» The Ocean

Seismologists say the surf’s up across the globe

kris — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 23:57:50 +0000

When waves crash on the shore they actually create vibrations in the Earth that can be detected by seismometers and used to determine the power of the waves. Seismologists have been archiving this data from 22 locations across the world for decades. Recently, a researcher noticed a trend in the data indicating that the overall power of waves worldwide is on the rise. This trend is consistent with the prediction that storms will increase in size and power as a result of global warming. Link

It should come as no surprise that on January 5th of this year Mike Parsons set a new record for the biggest wave ever ridden when Brad Gerlach towed him into a 70ft+ bomb at the Cortes Bank. And it should come as no surprise when that record gets broken.

Freakish Sea Foam

kris — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 17:15:21 +0000

Recent storms off the east coast of Australia literally whipped up freakish amounts of sea foam that ultimately made its way to shore north of Sydney.

Scientists explain that the foam is created by impurities in the ocean, such as salts, chemicals, dead plants, decomposed fish and excretions from seaweed. All are churned up together by powerful currents which cause the water to form bubbles. These bubbles stick to each other as they are carried below the surface by the current towards the shore. As a wave starts to form on the surface, the motion of the water causes the bubbles to swirl upwards and, massed together, they become foam.

Here’s a link to the story.

Nice waves breaking on a man-made reef in NZ

kris — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 16:10:05 +0000

Apparently there weren’t enough waves at the Bay of Plenty, so they had to make more. The Kiwi’s Mount Reef project seems to be a success in terms of the quality of waves that it’s creating. "The artificial reef is designed to have a primary purpose of creating high quality surfing waves. A database showing the shape of world-class surfing breaks has been utilised to design the reef with sophisticated computer models…" Better still, ASR Ltd claims that "national and international studies show that multi-purpose reefs bring 20-70 times their full construction cost back to the community through visitor spending." I think the Mount Reef project ran about 1,350,000 NZD, but don’t quote me on that – check out what happens when you click their link to where the money has gone.

Time will tell how well the Mount Reef holds up. If it proves to be sturdy, then I’d imagine we’ll see more reefs like them being installed at some of the world’s more crowded beaches.

Lots of great pictures and videos that document the entire project from start to finish on the Mount Reef website.

Ship Tracker & VOS Program

kris — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 18:06:41 +0000

Here’s a cool site that tracks ocean-going vessels. Take a look at the map and see just how many ships are out there at once. And it doesn’t even track all vessels, rather just the ones that are part of the World Meteorological Organization’s Voluntary Observing Ship program as well as yachts that report their daily progress to YOTREPS.

VOS actually provides us with a lot of important information on ocean weather conditions that we use to track storms and swells, which is nice.

Link

Guide to Ocean Friendly Seafood

kris — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 15:52:05 +0000

Not all seafood is good for you. In fact, some seafood can actually be bad for you and the environment. Here’s a cool guide that tells you how eco-friendly your favorite type of seafood is. The guide also indicates whether there is a health advisory for each species. Pretty nifty.

Link

3rd Annual Surfrider Paddle for Clean Water

kris — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 18:40:28 +0000

Surfrider is having their 3rd Annual Paddle for Clean Water this Sunday. If you’re wondering exactly what a "Paddle Out" is:

A “Paddle Out” is a public rally where citizens concerned about the state of our coasts and ocean gather on a specific beach to make public presentations and take action. Some of those attending will paddle surfboards, kayaks, etc, into the nearby water to form a “circle of solidarity” in a showing of commitment to turn around the trend of degradation. The event is not only for those willing and able to paddle – it is open to everyone who shares our concerns for the coast and ocean.

It’s basically a media event, to garner attention and support for a worthy cause. The focus of this year’s paddle out is to highlight the findings of Surfrider’s annual State of the Beach Report. Presumably, even if you can’t make it to the official rally, you can do your part by spreading the word where ever you decide to paddle out.

Altered Oceans: latimes.com’s disturbing report on the state of the ocean

kris — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 22:29:11 +0000

latimes.com has a five-part series, called Altered Oceans, on the various ways that we’re damaging the ocean. It’s got some disturbing photos, videos, and graphics. Seriously, you should check it out.

Link

Thanks, 70percent.org

NOAA’s New Building

kris — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 14:29:24 +0000

Broceanographers are constantly checking surf reports for current conditions as well as forecasts for the next swell. There are countless websites that report surf and ocean weather conditions. Each site tries to set itself apart from all the others by focusing on specific regions, using fancy graphics, and making claims that they’ve got the most accurate information on the planet. I wonder how many surfers are aware of the fact that nearly all of those sites get their data from the same sources, one of which being NOAA.

NOAA operates a global network of buoys and satellites, constantly monitoring Earth’s weather conditions. NOAA also built and maintains WaveWatch III, a computer model that predicts global swell movements. Just about every surf forecasting site that I’ve ever seen uses the WWIII model, which is freely available for public use, to generate their forecasts. Whenever you see a fancy map of swell movements, chances are that the map is being generated by the WWIII model. Some sites, like Surfline, make little tweaks to WWIII based on local knowledge & expertise in order to generate a more accurate forecast. That’s right, we can all thank NOAA for those fancy, animated maps that show purple blobs prowling the ocean.

This fall the mothership is getting a new mothership. Wired Magazine has a cool article about the new building that’s replacing NOAA’s old headquarters. It sounds like some cool architecture. Link

Upwelling can cause “dead zones” in the ocean

kris — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 18:22:40 +0000

Earlier this month there was an area off the Oregon coast where the
seafloor was littered with piles of dead sea life (typically slow-moving sea life, like crabs, worms, jellyfish – but no dead fish were found). This is the fifth year in a row that this has happened in the area, so scientists have a pretty good bead on what’s happening.

The phenomenon is referred to as a hypoxic "dead zone". Scientists believe that dead zones are caused by coastal upwelling, a natural process by which changes in ocean currents cause deep water to rise to the surface. When the oxygen level of the upwelling deep water is too low, it can suffocate any sea life in the area.

Dead zones have been observed near other coasts, as well, including Peru, Namibia and India. Researchers are still working to understand the seasonal and geographical patterns of Oregon’s dead zone. There is speculation that global warming is causing changes in ocean currents, which, in turn, create the dead zones. My guess is that they’ll need to gather some more data before we can draw any conclusions.

Next time you paddle through a patch of icy, cold water and say, "Man, upwelling gives me the chills," stop for a minute and think . . . are you cold because the water temperature dropped suddenly or are those goose bumps caused by the silent cries of all those poor, defenseless crabs, gasping for their last breath . . .

Here are some links if you want to read more on the topic.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/08/040810091946.htm

http://www.voanews.com/english/AmericanLife/2006-08-29-voa32.cfm

UPDATE: 9/1/06

It’s been reported that large algae blooms can cause dead zones. The algae blooms are often attributed to raw nutrients (fertilizer, treated sewage, etc) being dumped into the water. latimes.com has a good graphic. Link

$25K fellowship to travel the world studying the intersection of surf culture and environmental stewardship

kris — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 20:07:54 +0000

If I could go back and do college all over again, I’d give some serious thought to doing it like Alexandra Cheney. Wheaton College granted her a $25K fellowship to travel to some of the world’s finest surf destinations (Polynesia, Australia, Japan, Costa Rica, Brazil and South Africa). Her mission is to study the intersection of surf culture and environmental stewardship.

"Surfers feel a unique spiritual tie with water, out of which emerges their fight to protect the oceans,” Cheney explained to the Thomas J. Watson Foundation. ”Without surfers as advocates, many coastlines would succumb to the destruction brought on by commercial shipping, underwater demolition and extractive fishing. By examining wave-riding cultures and defining their component traditions and rituals, I seek to explore how surfers feel their connection with the water and how that bond translates into worldwide oceanic preservation.”

I would be so stoked to do a project like this one. The fantasticness of the traveling and surfing aside, it’s a great topic for research – one that is often the focus of my own musings. Really looking forward to seeing what she finds.

Link