Science and the Sea Podcast

It’s hard to think of anything good coming from earthquakes. But for life in part of the Southern Ocean, they could be crucial. A recent study found that underwater quakes could intensify “blooms” of phytoplankton. These tiny plant-like organisms form the base of the marine food web. They also absorb carbon dioxide from the air, and release oxygen. So anything that bumps up their numbers a bit is good for life in the Southern Ocean and around the planet. Every spring and summer, a big bloom develops between Antarctica and New Zealand and Australia. But three decades of satellite photos revealed a huge range in the size of the bloom. Some years, it covers an area the size of Delaware. In others, it can be dozens of times larger—as big as California. The blooms are fed by iron—a key nutrient. But there’s not a lot of it in the Southern Ocean. And the location of the annual bloom isn’t near any of the most common sources of iron. So researchers looked for a “deeper” cause. They found that the bloom occurs in a region with lots of underwater volcanoes. “Vents” pump hot, iron-rich fluids into the water—possibly feeding the bloom. Records of volcanic activity in the region showed that, when the ocean floor was rocked by earthquakes of magnitude five or greater in the months before a bloom, the event was much bigger. The tremors might clear out blocked vents, or create new ones, boosting the amount of iron in the water—a positive impact for earthquakes. The post Bloomin’ Quakes appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

Most parents wouldn’t be pleased if you told them that their baby looks nothing like them. But some fish parents might be happy at such a description. The lack of resemblance could make it more likely that their offspring will reach adulthood. The newborns of many fish, squid, and other species look nothing like the adults. These larvae have big fin extensions, transparent bodies, long tendrils, and other odd features. Some of these features make them slower and less maneuverable, so it’s harder for them to get away from predators. And some make them easier to see. But the odd appearance may provide a big advantage: The larvae may be “mimicking” jellyfish or other creatures that are either dangerous or just not worth the effort to catch. So predators leave them alone. A recent study supports that conclusion. Biologists looked at thousands of pictures snapped by divers at night, mainly from a site near Palm Beach, Florida. The images allowed the scientists to see the larvae alive and in their natural environment. Before that, biologists had been limited to seeing mainly colorless, damaged specimens that had been collected in nets and preserved in jars. The pictures showed the larvae of many species of fish and other creatures mingling with jellyfish and other less-desirable critters. And there was a striking overall resemblance between the larvae and the noxious animals. So the larvae could be hiding in plain sight—saved by the lack of a family resemblance. The post Mimics appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

In August of 2024, a fisherman in Costa Rica pulled in a fish that looked like a refugee from a “Finding Nemo” sequel—a shark the color of a Creamsicle with white eyes. The fisherman released it back into the Caribbean. But marine biologists studied pictures of it. And they concluded that the shark had a combination of two rare conditions. The fish was a nurse shark—a common species in the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, and elsewhere. It’s a low-key species that has a rounded snout that looks a little like a catfish. Most adults are gray-brown or yellow-brown on top, with a lighter colored belly. But the one caught in Costa Rica was bright tangerine. Its eyes were all white, including the pupil—no scary shark-like stare. There’s no record of that color combo among nurse sharks anywhere. And there’s no record of any shark species with it in Caribbean waters. Researchers said the shark most likely had two genetic disorders—albinism and xanthism. Albinism accounts for the white eyes. Xanthism accounts for the skin color—it boosts the level of yellow pigments. Sharks and other fish use their color to hide from predators and prey. So you might think that a tangerine-colored shark would have a tough time surviving. But the Costa Rican shark was about six and a half feet long—only a bit less than the size of a typical adult. So it’s managed to get along just fine—a tangerine shark sliding through the clear blue waters of the Caribbean. The post Tangerine Shark appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

It’s hard to think of a Category-5 hurricane as a good thing. But in 2025, Hurricane Humberto helped save the East Coast from a direct hit by a smaller hurricane, Imelda. The deflection was an example of the Fujiwhara effect. It’s named for the Japanese scientist who first described the effect, in 1921. It’s an interaction between two or more storms that pass close together. It applies to both tropical and non-tropical cyclones. Such storms are big and powerful. But they’re influenced by the conditions around them. And the stronger the influence, the more the storms can change. As two storms approach each other, they can change direction, for example. They might move closer, with both of them spinning around a point between them. If there’s a big difference in the sizes of the storms, the bigger one might deflect the smaller one, or even absorb it. But if they’re about the same size, they might loop around each other, then be shot out in opposite directions. Tropical storms and hurricanes begin to interact at separations of about 900 miles. As they get closer, they may spin faster. And at less than 200 miles, they’re likely to merge. The exact process depends on the size and intensity of the storms and many other factors, so it’s tough to forecast. The Fujiwhara effect is seen more often in the Pacific Ocean. But it does play out in the Atlantic as well. The Humberto-Imelda interaction is the most recent—a dance of giant storms that helped coastal residents—this time. The post Dueling Cyclones appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

The saltwater crocodile really gets around. It’s found throughout the Indian and western Pacific oceans. That makes it one of the most cosmopolitan reptiles on the planet. But it’s not quite as widely spread as it once was. Crocodiles that once inhabited the Seychelles islands were members of the same family. But they were exterminated by early settlers. The saltwater croc is the largest reptile on Earth. Adult males can reach 20 feet or longer and weigh more than a ton. They’re super-aggressive—they’ll eat anything they can catch, and they can catch almost anything—including people. When people first settled on the islands, in 1770, they found plenty of crocs. Within half a century, though, the settlers had wiped them out. That made the islanders safer. But it left modern-day science with a question: Were the crocodiles members of the saltwater family, or were they a separate species? With no living examples, the question has been hard to answer. In a recent study, though, scientists were able to extract DNA from parts of crocodiles preserved in museums. They compared the samples to those of modern saltwater crocs. And the samples matched—the Seychelles monsters were relatives of the crocodiles found across the region. The Seychelles are a long way from any major land mass—about 900 miles from Africa, and 1700 miles from India. So the crocs had to travel a long way to reach them—expanding the range of this cosmopolitan reptile. The post Traveling Crocs appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

Most of the time, life in the oceans works in one direction: the big guys eat the little guys. That passes nutrients up the food web. But sometimes, the little guys may turn the tables. Egged on by annual spawnings, they may poach the eggs of larger species. That passes nutrients down the food web. Of course, the big guys then gobble up some of the egg eaters, scrambling things up. Eggs are rich in essential fatty acids — compounds that are needed for normal development and body function. Eggs can supply a lot of the fatty acids in the animals that eat them. Researchers at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute suspected that smaller organisms were feeding on the eggs of larger species. They tested that idea in 2020 and ’21, around the annual spawning of red drum, a game fish on the Texas coast. A single female releases millions of eggs, so the coastal waters around Port Aransas are filled with them in the fall. The scientists collected several types of animals before, during, and after the fall spawning. They then tested the tissues of those organisms in the lab. The fatty acids in red-drum eggs have a unique chemical “fingerprint,” so the tests revealed which subjects had eaten the eggs. During and after the spawning season, high levels of those markers were seen in jellyfish and jellyfish-like organisms, as well as one small species of fish. The study confirmed that these organisms can scramble things up—turning the tables on the big guys. The post Turning the Tables appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

The Panama Canal links the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. With all that water around it, it’s hard to imagine the canal running low. But that’s happened several times in recent years. And it could happen more often in the decades ahead—a result of our warming climate. The canal is crucial to the global economy. For ships traveling between the east and west coasts of the United States, it cuts the journey by about 9,000 miles and many days. On average, about 35 big ships pass through it every day. But in 2023 and ’24, the number was cut to as few as 24 per day. Ships were stacked up on both ends of the canal—stranded by historic drought conditions. Ships pass through a series of locks that lift them over higher ground in the middle of Panama. The locks are fed mainly by a large freshwater lake. Each passage uses tens of millions of gallons, most of which empties into the ocean. The drought was triggered in part by El Niño, which warms the eastern Pacific. It blocks rainfall over Panama, while increasing evaporation. As the climate warms, El Niño-like conditions may become more common. A recent study found that additional warming might make canal operations even tougher. And under a worst-case scenario, major droughts could become common—turning the Panama Canal into a major bottleneck. The canal’s operators are planning to build a new lake to boost the water supply—hedging their bets against warmer days ahead. The post Drying Out appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

If you go walking with a friend, the odds are that your preferred walking speeds won’t be the same. So the person who usually walks faster probably will slow down a little. That person might not hit their preferred heart rate, but being sociable is more important. And the same thing might apply to some fish. They appear to adjust their swimming speed to stick with others of their kind. That might not be their optimal speed, but it’s one that provides other benefits. Fish that migrate over great distances maintain a “Goldilocks” pace as they go. It’s fast enough to get them where they want to go in a reasonable time. But it’s not so fast that they’re worn out by the swim, or can’t mount a quick burst if they face danger. But fish that hang out close to shore and don’t migrate tend to vary their speed a lot, depending on what they’re doing. They might need to change pace to avoid obstacles on the sea floor, to catch prey, or to woo potential mates. And they might just want to hang around with others—a strategy that might make life safer or easier. Researchers recently studied a type of surfperch caught off the coast of Washington. They studied the swimming habits of the fish in the lab. They put pairs of fish in a contraption that’s the marine equivalent of a treadmill. And they found that if one member of a pair was faster than the other, it didn’t just pull away. Instead, it slowed down to stay with its companion—just keeping things sociable. The post Social Swimmers appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

Sniffing a whale’s breath doesn’t sound all that appealing. But a recent study suggested that a good sniff could help scientists analyze a whale’s health. The study looked at North Atlantic right whales—among the most endangered of all whales. In fact, they’re called “right” whales because they were just right for whalers: they’re slow, they stay close to shore, and they have a lot of blubber, so they float after they’re killed and they yield a lot of oil. By the early 1900s, they’d been hunted to near extinction; the population might have dropped to just a hundred or so. Today, the population has rebounded to about four hundred. Scientists are trying to find ways to protect those whales and help the species grow. One way to do that is to keep a close eye on the health of the whales. And that’s what the study was all about. Scientists watched whales in Cape Cod Bay, in Massachusetts, during the spring foraging seasons from 2016 to 2024. Drones carrying petri dishes hovered above the whales’ blow holes. When a whale exhaled, the drone snagged a sample. Scientists then analyzed the microbes in the whale’s breath. They compared those samples to other measures of the whale’s health.             They found that healthier whales had higher levels of helpful bacteria in their breath. Less-healthy whales had higher levels of nasty bacteria. The study suggests that it might be possible to measure the health of a right whale just by sniffing its breath. The post Whale Breath appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

Listening to the rhythm of the falling rain is one of life’s simple pleasures—and an inspiration for music, poetry, and much more. And in recent years, it’s become a source of knowledge for scientists who study our changing climate. They’re listening to the rain as it falls on the ocean, providing a more complete picture of Earth’s water cycle. Water evaporates from the ocean surface. It forms clouds, which produce rainfall over land or other parts of the ocean. This cycle can be changed by Earth’s warming climate. Understanding just how it changes requires a detailed knowledge of ocean rainfall—where, how much, and how fast. But there aren’t many rain gauges in the open ocean, so rainfall is hard to track. Satellites provide some help, but they can’t see the entire ocean surface at once. So scientists have started listening to the rain. That reveals where the rain is falling, and the length of each storm or shower. It also reveals the intensity of the rain, because different rainfall rates and raindrop sizes produce their own distinctive sounds. Scientists have placed microphones on existing instrument packages. Some of them are anchored to the ocean floor. Others bob up and down through the water column, sampling conditions from the surface down to thousands of feet. Test runs have provided good results. So there are plans to expand the research to thousands of platforms—listening to the patter of raindrops throughout the world’s oceans. The post Raindrops appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

For most marine life, methane seeps are nasty. Toxic compounds bubble into the ocean from below the sea floor. But life always seems to find a way. Microscopic organisms thrive on the noxious brew. They feed a vibrant ecosystem. And research in recent years has found that the population includes fish that are popular on human dinner plates. Methane seeps occur where pockets of methane create mounds on the ocean floor. Cracks and pores allow some of the gas to escape. Microbes feed on the gas. Larger organisms eat the microbes and so on, building a complex food web. Among the main creatures around the seeps are tubeworms, which can form dense beds. And surveys have found several commercially important fish living in or near the beds. That includes a type of rockfish off the West Coast of the United States, and Chilean seabass off the Pacific coast of South America. The most recent addition is the red cusk eel. It’s not an actual eel, but it’s long and skinny like an eel. It’s popular in Chilean markets and restaurants. Fishers took more than 2,000 tons of the cusk eel in 2022.             An expedition in late 2024 found a large population of the fish at a seep about 10 miles off the coast of Chile. The fish were nestled in a large bed of tubeworms. They might have been using the beds to hide from predators. Or they might have been getting some grooming from snow crabs there. Whatever the reason, the fish were doing just fine in this nasty environment. The post ‘Seeping’ Fish appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

Some microscopic organisms can live just about anywhere. They can survive extreme temperatures and pressures, total darkness, and environments that are infused with nasty chemicals. Some of them produce methane, which can have a big impact on the climate. And they can tell us a lot about the development of life. Examples include two species recently found in the Pacific Ocean. They’re types of archaea—descendants of some of the oldest life on Earth. The research team was led by a marine scientist at the University of Texas. The team examined sediments drilled from hundreds of feet below the sea floor. The deepest sediments were 1.7 million years old. The researchers studied the chemistry of the sediments, and they used genetics technology to suss out the types of organisms. The archaea survive by eating ancient organic matter in the sediments. They produce methane. In fact, much of the world’s methane has been made by similar organisms. Methane can form pockets below the ocean floor. The methane can seep out and bubble to the surface. It’s a potent greenhouse gas that traps heat, so once it’s in the atmosphere it can cause major climate changes. Studying these organisms can tell us more about how and where methane is produced, and about possible future climate impacts. Similar environments might exist on some of the moons in our own solar system. So a better understanding of the archaea on Earth could help us find signs of life on other worlds. The post Gassy Microbes appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

People have traveled far across the oceans in search of greener pastures. Polynesians journeyed thousands of miles, hopping from island to island as they expanded eastward. And one period of expansion might have been triggered by big changes in the Pacific Ocean. That period began about a thousand years ago. People were well entrenched in Western Polynesia—islands such as Tonga and Samoa. But they quickly turned up in Eastern Polynesia—Tahiti and surrounding islands—journeys of up to 1500 miles or longer across open ocean. A recent study looked at climate conditions across Polynesia at the time. Researchers gathered deep sediments from several locations. They used sophisticated lab techniques to analyze the fat in leaves preserved in the soil. That revealed how rainy the climate was at the time the plants were growing. The scientists combined that with other climate information, and ran it all through models of the climate at the time. They found that the rain began to dry up in Western Polynesia. But it got heavier in Eastern Polynesia. That probably was the result of a change in the South Pacific Convergence Zone—a wide region that produces heavy rains during the summer. Changes in ocean temperatures pushed the zone eastward. The change also would have made the winds more favorable for moving eastward. So the people of Western Polynesia could have headed out—looking for greener pastures far across the Pacific. The post Pacific Migration appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

For anyone who’s ever had a cold, the flu, or any other illness caused by a virus, getting rid of viruses might sound like a good idea. But many viruses play important roles in the environment. That includes marine viruses. They recycle nutrients, and can help control other microscopic organisms. So it’s good to keep them around. But in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea, viruses are disappearing in a hurry. The drop corresponds to changes in the sea caused by Earth’s warming climate. Marine scientists have been keeping tabs on Blanes Bay since the early two-thousands. It’s on the coast of Spain, about 40 miles from Barcelona. An observatory there monitors the temperature, salinity, and clarity of the water. And it samples the water once a month. Lab work reveals the amounts of nutrients and other compounds in the water, along with the populations of bacteria and viruses. Scientists recently used several techniques to analyze the observations from 2005 to 2022. The work showed that the virus population remained steady until about 2011. But since then the population has gone down dramatically. At the same time, the water has gotten warmer. That suggests the viruses are being thinned out by climate change. Reducing the virus population could impact the amount of nutrients in the water, making the region less productive. That could hurt the fishing industry. So the lack of viruses could actually harm the people along the Mediterranean coast. The post Vanishing Viruses appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

The oceans near the poles are cold—really cold. Because of the salt content, water temperatures can remain below freezing for most or all of the year. And that can be bad for life. Ice crystals can develop in the blood and other fluids, destroying cells. Yet many species of fish thrive in these frigid environments. In part, that’s because they produce proteins that work like antifreeze. Inspired by those fish, researchers have developed a synthetic version of the proteins. The “mimics,” as they’re called, could prevent medications that have to be kept cold from freezing. They also could be used to prevent the formation of ice crystals in many other products. Earlier studies nailed down the details of the fish proteins. Whenever a crystal begins to form, the proteins wrap it up. They change the structure of the crystal, keep it from getting any bigger, and lower the freezing temperature. That combo prevents the cold from damaging cells. Researchers isolated the key features of the proteins, then found a way to replicate them in the lab. They tested their brew in living cells. It protected the cells from freezing, and it wasn’t toxic. It also wasn’t a problem for the bacteria in the human digestive system. The researchers say their antifreeze can be manufactured easily and inexpensively. So it could make it easier to store and ship some medications, and extend the shelf-life of ice cream and other frozen foods—a gift from some cold, cold fish. The post Fish Antifreeze appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

Cats sometimes drop food at their owner’s front door—lizards, mice, or other small prey. A recent study found that killer whales sometimes offer food to people as well. But the reason for that sharing is unclear. Orcas are social animals. They hunt together, they play, and they share their food. And they’re often found around people. They swim along with boats and divers, and they’ve even hunted with human fishers. In a recent study, scientists compiled reports of orcas sharing food with people on boats, in the water, or on shore. They found 34 examples, including some from their own experience. Many of the events were photographed or caught on video. To qualify for the study, a whale had to approach the people, not the other way around. It had to get close before releasing the food. And it couldn’t take the food back right away—it had to wait for a response from the people. The sharing orcas included males and females, of all ages. Sometimes a single whale made the offer, but sometimes it was two or more. They offered fish, birds, mammals, and other treats. They sometimes waited minutes for a response. And if the human didn’t snatch the food, or gave it back, the whale sometimes offered it again. The researchers said there could be several reasons for the sharing. It could be a way to communicate or to learn more about the people. It could simply be a way of playing. Or it could be a way to lure the people in—a not-so-friendly way of sharing. The post Sharing Orcas appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

Most of the tropical storms that roar across the Atlantic basin are born over Africa—especially the really big ones. They begin as low-pressure systems over the Sahara Desert, and are pushed into the Atlantic Ocean by a powerful jet stream. La Niña may boost that process. A recent study found that it may help create stronger systems over Africa, potentially leading to stronger tropical storms. La Niña is part of a back-and-forth cycle in the eastern Pacific Ocean, from warmer to cooler waters. La Niña is the cooler phase. And it can impact climate across the globe. The study found a link between La Niña and African easterly waves—the systems that form over Africa and head out to sea. During La Niña years, the waves are stronger, wetter, and more turbulent, so they produce more thunderstorms. That brings heavier rains to parts of Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas, even if the systems don’t become tropical storms. La Niña changes the way air circulates across the entire planet. Over Africa, it appears to strengthen two jet streams, and it pushes one of them northward. It also has an effect on the African monsoon season. Those changes rev up the easterly waves—and the intensity of hurricanes. African easterly waves give birth to about 60 percent of all tropical cyclones in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf—and more than 80 percent of the major ones. So understanding the link between La Niña and the waves could improve hurricane-season forecasts. The post Stronger Waves appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

The frigid waters of the Arctic and Antarctic hide some giants: sea spiders the size of serving trays, sharks as long as minibuses, half-ton squid twice that length—almost all of them the largest examples of their type anywhere on the planet. This phenomenon is known as polar gigantism. Biologists are still trying to explain it. In fact, they’re even trying to confirm that it’s a real thing; giants have been found in the deep ocean, and they may also inhabit other parts of the ocean, but we just haven’t seen them yet. There’s no doubt that giants inhabit the Arctic and Southern Oceans—the coldest waters of all. The list includes sponges, sea spiders, shellfish, tube worms, and others. Some of these creatures are many times the size and weight of most of their counterparts elsewhere. The colossal squid, for example, is not only the largest squid, but the largest invertebrate of any kind. Several explanations have been proposed for polar gigantism. The leading idea is the oxygen-temperature hypothesis. It says there’s more oxygen in colder waters, so there’s plenty to support larger organisms. And in the cold, the animals grow more slowly but they may live longer, allowing them to reach giant proportions. As an example, the Greenland shark, which can reach lengths of 24 feet, can live for centuries.           Not every type of polar marine animal is a giant—some are especially small. So scientists are still pondering what makes some of them the giants of the deep. The post Polar Giants appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

If you happen to have a spare fiber in your undersea fiber-optic cable, marine scientists might like to have a chat. They’re using the cables to listen to the sounds of the oceans—from the rumble of underwater earthquakes to the low moans of blue whales. Scientists typically listen in with special undersea microphones. But they’re expensive, and their range is limited. Fiber-optic cables stretch across hundreds of thousands of miles of ocean floor, so they offer greater coverage at lower cost. The technique is known as D-A-S—distributed acoustic sensing. A laser fires regular pulses through the cable. Any disturbance introduces a “strain” on the cable. That causes some of the light to reflect back to the source. Analysis of this reflection tells scientists when and where it happened. It can also tell them the cause of the change. Early experiments tested the technique as a way to listen for earthquakes and landslides. More recently, biologists have been checking out D-A-S as well. They’ve done tests with dedicated cables, and with existing cables that are used for telecommunications. Scientists can piggyback on those cables—using fibers that aren’t otherwise in service. The cables have detected the vocalizations of blue whales and other large whale species. The technique could help biologists count the number of whales, monitor their movements, and look at how they’re impacted by shipping—a new type of communication for undersea fibers. The post Piggybacking appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

1933 was a bad year for the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Slime mold wiped out the eelgrass beds in the shallow coastal waters. A big hurricane made things even worse. Without the seagrass habitat, fish and crab populations were decimated, and bay scallops vanished. And neither seagrass nor scallops were seen again for almost seven decades. Today, though, both are recovering. Healthy eelgrass covers 10,000 acres. And there are enough scallops that people are talking about opening a recreational harvesting season. The comeback began when a scientist at the College of William & Mary discovered a small patch of eelgrass, in 1997. He then began a program to restore the grass along the Eastern Shore, which is separated from the mainland by Chesapeake Bay. As the beds expanded, researchers began looking at restoring bay scallops. The scallops are about three inches across. They use small tentacles on the edges of their shells to sense their surroundings, and gills to filter food from the water. Scientists harvested scallops from North Carolina and elsewhere. They cultivated new generations in the lab, then slowly released them into the wild. And the population has taken off. A 2025 survey found by far the highest number of scallops since the project began. And researchers estimated the population could double over the following year and a half. That could make it possible for people to harvest a few of the tasty morsels in the coming years. The post Restoring Scallops appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..

After the 1944 D-Day invasion of Europe, Germany launched a months-long attack on London and Belgium. Its V-1 “buzz bombs” killed thousands. Today, though, the remnants of some of these terror weapons are providing homes for marine life. An estimated 1.6 million tons of unexploded munitions litter German waters. The weapons were dumped at the end of the two world wars. As their metal casings rust away, their toxic explosives wash into the water. And that should be bad for marine life. But a recent study found abundant life at a previously unknown dump site: fish, tube worms, anemones, crabs, and sea stars. The site is at the edge of the Baltic Sea. It’s about 60 to 70 feet deep, and it’s between two well-known dump sites. Researchers mapped the area with underwater cameras. They found a dozen unexploded weapons, which they identified as V-1 warheads. They also found life—a lot more than expected. Some organisms were living on the metal casings. Others were in the nearby sediments, although few were on the actual explosives. The scientists saw a low diversity of life—there were fewer species than found on natural surfaces in the region. But the density of life was greater than on the surrounding seabed. Most of the rock was dredged from the bottom of the region for construction projects in the 19th and 20th centuries. So the warheads provide some of the few hard surfaces around—dangerous homes off the German coast. The post Dangerous Living appeared first on Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin..