle has declared the Arctic region as a Mission Blue ‘Hope Spot.’
The images created by Virginia Bria celebrate the beauty of our fragile blue planet. The complete collection of her work is on her website,  Bella Sirena Images.
Here, Virginia encounters a group of beluga whales who are clearly curious and unconcerned by her presence.…

Posted in Multimedia, Photo of the Day |

Leave a comment
Photo of the Day ~ Kissing Manatees

Mission Blue's Photo of the Day to kick off Valentine's Week is from the very talented aquatic photographer Amanda Cotton.

The Florida Manatee  (Trichechus manatus latirostrus) is an aquatic mammal. They breathe air; have whiskers on their skin, and thick layers of fat keep them warm. They are also over-the-top cute, especially when they’re feeling romantic!

Manatees usually come to the surface every 3-4 minutes to breathe fresh air. They sleep on the bottom and ascend every 20 minutes for a breath. Weighing up to 1,200 pounds, they never stop growing as long as they live.

Florida Manatees are an Endangered Species. One of it's relatives, the Stellar Sea Cow is already extinct. Only about 2,000 Florida manatees are left in Florida today.…

Posted in Photo of the Day |

Leave a comment
Great Whales Still Face Grave Threats

The Great Whales need our help.  They face multiple threats today in many parts of the world: “scientific whaling,” ship strikes, habitat encroachment, decreasing food supplies, ocean acidification, etc.; it is up to us to take on these threats and do what we can to protect these magnificent, sentient beings.

The Great Whale Conservancy was created in 2010 to answer this call, and the first problem we are focusing on is the ship strike issue that plagues whales in oceans around the planet –where great whales and cargo ships, oil tankers, and cruise ships try to occupy the same place at the same time.  The whales have no choice: they need to follow their food and consumes tons of protein every day to survive. …

Posted in Uncategorized |

1 Comment
Photo of the Day ~ Wisdom’s chick has hatched!

The oldest known living wild bird in the world gave birth Sunday to a healthy hatchling. The 62-year-old bird, “Wisdom,” last made headlines in 2011, when the albatross survived the aftermath of the Japanese tsunami. In this photo,  Wisdom (left) attempts to nudge her mate off the nest for her turn at incubating the couple’s egg. She’s 62; the male is presumed to be much younger. In her lifetime, she has survived numerous disasters including tsunamis, tropical storms, hurricanes, longline fishing and plastic pollution.
Wisdom has defied the odds in many aspects: She’s already lived nearly twice as long as the average Laysan albatross. She was given her name after being tagged by a U.S. Geological Survey researcher in 1956.  The USGS estimates that since being tagged, Wisdom has flown an estimated 2 million to 3 million miles, or “four to six trips from the Earth to the Moon and back again with plenty of miles to spare.”…

Posted in Photo of the Day |

Leave a comment
Photo of the Day ~ Step back in time with Octavio Aburto

Photo of the Day: In many ways, diving in the San Benito Islands is not all that different than diving in Southern California’s Channel Islands. If, that is, you could get into a time machine and go back 40 or 50 years.
Thanks to its relative isolation from population centers, one of the best preserved Kelp forests in the Pacific Ocean is off San Benito Island, Mexico. Often the island is covered by clouds, and the light illuminates the Kelp creating incredible colors, as we see here surrounding these playful California Sea Lions.
Location: San Benito Island, Baja California, Mexico
Photo: © Octavio Aburto…

Posted in Uncategorized |

Leave a comment
Photo of the Day ~ What sea creature is this?

Today's Photo of the Day is a different kind of sea creature – it's Her Deepness, Dr. Sylvia Earle!  When asked the inevitable question, "What sea critter would you like to be," she has but one answer. "I AM a sea creature!"  As are we all, because without the ocean, there would be no life on earth. No blue, no green!

When asked what she daydreams about, Dr. Earle replied, "Going under water…Saving the ocean…Being a fish…Or imagine being an eel and with no arms or legs and just slithery body, slide around, and then tuck back in a burrow with just your face sticking out….I would love to slip into the skin of a fish and know what it’s like to be one.…

Posted in Photo of the Day |

Leave a comment
Photo of the Day ~ Biomineral Crystals

What's that, you say?  What looks like an abstract work of art is actually an image of biomineral crystals within a sea urchin's tooth. The photo took the top spot in photography at the International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge. [Biomineral Single Crystals. Pupa U.P.A. Gilbert and Christopher E. Killian]

Each color highlights a continuous single crystal of calcite (CaCO3) made by the sea urchin Arbacia punctulata at the forming end of one of its teeth. Together, these biomineral crystals fill space, harden the tooth, and toughen it enough to grind rock.

The pair captured the shot using scanning electron microscopy, although Gilbert admits the palette choice is somewhat arbitrary. "The artist in me selected the colors. I picked them because I like the way they look," says Gilbert.…

Posted in Photo of the Day |

Leave a comment