ocean

12.01.09

Soccer-Ball-Sized Submersible Robots Will Track Ocean Currents and Disasters at Sea

The National Science Foundation has awarded almost $1 million to develop a swarm of underwater robotic explorers

By Jeremy Hsu Posted 11.11.2009 at 2:02 pm 1 Comment

Underwater Swarm: Don't kick me, I'm here in the name of science Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego

Hundreds of soccer-ball-sized robot drones could soon ply the friendly waves to help scientists track ocean currents and harmful algae blooms, or even swarm to disaster sites such as oil spills and airplane crashes. That's no mere flight of fancy, now that the National Science Foundation has provided almost $1 million in funding to researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego.

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READ MORE ABOUT > drones, marine, ocean, robots, scripps, seas, submarines, underwater autonomous explorers

Seastead, Ahoy!

Don't like your government? Maybe it's time to make one of your own

By Devanshu Patel Posted 02.18.2009 at 12:43 pm 17 Comments

Economy got you down? Not sure if this whole “American capitalism” thing is working out for you? Looking for cheap housing? Well, you can always start from ideological scratch and build a new society on a free floating platform in the high seas.

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READ MORE ABOUT > economics, governments, ocean, psychology, sea, seastead

The Turtle Trainer

He lured the ocean’s premier coal-mine canary into captivity

By Bruce Grierson Posted 10.16.2008 at 2:33 pm 3 Comments

Word spread quickly that Todd Jones, a young doctoral candidate in zoology, had something fantastic in the blue tanks of his lab at the University of British Columbia. The attraction was juvenile leatherback sea turtles, about the size of garbage-can lids. Why the attention?

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READ MORE ABOUT > animals, brilliant 10, brilliant 10 class of 2008, environment, ocean, oceans, turtles

Marine Metropolis

Tens of millions of starfish-like creatures live side by side on an underwater mountain.

By Dawn Stover Posted 05.19.2008 at 3:18 pm 1 Comment

Scientists surveying the submerged Macquarie Ridge, which stretches from New Zealand almost to the Antarctic Circle, have discovered a water world teeming with life. Tens of millions of starfish-like creatures live on an underwater mountain dubbed "Brittlestar City," whose unique shape and location make it possible for these animals to survive in such crowded conditions.