Dr. Sylvia A. Earle at the helm of the Deep Rover submersible (Photo: David E. Guggenheim)

Ecology Radio is a service of the ECOLOGY Global Network™, a service of ecology.com, the nexus of the Worldwide Web, international television, international radio and personal data delivery systems regarding all facets of ecology and the environment… all delivered on ecology.com with plans to expand to other media delivery platforms.

The ECOLOGY Global Network™  mission is to use the modern tools of information and communication to inform, educate and inspire the global community to respect, restore and protect our natural and human world, and to encourage all people to become stewards of the environment in which we live.

"A Fragile Empire" can be found in the May 2011 issue of National Geographic magazine on newsstands April 26 (Photo: National Geographic)

Earlier this year, World Resources Institute released its “Reefs at Risk Revisited Report” (featured on The Ocean Doctor Radio Show) which spelled out a rather grim future for coral reefs due to both local and global threats, should we fail to take action. One of the bright spots in its report was Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, which has fared better than many other reefs around the world and has in place strong protections and management practices. But even this massive and remote reef system isn’t immune from the impacts affecting coral reefs worldwide. In “A Fragile Empire” National Geographic Magazine (May 2011) writer Jennifer S. Holland explores the various factors that are threatening Australia’s monumental reef. From rising water temperatures, to bleaching, massive flooding and high levels of acidity, the reef is in danger of collapsing and the prospect for recovery is uncertain.

A warming climate is pushing corals against the upper limit of their thermal tolerance, evidenced by mass bleachings like the one in 1997-98. A 60-year decline in ocean phytoplankton—microscopic organisms that form the base of the food chain — may also be playing a role. Recent flooding in Australia washed enormous plumes of sediments and toxins far offshore to the reef tract. And now, thanks to increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, the oceans are becoming more and more acidic as more of this atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater. As the oceans become more acid, limiting the ability of organisms, like corals and shellfish, to build their limestone shells and skeletons.

Featuring the incredible underwater  photography of David Doubliet, “A Fragile Empire” National Geographic Magazine (May 2011) tells the story of a fragile empire on the edge.

"Reefs for me are places for solitude and thought," says Australian marine scientist Charlie Veron, here admiring a garden of stony corals on the northern Great Barrier Reef. "But I know there is fragility in their existence. I fear what lies ahead." (Photo: David Doubliet/National Geographic)

The clownish grin of a bridled parrotfish reveals its power tools: grinding teeth used to scrape algae from rock. Though sometimes destructive to individual corals, the fish's efforts are mostly beneficial. Without them, algal growth could smother the reef. Scarus frenatus (Photo: David Doubilet/National Geographic)

Time and tides and a planet in eternal flux brought the Great Barrier Reef into being millions of years ago, wore it down, and grew it back—over and over again. Now all the factors that let the reef grow are changing at a rate the Earth has never before experienced. This time the reef may degrade below a crucial threshold from which it cannot bounce back.
- “A Fragile Empire” National Geographic Magazine (May 2011)

Following a full-moon night or two each year, immobile stony corals like Acropora millepora release egg and sperm bundles simultaneously in an orgy of mass spawning. Fertilized eggs, once they have settled near and far, are the stuff of new colonies. (Photo: David Doubliet/National Geographic)

1planet1ocean is out. Ocean Doctor is in.

1planet1ocean is out. Ocean Doctor is in. The reason? When my daughter came up with, “Ocean Doctor,” it was clever, catchy and immediately caught on as my moniker and even as the name of my radio show. 1planet1ocean – a project of The Ocean Foundation, served us well since 2004, but in a frenzy of New Year cleansing and simplifying,  I felt it best to let go of the old and embrace the new.

My work doesn’t change a bit. I’m still a senior fellow of The Ocean Foundation. But over the coming weeks, look for 1planet1ocean to gracefully fade away, my email address to change, my business cards to have more white space, and my already-too-long introductions to become shorter.

The most visible change is here on the web. Already, 1planet1ocean.org has been shut down. However, all of its content lives on here in the shiny new and improved OceanDoctor.org site. In fact, this has been an opportunity to bring our web presence to a new level, so here are some of the improvements you’ll find:

• No need to check two web sites. You can find everything here. Fewer clicks, happier fingers.
• Better, stronger, faster. OceanDoctor.org now lives on a more powerful, more reliable server. You should find it snappier and no longer encounter server errors.
• Easier to find things. New menus, new structure, more ways to find the content you’re looking for. You can search by project, location, etc.
• Prettier! It’s cleaner, sleeker, prettier. Hopefully your right brain will be pleased.
• Curated Ocean Newswire: In the sidebar you’ll now find a scrolling list of carefully-curated ocean news headlines from leading news agencies and governmental news sources.
• Events: You’ll now find a list of upcoming events on the sidebar and a browseable calendar of upcoming events with iCal and Google maps.
• Expedition Tracker: Look for improvements in our real-time expedition tracking.
• Facebook integration: It’s now much easier to leave comments. Just make sure you’re logged in to your Facebook account, scroll down to the comments section, enter your comment, press “post” and you’re done. Try it.
• Ocean Doctor’s Reflections: OceanDoctor.org began as my personal blog and I have every intention of keeping my first-person, bloggy voice strong, so you’ll now find these posts filed under “Ocean Doctor’s Reflections.”
• Less maintenance, more content: Having one site to maintain instead of two is a productivity dream. But it’s even better thanks to new under-the-hood tools that make a geek squeal. Bottom line is that we’ll be spending more time writing quality content and less time cranking out PHP/HTML code.

I hope you like the changes. As always, your feedback is welcome. Parting with 1planet1ocean is bittersweet — I still like the name and embrace what it represents. Who knows? Perhaps we’ll take it off the shelf again someday. Meanwhile, I leave you with the words I used to introduce 1planet1ocean and look forward to continuing our work together as your friendly, neighborhood Ocean Doctor.

The ocean once stood as a forbidding, impenetrable divide that held civilizations apart for centuries. With the advent of paddle, sail, then steam, the seas began to unite the world through exploration and trade. Today, we understand that the ocean doesn’t divide us — it unites us. Ocean currents forge critical ecological linkages across vast ocean stretches. International collaboration is essential to protect the waters that we share. The 21st century has opened with an unprecedented opportunity to make this the century of the ocean.

The name 1planet1ocean signifies the fact that the oceans no longer divide us, but indeed unite us, and a united effort — involving strong international collaboration — is needed to develop solutions that restore and sustain the world’s oceans. The name 1planet1ocean was inspired by the phrase “Un planeta, un oceano” (One planet, one ocean) written on the back of the official conference T-shirt of the 2003 MarCuba conference in Havana, Cuba, a reference to the 2002 report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) entitled, One Planet, One Ocean – Sustainable Development of Oceans and Coasts: a Commitment of 129 States at Johannesburg 2002.

Cuba: The Accidental Eden features The Ocean Foundation's Fernando M. Bretos and David E. Guggenheim

With the episode, “Cuba: The Accidental Eden,” the 2010-11 season premiere of the acclaimed PBS series, “Nature” features The Ocean Foundation’s own Fernando M. Bretos and David E. Guggenheim, along with other Cuban and American colleagues. Bretos and Guggenheim have worked together in Cuba for more than a decade and head up The Ocean Foundation’s “Cuba Marine Research and Conservation Program. ” Their work includes joint research expeditions in Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico waters and a major sea turtle conservation project with the University of Havana’s Center for Marine Research (Centro de Investigaciones Marinas). The episode can be viewed in its entirety online (see below) and is now available on DVD and Blu-ray disc.

From Partisan Pictures: Cuba may have been restricted politically and economically for the past 50 years, but its borders have remained open to wildlife for which Cuba’s undeveloped islands are an irresistible draw. While many islands in the Caribbean have poisoned or paved over their ecological riches on land and in the sea in pursuit of a growing tourist industry, Cuba’s wild landscapes have remained virtually untouched, creating a safe haven for rare and intriguing indigenous animals, as well as for hundreds of species of migrating birds and marine creatures. Coral reefs have benefited, too. Independent research has shown that Cuba’s corals are doing much better than others both in the Caribbean and around the world.

Scientific research in Cuba on creatures such as the notoriously aggressive “jumping” crocodile, and the famous painted snails, paired with long-term ecological efforts on behalf of sea turtles, has been conducted primarily by devoted local experts. Conservation and research in Cuba can be a constant struggle for scientists who earn little for their work. But their work is their passion, and no less important than that of those collecting larger salaries. NATURE follows these scientists as they explore the crocodile population of Zapata swamp, the birth of baby sea turtles, and the mysteries of evolution demonstrated by creatures that travel no more than 60 yards in a lifetime.

As the possibility of an end to the U.S. trade embargo looms, Cuba’s wildlife hangs in the balance. Most experts predict that the end of the embargo could have devastating results. Tourism could double, and the economic development associated with tourism and other industries could change the face of what was once a nearly pristine ecosystem. Or Cuba could set an example for development and conservation around the world, defining a new era of sustainability well beyond Cuba’s borders.

“Cuba: The Accidental Eden” premiered Sunday, September 26, 2010 on PBS

Watch the full episode. See more Nature.

Learn More

• Behind the Scenes: OMG, I Thought You Were Dead!
• Read posts about our work in Cuba
• The Ocean Doctor Radio Show: Jacques Cousteau, Fidel Castro and Cuba’s Undying Passion for the Sea

Chemical dispersants being released near Houma, Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico (USCG photo)

Leading ocean researchers and conservation leaders have issued a joint Consensus Statement calling for the immediate halt of the use of chemical dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico. BP has used nearly two million gallons of Corexit chemical dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico as part of the cleanup effort with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The massive volume of dispersants and the way they have been applied—both on the surface and one mile below the surface —is unprecedented. Once oil is dispersed in deep water, it cannot be recovered.

The Deadly Truth About Dispersants in the Gulf Hear the interview with marine toxicologist, Dr. Susan Shaw about chemical dispersants and their impact on the Gulf’s wildlife and human health

There has been growing concern about the negative impacts the dispersant/crude oil mix will have on both the marine ecosystem and human health has prompted leading ocean scientists to issue a consensus statement that urges a halt to any further dispersant use in the Gulf.

The statement, authored by Dr. Susan Shaw, Director of the Marine Environmental Research Institute, stands on a large body of research indicating that crude oil and dispersants are more toxic when they are combined than either oil or dispersants alone. The statement also calls for:

• Full public disclosure of all the chemical ingredients in the Corexit formulations and full toxicity data on these chemicals in combination with oil.
• Full public disclosure of information about adverse health effects and all monitoring and testing data collected by government agencies.
• Immediate funding for independent research to fully assess toxic impacts on the ecosystem and human health.

1planet1ocean president, Dr. David E. Guggenheim, takes water samples near Buras, Louisiana to be analyzed for toxins related to chemical dispersants

The scientists believe the worst impacts of the disaster are yet to come, and without deliberate, independent scientific tracking and assessment, they could remain hidden.

Marine scientists and conservation organizations are invited to add their signatures to the document. Visit the Marine Environmental Research Institute for details.

Members of the public are invited to sign the public petition against the use of chemical dispersants.

Initial signatories include:

• Sylvia A. Earle, PhD, Ocean Explorer-in-Residence, National Geographic Society; Advisory Council Chairman, Harte Research Institute
• Susan D. Shaw, DrPH, Marine Toxicologist, Director, Marine Environmental Research Institute
• Carl Safina, PhD, President, Blue Ocean Institute
• David Gallo, PhD, Oceanographer, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• David E. Guggenheim, PhD, Marine Biologist/Conservationist, President, 1planet1ocean – a project of The Ocean Foundation
• Edith Widder, PhD, President and Senior Scientist, Ocean Research & Conservation Association
• Wallace J. Nichols, PhD, Research Associate, California Academy of Sciences

Idle fishing boats in Buras, Louisiana. Use of dispersants means more oil has been left in the marine ecosystem, which may ultimately accumulate in fish tissue, leaving an uncertain future for Gulf fisheries.

The rationale behind the use of the dispersant is to keep oil from the sensitive wetlands and coastlines. However, by dispersing the oil throughout the water column, this practice is making it impossible to recover the dispersed oil at the surface while plumes of the dispersed oil remain at depth, entering the food chain at many levels where it will bioaccumulate as it moves up the food chain. Dispersing the oil means more of it will likely travel with prevailing currents to destinations downstream, including Cuba, Mexico, the Florida Keys, and the eastern seaboard of the United States.

At a Senate hearing on June 15, 2010, EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson stated, “In the use of dispersants we are faced with environmental tradeoffs” but also stated, “The long-term effects [of chemical dispersants] on aquatic life are largely unknown…” Without the critical information needed to make an informed, science-based tradeoff decision, the use of dispersants amounts to a large-scale, uncontrolled experiment on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem that runs contrary to a precautionary approach, an experiment where the costs may ultimately outweigh the benefits.

Corexit is one of the most toxic dispersants and one of the least effective on Louisiana crude oil. However, it is the mixture of Corexit and oil that represents an even greater threat as the toxic effects are magnified. Corexit, designed to break down lipid layers, facilitates the movement of toxic materials across the membranes of wildlife and human beings. The dispersant-oil mixture is killing marine wildlife, including dolphins, whales and fish, while also causing a range of serious human health effects to those who have been exposed.

Download the Consensus Statement

Cuba's Northwestern Coast Along the Gulf of Mexico

For the most up-to-date information on the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill’s potential impacts on Cuba, please visit our special “Cuba at Risk” page.

Since its discovery of oil and natural gas reserves in the Florida straits, Cuba’s preparations for full-scale offshore oil and gas development has raised alarm in the United States, particularly in Florida where it is estimated that much of a catastrophic spill originating in Cuba would be swept by Gulf currents.  Ironically, it is now Cuba that faces the threat of a massive oil spill by the United States. The disastrous oil spill from the BP Deepwater Horizon now threatens Cuba, the largest and most biologically diverse island in the Caribbean, due to those same Gulf currents. To make matters worse, the economic embargo imposed upon Cuba by the United States decades ago makes collaboration and coordination exceedingly difficult during this crisis.

Research area in Cuba's Gulf of Mexico waters

For the past decade we have been working with our colleagues at the University of Havana’s Center for Marine Research (Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, CIM) to conduct research and conservation projects in Cuba’s coastal areas. Since 2002, our work has focused in Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico waters where CIM has been conducting the first-ever comprehensive studies of this little-known area. What we are learning is that this region is incredibly rich with healthy corals, fish and serves as critical habitat for imperiled species such as sea turtles, manatees and sharks.

Oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon threatens Cuba's marine life and habitat. (AP Photo)

The catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico from the BP Deepwater Horizon presents a potentially grave and unprecedented threat to Cuba’s marine life and coastal areas. Not only would this be devastating to Cuba’s marine life, but given the biological connections present in the Gulf of Mexico, such an impact could affect a myriad of species, including fish, sea turtles, dolphins, manatees, sharks, corals inhabiting the waters of the U.S., Mexico and beyond.  Currents  carry fish larvae from Cuba into U.S. waters, making protection of Cuba’s coastal ecosystems vital to the health of U.S. fish populations.

The Gulf of Mexico "Loop Current" (Source: NOAA)

The primary risk to Cuba comes from the trajectory of the “Loop Current,” a prominent but very variable feature of the Gulf of Mexico. Should the oil become swept up by the swift Loop Current, it could end up in Cuban waters within a matter of days, impacting coastal areas still recovering from the impacts of 2008 hurricanes, Gustav and Ike.

In 2007, a tri-national collaboration was formed among the three countries bordering the Gulf of México (Cuba, México and the United States) to elevate collaboration in marine research and conservation to a new level. Sharing of information is central in this collaboration and since the scope of this disaster became evident, our collaboration has mobilized in order to provide our Cuban colleagues with the best information possible in order to plan for potential impacts and deal with them should they occur. A related page on this site has been set up for the purpose of sharing detailed information, including technical reports and satellite imagery and interpretation.

Learn More:

A Blueprint of Collaboration — and Friendship — With Cuba

Expedition to Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico

Historic Meeting Unites Cuba and the U.S., Taking Collaboration on Ocean Research & Conservation to a New Level

Blog Post: OMG, I Thought You Were Dead!

Blog Post: Cuba Loses Its Mother Ocean

Blog Post: Can Cuba’s Mysteries Help Save the World’s Coral Reefs?

Coral Reef in Timor (Photo courtesy of Nick Hobgood)

If human CO₂ emissions continue at their current rate, by the end of the 21^st century ocean acidity will drop by another  0.3 – 0.5 units to acidity levels higher (or pH levels lower) than the oceans have experienced in hundreds of thousands of years, and this would happen at an unprecedented rate, roughly 100 times faster than any other such change ever documented over the same period.

There is strong consensus in the scientific community that, like our warming climate, ocean acidification is intensifying due to the massive emissions of CO₂ from human activities. Increased CO₂ upsets the natural balance of ocean chemistry — more CO₂ shifts the balance toward increasing carbonic acid (H₂CO₃).

Ocean acidification is a profoundly serious problem that threatens to impact virtually every aspect of the chemical and biological functioning of the oceans as we know them today. Ocean acidification threatens to undermine the function of the ocean’s major ecosystems, including the majority of the world’s coral reefs, potentially causing an unraveling of ocean food chain, large-scale extinction events, and impacts on the oceans’ commercially important fish stocks.

Because of ocean ecosystems’ complexity, it is difficult to precisely predict the impact of ocean acidification. In addition, the impacts will likely vary by regional differences in chemistry as well as by the resistance and resilience of different marine species. However, it is clear that acidification has the potential to cause widespread, significant and irreversible impacts on the functioning of ocean ecosystems, and if humankind does not make adequate strides in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, such impacts will likely occur by the end of this century.

One of the most significant impacts of acidification will be on calcification, the process by which corals, algaes, mollusks, etc. build their shells , plates and other structures from calcium carbonate (CaCO₃). Laboratory results show that an acidic ocean would make it impossible for these plants and animals to build their CaCO₃ structures – essentially, these structures  would be dissolved faster than the plant or animal could build them. In this way, the world’s coral reefs, already pushed to the brink by elevated ocean temperature, nutrient pollution, overfishing, etc., could disappear altogether, along with a myriad of other species.

There’s a great deal of attention focused (especially the Southern Ocean) on the potential for oceanic food chains to be significantly disrupted by acidification given that many phytoplankton and zooplankton species that form the base of the food chain are calcareous, that is, they form a calcium carbonate shell, which would become impossible in a highly acidic ocean. It doesn’t take too much extrapolation to see the effect this could have up the food chain, including fish, whales, and penguins.

The oceanic food chain isn’t limited to organisms that dwell in the sea. We’ve already seen the devastating impact of El Nino on seabird populations, for example. Birds, seals, bears, etc. could also be impacted, as well as Homo sapiens, a species that still depends heavily on hunting wild fish stocks. Increasing acidity of the oceans will also limit the ocean’s ability to buffer increases in atmospheric CO₂, something already being documented in scientific papers. This means that the planet is becoming less and less able to absorb the CO₂ emitted by fossil fuel consumption, which, in turn could translate into more CO₂ remaining in the atmosphere and an even hotter climate.

According to the Royal Society’s 2005 report (Ocean acidification due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Policy document 12/05. June 2005. ISBN 0 85403 617 2 (www.royalsoc.ac.uk), “Ocean acidification is essentially irreversible during our lifetimes. It will take tens of thousands of years for ocean chemistry to return to a condition similar to that occurring at pre-industrial times (about 200 years ago).” There have been a number of mitigation strategies proposed, such as essentially dumping chemicals into the ocean to counteract the effects of increased CO₂. However, the scale at which this would have to be done is enormous. Such methods might only be effective in localized areas and might themselves cause damage to marine organisms.

There is strong consensus in the scientific community that the solution to this problem is the immediate and sustained reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, reductions that may well exceed those being put forward today, underscoring the urgency for the United States to demonstrate stronger leadership on this issue.

Fortunately, this issue is finally becoming better publicized and part of the overall climate change dialogue, and the mainstream media is now reporting on the significance of this issue.

The ExpeditionCasts podcast is back! The series returns with the video version of the Ocean Doctor’s popular blog post, "Attacked by the Giant Squid’s Cousins." (You can access the video version below.) That’s big news. But the GINORMOUS news is that ExpeditionCasts returns along with a new version of Google Earth. Version 5.0 of Google Earth allows you to explore the other 70 percent of the planet — the world’s oceans — and access

stunning underwater video content from around the world. 1planet1ocean has been privileged to be a contributor to this enormous, er, GINORMOUS project, and you’ll find five ExpeditionCasts videos among the others Google Earth 5.0. Look for them in Alaska’s Bering Sea and off the northwestern coast of Cuba.

The project has been a two-year effort stemming from a chance meeting of oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle and Google’s John Hanke at a meeting of the Geographical Society of Spain. Dr. Earle pointed out, directly but politely, that Google had done a great job with Google Earth, until you entered the water, that is. Since then, a large team of collaborators was assembled and has worked to bring the other 70 percent of the planet to life in Google Earth 5.0.

Earlier today at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, former Vice President Al Gore, Google CEO Eric Schmidt, John Hanke (Director, Google Earth and Maps), Dr. Sylvia Earle (Explorer-in-Residence, National Geographic Society and Founder, Deep Search Foundation) and others announced Google Earth 5.0 to the world.

We invite you to explore Google Earth 5.0. If you like ExpeditionCasts, we’ll be releasing each of the videos that are part of Google Earth 5.0 over the next few weeks, which you’ll receive automatically if you subscribe to our feed (free) below. We recommend that you subscribe for the best video quality and so you don’t miss a single episode!

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