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In the Field: Before Pacific Islands Forum, a Memorable Dive in Cook Islands

By Greg Stone
As I gaze at the night sky, the stars are the clearest I have ever seen them. The Milky Way glows from horizon to horizon, and while I see many familiar constellations visible from the Northern Hemisphere, I also see a number of new ones — strange assortments of stars that are only visible south of the equator.
We are here diving in the Cook Islands on the breaking crest of a new wave of marine conservation. This week, 16 nations have gathered at the 43rd Pacific Islands Forum to coordinate their actions across an area so vast it encompasses 40 million square kilometers (15.4 million square miles) — 10% of our planet’s ocean. This area is called the Pacific Oceanscape.…

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Desktop Diaries: Learn What Sylvia Earle Has on Her Desk

For those of you who missed it, catch this great video of Dr. Sylvia Earle in Science Friday’s Desktop Diaries.
In the video, Dr. Earle, Oceanographer and National Geographic Explorer in Residence, shows viewers around her Oakland, California desk. She introduces her “mentor,” describes the evolution of her own relationship with the ocean, and presents various items that have accompanied her on different deep-sea expeditions.
This video promises to help inspire others to be curious and concerned about our world’s ocean — our planet’s blue heart.…

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Introducing the Blue Ocean Film Festival and Conservation Event

Amber Jackson
The Blue Ocean Film Festival, fondly referred to as BLUE, is a biennial ocean conservation event. Next month, filmmakers, photographers, scientists, and ocean explorers from around the globe will come together for this high-energy, enlightening and entertaining 7-day festival.
Set in the Monterey Bay Peninsula, BLUE showcases outstanding ocean films and award winning marine photography along with science and conservation seminars, international policy discussions and a robust ocean media industry conference.
At the heart of BLUE is the Global Ocean Film Festival, which will showcase over 100 films and ocean photography. The compelling films, exciting program and great camaraderie at BLUE promise to engage and empower public audiences, in Monterey and around the globe.
“More than films, more than a celebration of all things wet, the Blue Ocean Film Festival brings together a potent mix of artists, scientists, conservationists, decision makers, industry leaders, inquisitive teachers, lively kids and more.…

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The Biggest Eyes in the Animal Kingdom

By Mera McGrew
Researchers say that colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) have the largest eyes ever studied in the animal kingdom. Measuring 27cm (11in) in diameter, each eye is roughly the size of a soccer ball. “They are probably the largest eyes that have ever existed,” says Eric Warrant, a professor at the University of Lund in Sweden and an expert on animal vision.
Researchers say these huge eyes help the colossal squid survive and thrive in the depths of the Southern Ocean. Their eyes face forward, allowing them to properly judge distances. At great depths, where there is very little light, their large eyes also help them spot large animals, including predators like sperm whales.
Recently, Mission Blue caught up with Warrant to ask him more about his research and the massive eyes of the colossal squid.…

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Mission Blue: Sylvia Earle’s Quest to Save the Ocean

By Kip F. Evans
It was really dark, nearly pitch black, as I made my decent to 1,300 feet. It was hot on the surface, but as I dived deeper the heat quickly dissipated, and condensation started to drip from the thick acrylic dome above my head. As I drifted deeper and deeper into the abyss, I peered through my window and looked down, trying to find some kind of visual reference. At 780 feet I could just make out the shape of a tiny submersible sitting on an enormous, white sandy ledge. The sight was totally unbelievable and a bit intimidating — imagine looking down from a huge skyscraper and seeing a tiny spot of light on the street below.…

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Cultivating Coral to Rebuild Reefs

Imagine coral “planted” in rows on the bottom of the seafloor in the same way that tulips are planted in a garden. Think of a coral nursery where coral could be grown and harvested so that it could be transplanted to help rebuild surrounding coral reefs.
Last week, NBC’s Kerry Sanders offered viewers an opportunity to do more than just imagine a coral nursery. Sanders took viewers a quarter mile off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and dove down twenty-five feet. Waiting on the seabed was an underwater nursery of staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis). Scientists are growing, harvesting and transplanting the coral to help rebuild coral reefs off the coast of Florida and in the Caribbean.
The segment aired on June 20, 2012 on NBC’s “Nightly News.”…

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Mission Aquarius: Spawning the Next Generation of Seekers and Solvers

This July, Mission Blue’s founder Dr. Sylvia Earle will team up with One World One Ocean for a 6-day mission to Aquarius Reef Base — the mission has been dubbed “Mission Aquarius.”
As previously reported by Mission Blue, Aquarius Reef Base, located off Key Largo, Florida, is the world’s only fully-functional underwater laboratory dedicated to marine science, education and outreach and ocean exploration. While the Mission Aquarius team will oversee an ambitious research agenda, outreach and education about Aquarius and the many scientific achievements it’s helped support will also take center stage.
Starting July 16, One World One Ocean and Mission Blue will be reporting in real-time from the Aquarius Habitat. One World One Ocean will bring our followers live interviews and real-time footage that highlights the scientific research conducted by the mission team.…

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Advancing Scientific Knowledge by Living Underwater

By Mera McGrew
Four miles off the coast of Key Largo, Florida sits the world’s single fully-functional underwater laboratory dedicated to marine science and exploration.
Sitting on a sand patch some sixty feet below the ocean’s surface the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) Aquarius underwater habitat has allowed marine scientists and ocean explorers to stay underwater for days, even weeks at a time to conduct cutting-edge research that has broadened our understanding of the world’s ocean and it’s many fragile ecosystems.
Typically, scientists live in Aquarius, which looks like a submarine fixed to the ocean floor, during ten-day missions. During that time they’re able to dive continuously without ever re-surfacing. Instead they return directly to the underwater laboratory, which also houses their living quarters.…

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