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Wed, Aug 01 2012 12:44:38

Deep Sea Science with Chuck Fisher and Dave Pawson

@OceanPortal livetweets the talk “The Deep Sea: Life in Extreme Environments and Exploitation of Natural Resources," given by Penn State's Chuck Fisher and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's Dave Pawson on July 19, 2012 as part of the "Changing Tides" series of events.

  1. NMNH's Dave Pawson interviewed Penn State deep sea biologist Charles Fisher about the deep sea on July 19, 2012 from 3-4 PM EST in the museum's Baird Auditorium in Washington, DC. The event, which is part of the Changing Tides series of ocean discussions, was free and open to the public. Dave wrote a blog post about what we don't know about the deep sea in preparation.
  2. OceanPortal
    The Ocean Portal@OceanPortal
    Deep sea conversation at @NMNH starts in 5 minutes! Stay tuned to our twitter feed for live updates.
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 11:56:22
  3. Emily and Hannah simultaneously tweeted from the OP account, while Amanda held down SeaCitizens.
  4. OceanPortal
    The Ocean Portal@OceanPortal
    Our speakers: Dave Pawson, @NMNH marine biologist, and Chuck Fisher, Penn State deep sea biologist.
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:14:57
  5. OceanPortal
    The Ocean Portal@OceanPortal
    50 miles of deep sea have been thoroughly explored - and 103 million miles remain. -Pawson
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:20:07
  6. OceanPortal
    The Ocean Portal@OceanPortal
    Fisher first discovered his love of the ocean on spring break in Jamaica. Now diving to deep habitats in submersibles.
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:20:58
  7. OceanPortal
    The Ocean Portal@OceanPortal
    Now Fisher studies deep water coral reefs in the Gulf of Mexico
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:21:39
  8. SeaCitizens
    Citizens of the Sea@SeaCitizens
    What is most daunting about the deep sea? High pressure? Little light? Cold temps? Deep sea scientist Chuck Fischer says its the pressure.
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:22:33
  9. SeaCitizens
    Citizens of the Sea@SeaCitizens
    Most groups you know from shallow waters have relatives in the deep sea. -chuck fisher
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:24:21
  10. OceanPortal
    The Ocean Portal@OceanPortal
    Evolutionarily speaking it is actually pretty easy to adapt to the deep sea. - Fisher
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:23:22
  11. OceanPortal
    The Ocean Portal@OceanPortal
    Catching deep sea cucumbers and other organisms with a robotic claw is harder than it sounds (Or maybe just as hard!)
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:26:18
  12. OceanPortal
    The Ocean Portal@OceanPortal
    The deep sea is not really an extreme environment, it's very stable. - Fisher
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:27:39
  13. SeaCitizens
    Citizens of the Sea@SeaCitizens
    Hydrothermal vents pop up where tectonic plates separate. Kind of like the stitching of a baseball -chuck fisher
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:28:55
  14. OceanPortal
    The Ocean Portal@OceanPortal
    Scientists didn't expect to find much life at hydrothermal vents. But the per-area biomass challenges that found at coral reefs
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:28:52
  15. OceanPortal
    The Ocean Portal@OceanPortal
    The hydrothermal vents ARE extreme environments, Fisher says. Tube worms there have half their bodies in hot water and half in an ice bath!
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:31:41
  16. SeaCitizens
    Citizens of the Sea@SeaCitizens
    Near hydrothermal vents, temps go from 2 to 400 degrees Celsius in 1cm. Thats a serious temperature jump!
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:31:09
  17. OceanPortal
    The Ocean Portal@OceanPortal
    (See video of these tubeworms and other hydrothermal vent organisms: ocean.si.edu/ocean-videos/h…)
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:33:29
  18. SeaCitizens
    Citizens of the Sea@SeaCitizens
    When a vent erupts scientists call it "tube worm BBQ". Within 18 months tube worms have come back to their vent homes.
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:37:26
  19. OceanPortal
    The Ocean Portal@OceanPortal
    Scaly-foot snail from the Indian Ocean ridge, has a sort of armor of magnetic scales. - Fisher
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:38:24
  20. OceanPortal
    The Ocean Portal@OceanPortal
    The same processes that bring up hot, chemical vent water also deposit the metals nearby: copper, zinc, silver, gold. -Fisher
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:40:47
  21. OceanPortal
    The Ocean Portal@OceanPortal
    These metals can be mined by ROVs and pumped to the surface! Copper mining planned to begin off Papua New Guinea in early 2013
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:42:36
  22. OceanPortal
    The Ocean Portal@OceanPortal
    There's a lot we don't know about the deep sea that we need to find out. Not ready to endorse or condemn deep sea mining -Fisher
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:45:16
  23. OceanPortal
    The Ocean Portal@OceanPortal
    Of 50 deep sea coral sites near the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, half were seriously affected. Still haven't recovered 2 yrs later -Fisher
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:50:38
  24. OceanPortal
    The Ocean Portal@OceanPortal
    Could take a long time to get a sense of the real effect of #DeepwaterHorizon on slow-to-grow (and die) corals. - Fisher
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:53:19
  25. OceanPortal
    The Ocean Portal@OceanPortal
    "One of the most painful and rewarding jobs I've ever done." -Fisher on Deepwater Horizon research
    Thu, Jul 19 2012 12:53:48

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The Smithsonian's Ocean Portal highlights ocean news, facts, underwater photos, and other miscellany with ocean enthusiasts everywhere. Find YOUR Blue.

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