Routine maintenance leads to unexpected microbial discovery in “ship goo” on the R/V Blue Heron’s rudder shaft.
Oceanography
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Mars, Press Release, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Waves Hit Different On Other Planets
On a calm day, a light breeze might barely ripple the surface of a lake on Earth. But on Saturn’s largest moon Titan, a similar mild wind would kick up […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Orbital Biosignature Assay: Antarctica’s Vanishing Sea Ice Transforms Marine Life
Editor’s note: when our first missions – human or robotic – arrive at a new world we’ll want to do glean as much information from space – via fly by […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Icy Ocean World Recon: How Did Earth’s Most Powerful Ocean Current Form?
It transports far more than 100 times as much water as all of the Earth’s rivers combined: The Antarctic Circumpolar Current rushes around the southern continent unhindered by land masses […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Climate And Ocean Circulation Changes Toward A Modern Snowball Earth
It has been hypothesized that the Earth may have experienced snowball events in the past, during which its surface became completely covered with ice. Previous studies used general circulation models […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Desert/Water Planet Interaction: Sahara Dust Storm Over The Canary islands
Earlier this week strong winds over the Saharan Desert blew westwards pushing clouds of dust and sand over southern and central Morocco and out into the Atlantic Ocean. This is […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Gulf Of Mexico Blue Hole Harbors High Levels Of Novel Microbial Lineages
Exploration of oxygen-depleted marine environments has consistently revealed novel microbial taxa and metabolic capabilities that expand our understanding of microbial evolution and ecology.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ocean Planet Exploration: Recovery Of NIPR AUV MONACA
Editor’s note: When we start to mount Astrobiology missions to explore ocean worlds we’ll need ways for our robotic submersibles to observe and interact with whatever life forms they may […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Anoxia-adapted Cyanobacteria In A Marine Blue Hole
Vertical transmission of marine particles brings ocean surface cyanobacteria into the deep ocean, where heterotrophic cyanobacterial lineages probably evolve to adapt to new environments even in oxygen-depleted zones.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Extensive Freshened Water Beneath Earth’s Ocean Floor Confirmed For The First Time
The goal of this expedition went far beyond collecting sediment cores. Scientists also set out to sample the water stored within the sediments, including from sandy layers that act as […]