Featured | Ocean Doctor | Ocean Conservation

Seagrass Protects Coral Reefs from Ocean Acidification

June 30, 2012 By Ocean Doctor

The BBC reports on research pointing to the importance of seagrasses to protecting coral reefs against the impacts of ocean acidification, caused by carbon dioxide from fossil fuel emissions dissolving in seawater, causing unprecedented increases in the ocean’s acidity.

Dr. Richard Unsworth of Swansea University, along with a team of scientists from Oxford University and James Cook University in Australia, found several types of seagrass which may reduce the acidity of water around reefs, protecting them from erosion from acidifying seas. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, Ocean Newswire Tagged With: blue carbon, climate change, coral reefs, ocean acidification, Seagrass

Infographic: Oceans of Garbage

June 28, 2012 By Ocean Doctor

This infographic from MastersDegree.net lays it out there for all to see: Our oceans are getting more and more polluted, and most of the pollution originates from land, like plastics. These pollutants have a wide range of impacts on marine life, including getting caught up in the food chain, even at a microbial level. Scary stuff. Please share!

Ocean of Garbage

Filed Under: Featured, News, Ocean Newswire Tagged With: Garbage, Pacific garbage patch, plastic, plastic bottles, pollution

With DEEPEST Gratitude to Jacques Piccard, National Geographic Bestows its Highest Honor

June 16, 2012 By Ocean Doctor

After their successful nine-hour dive in January 1960 to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench, Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard emerge from the bathyscaphe Trieste. Walsh and Piccard were the first to reach the trench’s lowest point, Challenger Deep, some 35,800 feet below the ocean surface. Piccard, who died in 2008, was posthumously awarded the Hubbard Medal, the National Geographic highest honor, at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on June 14, 2012. (Photo: Thomas J. Abercrombie)

Only three men have ever reached the ocean’s deepest point. Capt. Don Walsh and the late Jacques Piccard in 1960 and earlier this year, James Cameron. On June 14th, 2012, National Geographic bestowed its highest honor, the Hubbard Medal, posthumously to Jacques Piccard for his record-breaking dive to the Mariana Trench with Don Walsh in the bathyscaphe Trieste to a depth of nearly seven miles. Many of his efforts greatly contributed to the fields of oceanography and conservation.

Piccard comes from a family of explorers. His father, Auguste, was a physicist and the first man to take a balloon into the stratosphere. In 1999, Jacques Piccard’s son, Bertrand Piccard, together with Brian Jones, completed the first ever nonstop circumnavigation of the globe in a balloon.

Presenting the Piccard family with the Medal was Don Walsh, who received the Hubbard Medal in 2010 and James Cameron, the last and only other man to reach this depth.

VIDEO: Future of the Oceans Panel | Ocean Inspiration | Jacques Cousteau’s 100th Anniversary

February 22, 2012 By Ocean Doctor

Ocean Inspiration: A Tribute to Jacques Cousteau Jacques Cousteau’s 100th anniversary is an opportunity to come together and reflect on the future of Planet Ocean. Ocean Inspiration is a time to reconnect with our creative and intellectual capacity, and together move forward to positively impact our future.

Explorers, dancers, scientists, artists, musicians, filmmakers, family and friends will come together in this once in a lifetime event. Through spirited discussions and live performances, the audience will be encouraged to create their own form of ocean advocacy. May 18 & 20, 2011: New York, NY / Washington, DC [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Carl Safina, Celine Cousteau, coral reefs, Jacques Cousteau, Jon Bowermaster, Ocean Inspiration, World Resources Institute

VIDEO: Is it Getting Hot in Here? Considering Social Media’s Impact on Climate Change (Social Media Week 2012)

February 14, 2012 By Ocean Doctor

Watch the video…

VIDEO: Ocean Checkup – Ocean Doctor on Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour

December 28, 2011 By Ocean Doctor

Dr. Kirsten “Kiki” Sanford is joined by The Ocean Doctor, David E. Guggenheim on Dr. Kiki’s Science Hour for a checkup on the oceans’ health.

This show originally aired on the TWiT Netcast Network on December 23, 2011. Visit the show page at TWiT.tv.

Filed Under: Cuba, Cuba Research & Conservation, Featured, Sustainable Aquaculture, Washington, DC Tagged With: 60 Minutes, aquaculture, Cuba, Dr. Kiki Sanford, Dr. Kiki's Science Hour, Leo Laporte, sharks, TWiT

VIDEO: 60 Minutes – Anderson Cooper and David E. Guggenheim Explore Cuba’s Coral Reefs

December 19, 2011 By Ocean Doctor

(CBS News) 60 Minutes cameras take you on an underwater adventure off the Cuban coast to one of the world’s most pristine and vibrant coral reefs, known as the Gardens of the Queen. Anderson Cooper scuba dives with marine biologist David Guggenheim, dodging giant groupers and sharks, to explore this increasingly rare oasis. Scientists estimate that 25 percent of the world’s reefs have died off and much of what’s left is at risk.

Watch on YouTube

Learn About Our Work in Cuba

Cuba Conservancy - an Ocean Doctor Program

Filed Under: Cuba, Cuba Research & Conservation, Featured Tagged With: 60 Minutes, Anderson Cooper, Cuba, David E. Guggenheim, Grouper, Jardines de la Reina, sharks

Cuba Marine Research & Conservation Program at The Ocean Foundation

December 18, 2011 By Ocean Doctor

Because of the decades-old U.S. economic embargo of Cuba, scientific collaboration between U.S. and Cuban scientists has been exceedingly difficult. Even though research is a permitted activity and U.S. scientists are allowed to travel to Cuba, the harsh logistical and political realities have prevented all but a few U.S. institutions from successful collaborative projects in Cuba.

The Cuba Marine Research and Conservation Program has been based at The Ocean Foundation (TOF) since 2008 and is built on more than 12 years of work in Cuba by TOF Senior Fellow, Dr. David E. Guggenheim, who directs the program, and TOF Research Associate, Fernando Bretos. The program is a regional effort to study and conserve the shared marine resources of the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean.

Filed Under: Cuba, Cuba Research & Conservation, Featured Tagged With: 60 Minutes, Cuba, David E. Guggenheim, Fernando Bretos, Jardines de la Reina, Proyecto Costa Noroccidental, The Ocean Foundation, University of Havana

DEEP in Enemy Territory: A New Book by Dr. David E. Guggenheim (Fall 2012)

December 18, 2011 By Ocean Doctor

Coming in 2012: Deep in Enemy Territory: An American Marine Scientist’s Mission to Promote Conservation and Friendship in Cuba by David E. Guggenheim.

Synopsis: Marine scientist and conservationist Dr. David E. Guggenheim (the “Ocean Doctor”) tells the story of his decade-long effort to bring collaboration in science and conservation between Cuba and the U.S. to a new level. He tells the story against a backdrop of Cold War-era politics, maddening bureaucracy, and the daily challenges of Cuban life while introducing us to Cuba’s unimaginably beautiful underwater ecosystems and the Cuban scientists dedicated to protecting them. His story is timely, illustrating how marine biologists have succeeded where diplomats have failed in bringing the two countries closer together. Deep in Enemy Territory brings a personal, in-depth view of an enchanted yet troubled island that few Americans have seen for half a century.

A portion of profits will support The Ocean Foundation’s Cuba Marine Research and Conservation Program.

www.DeepInEnemyTerritory.com

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Cuba, Cuba Research & Conservation, Featured Tagged With: 60 Minutes, Cuba, David E. Guggenheim

The Ocean Foundation Annual Report 2011

December 1, 2011 By Ocean Doctor

The Ocean Foundation now hosts more than 50 ocean-related projects, including all of the work we do, including our Cuba Marine Research and Conservation Program, The Ocean Doctor’s “50 Years – 50 States – 50 Speeches” Expedition, and The Ocean Doctor Radio Show. You can browse or download The Ocean Foundation’s Annual Report 2011 below.

The Ocean Foundation has continued its work to support, strengthen, and promote those organizations dedicated to reversing the trend of destruction of ocean environments around the world. We work with donors who care about our coasts and oceans to add value to marine conservation initiatives by providing conservation grants, hosting projects and funds, and collaborating with important campaigns and opinion leaders. As the community foundation for the oceans, we are fostering best-in-class projects and promoting solutions for healthy oceans and the people who depend upon them. We have been able to adapt to a changing economic climate while maintaining our integrity as honest brokers for marine conservation philanthropy

Dr. David E. Guggenheim — the “Ocean Doctor” — serves as Senior Fellow of The Ocean Foundation and Director of its Cuba Marine Research and Conservation Program.