Oceans - Heart of our Blue Planet

Does the ocean capture your imagination? Are you concerned about its status and all we are doing to it? Do you want to learn more?

Do you have an ipad? Download the FREE CEMEX conservation book about the oceans by clicking here https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/oceans/id478004100?mt=8. The book contains some remarkable photographs by the world's leading underwater photographers belonging to the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP) and is totally worth a browse. Consider it an early christmas present to you and your loved ones!

For those of you who do not have an ipad, you can see a selection of the amazing photographs by watching this short youtube video.

Noisy oceans

Mapping noise in the ocean (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/12/10/science/1211-ocean.html?ref=science)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is currently documenting human-made noises in the ocean which they then hope to transform into the world's first large sound maps. The ocean visualizations use bright colors to symbolize the sounds radiating out through the oceanic depths, frequently over distances of hundreds of miles. The map above is one such example. The hotter colours (reds) are areas of higher noise while the cooler colours (blues) represent areas of less noise.

The impact of noise on marine mammals is something that is generally hard to quantify - even though we know it is increasing and having devastating effects. For an animal that relies on acoustics for its survival, a noisy ocean is not a great place to live. Imagine it.

To learn more about this study, read this article http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/science/project-seeks-to-map-and-reduce-ocean-noise-pollution.html?pagewanted=1&ref=science and make sure you listen to the sounds of the various sounds and the podcast on the left hand side of the page!

Results from Deepsea Challenge expedition!!!

Remember these two blog posts on the Deepsea Challenge? http://whalessrilanka.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/deepest-place-on-earth-mariana-trench.html http://whalessrilanka.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/deepsea-challenge.html

Have you been wondering what interesting findings were made on this expedition? Here filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence James Cameron talks via Skype about early findings from his record-breaking dive to the Mariana Trench in March of this year. He and his science colleagues presented findings at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Fransicso.