Stunning Footage Of Sperm Whales Attempting To Communicate With Freedivers Using Clicking Noises

natgeo  Photograph by @thomaspeschak This is a marine iguana, but I think they should be called ‘Ocean Godzilla’ instead. These are our planet’s only lizards that feed in the ocean and despite their fierce, dragon like appearance they are very sensitive to climate change. They rely exclusively on cold water seaweeds for nourishment which die off quickly as the water becomes too warm. For more “Ocean Godzilla” pics follow @thomaspeschak

Adjustments to a different educational landscape

Different systems

Less work

Difficulties

I thought it would be appropriate to write about the different educational landscape after taking my first round of exams for a number of reasons. First, it gives me enough time to adjust (kind of) to the different system, and secondly, it gives me a bit of time to reflect on the system as well.

I'll begin with a brief description outlining different education system. First, most students do not live on campus. Some may live two or three hours away too, which makes me feel awkward when I say I live on campus because the two hour is too long to do two times every day. Second, most classes are only once a week, which can make it easy to forget about work and procrastinate. In fact, my only class that is two times a week is my Spanish class taught by a professor with IFSA-Butler.  

In my classes, there is a lot less "busy work," which is bitter sweet for me since busy work helps me stay on top of content but at the same time reduces free time. This also translate into less exams. In each of my three classes that have exams, there are only two. There is a lot of group work, usually including presentations, but in one of my biology labs, it means a lot of lab/field work. In the same course, called Evaluation of Habitat, we had two weekend trips (one to a refuge and one to a biological reserve) to complete small, independent projects.

Adjusting to this new academic system is difficult, especially with the language barrier. I also think that since there fewer numbers of classes every week, it is a lot harder to get a feel for each professor. It is difficult for me to point to few particular skills that I gained during my first year of college that I have used here because for me, I always need to experience it for myself and then I find my footing. It is hard to do it quickly, but I think that the best way for me to make the transition is to simply immerse myself in the system and my work.

IFSA-Butler's main role, especially during orientation, was giving advice to all of us and letting us know that they are there to provide support to us, including offering free tutoring to anyone who wanted it.

Blooms in the Baltic

Every summer, phytoplankton – microscopic plant-like organisms – spread across the North Atlantic, with blooms spanning hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles. Nutrient-rich, cooler waters tend to promote more growth among marine plants and phytoplankton than is found in tropical waters. Blooms this summer off Scandinavia seem to be particularly intense.

On July 18, 2018, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 acquired a natural-color image of a swirling green phytoplankton bloom in the Gulf of Finland, a section of the Baltic Sea. Note how the phytoplankton trace the edges of a vortex; it is possible that this ocean eddy is pumping up nutrients from the depths.

Though it is impossible to know the phytoplankton type without sampling the water, three decades of satellite observations suggest that these green blooms are likely to be cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), an ancient type of marine bacteria that capture and store solar energy through photosynthesis (like plants).

In recent years, the proliferation of algae blooms in the Baltic Sea has led to the regular appearance of “dead zones” in the basin. Phytoplankton and cyanobacteria consume the abundant nutrients in the Baltic ¬and deplete the oxygen. According to researchers from Finland’s University of Turku, the dead zone this year is estimated to span about 70,000 square kilometers (27,000 square miles).

Read more: https://go.nasa.gov/2uLK4aZ

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

Meet Bruce McCandless. He was a bit of a bad-ass. In 1984, Bruce was aboard the Challenger Space Shuttle and became the first human to walk in space without a safety line. By utilising a nitrogen propelled Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), he stepped free from Challenger into the blackness of space for a 90-minute space walk and wandered as far as 97 meters from the ship. The result is this amazing image which captures ingenuity, innovation and most certainly bravery.

Bruce McCandless died yesterday at the age of 80.

-Jean Image Credit: NASA

Alone in the world is a little catshark 🦈

This is one of the three deep-sea catshark species found in the Northeast Pacific, the longnose catshark, Apristurus kampae. They are found at depths ranging from 180 to 1,888 meters (590 to 6,500).

Catsharks are bottom feeders and are most active at night, often sleeping in groups during the day and hunting at night.

Family 1

Family

Dogs

Friends

Girlfriend

Today marks the 13th day that I've been in Costa Rica (including the night I arrived at the airport). I'm adjusting to my second and permanent host family and to Heredia, and classes don’t start until tomorrow. Now that I'm here and mostly settled in, I have tried to make sure I contact friends and family in the U.S. on a regular, but not too frequent basis.

Aside from my first weekend here where I called home three days in a row (not everyone was available to talk at once) I've only texted my parents and my sister a few times or vice versa. The first time we Skyped (I did not have internet for a few days so it was not right away), our dogs were confused since they could hear me (an maybe see me) but I was not there. I miss all of the dogs, especially our new puppy, Vader, since he won't be small the next time I see him. The same is true for my family, but if I were not studying abroad, I would still be away from them since I'd be at college, and I usually don't come home until breaks. So currently, this doesn’t feel that different from a regular semester at Susquehanna, for me and them.

The same is also true for friends at home, however, not for friends at college. One of my closest friends is also studying abroad, so I would not see her even if I were at Susquehanna, but it is a bit odd not seeing my other friends. I have texted a few of them to see how their semester is going, but not too frequently. I think that at this point, this still does not feel like it will last until June, so it has not sunk in for me that I probably won't see a lot of them until August.  

Undoubtedly, the adjustment is hardest for my girlfriend. During the semester, we spend to most time with each other, so it's difficult for both of us to not see each other, including over long breaks. While the adjustment is difficult for my parents too, they have grown accustomed to not seeing me for a few weeks at a time. This is different for both of us. We've talked frequently through texting, but I am going to try to restrict calling/Skyping to a maximum of once a week (I'm going to try to do the same with my family). Since I'm still dealing with a completely new environment, it is currently harder for her, but as I grow accustomed to my routine and classes here or confront new difficult challenges, I could see it becoming more difficult for me too.

With all of that being said, I'm going to do my best to not focus on what I'm missing from the U.S. all of the time so I can focus on what I can experience here.

Trump’s War on Science continues

Ars Technica

Editorial: Censoring the scientific enterprise, one grant at a time

Recent grant terminations are a symptom of a widespread attack on science.

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Silence and calmness can be extremely moving. #Whale #MexicoPelagico #PelagicLife #ocean #nature #whale #underwater #mexico Photo by @rodrigofriscione