World Science Festival – Illuminating the Abyss: The Unknown Ocean

As part of this year’s World Science Festival in New York, join the “Ocean Doctor,” 1planet1ocean president Dr. David E. Guggenheim, along with TED prize winner and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, Dr. Sylvia A. Earle; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Dr. David G. Gallo, and Fabien Cousteau, in a panel moderated by ABC News’ Bill Weir, entitled, Illuminating the Abyss: The Unknown Ocean — Saturday, June 5, 2010, 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM at The Paley Center for Media.
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Farmed Salmon Exposed: Washington, DC Premiere

On Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 11:00 AM, 1planet1ocean president Dr. David E. Guggenheim will join a panel discussion following the Washington, DC premiere of the new documentary, Farmed Salmon Exposed: The Global Reach of the Norwegian Salmon Farming Industry, produced by the Pure Salmon Campaign. The 20-minute film illustrates the major environmental problems and impact of global salmon farming industry operations in Canada, Chile, Ireland, Norway, and Scotland. Read more

Roz Savage Solo Row Across the Pacific Now Underway

On May 25, 2008, Roz Savage rowed beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Pacific Ocean, which she is now attempting to cross — rowing solo. She has already completed such a journey across the Atlantic, and is using her adventures to raise awareness of environmental issues and inspire others to rise to their own challenges. Our friends at Blue Frontier Campaign, including its founder, David Helvarg, have been keenly engaged in Roz’s journey and working with Roz to make sure that her journey brings strong awareness about the oceans. (1planet1ocean president David E. Guggenheim is a member of Blue Frontier Campaign’s Advisory Council).
As a courtesy to Roz and her many fans around the world, 1planet1ocean has assembled a special tracking page to help you track and participate in Roz’s incredible journey. You’ll find an interactive Google map, and you can even track her adventures using Google Earth. The map has links to Roz’s photos and to her blog posts, which she is continuing to provide via satellite from sea. For more information, please be sure to visit Roz’s web site.

The State of Cuba’s Coral Reefs

Initial results of joint Cuba-U.S. study to be presented at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) in Ft. Lauderdale, July 7-11, 2008

The world’s major coral reef science meeting, the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS), returns to the United States July 7-11, 2008, to be held in Ft. Lauderdale. Dr. Gaspar González Sansón, Titular Professor at the University of Havana’s Center for Marine Research (Centro de Investigaciones Marinas [CIM]) is scheduled to be the lead presenter of a paper entitled, Present Condition of Coral Reefs and Associated Ecosystems in the Northwest Region of Cuba. Read more

Bering Sea Expedition Continues on Dry Land

The brilliant pink coral, Swiftia pacifica, found at 1,300 feet in Pribilof Canyon, Bering Sea, Alaska (Photo by David E. Guggenheim)

BERING SEA, Alaska — This past summer, the Greenpeace ship M/V Esperanza carried two manned submersibles, a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) and an international research team to the Bering Sea for a three week survey of Zhemchug and Pribilof Canyons,to map and document deepwater corals living at depths of more than 1,000 feet. The expedition was conceived of and was led by Greenpeace. 1planet1ocean president David E. Guggenheim participated as a sub pilot and scientific consultant. Pribilof and Zhemchug Canyons revealed diverse and complex ecosystems, rich with corals, sponges, fish and other marine life. They also revealed striking human impacts from trawlers, damage that was documented during the expedition. More than a terabyte of video data and numerous biological specimens are now being analyzed and results are being shared with a range of decisionmakers and decisionmaking bodies, including the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council.

Exploring, Studying Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico

The Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies (HRI) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and the University of Havana’s Center for Marine Research (CIM) [Centro de Investigaciones Marinas] are leading a collaborative effort, Proyecto Costa Noroccidental [Project of the Northwest Coast], a comprehensive multi-year research and conservation program for Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico coast. Dr. David E. Guggenheim, president of 1planet1ocean, is a member of HRI’s Advisory Council and also serves as HRI’s Cuba Programs Manager and is co-principal investigator of the project with Dr. Gaspar González Sansón of CIM. Read more

Esperanza Heads South to Dutch Harbor with New Insights

Location of Pinnacles Remains a Mystery

A Dall’s porpoise (top) gives Michelle Ridgway in DeepWorker a sendoff before her dive to 1,700 feet at Zhemchug Canyon in this surreal looking image. Hundreds of Dall’s porpoises were present around the ship during the expedition. (Video still by David E. Guggenheim)

The Esperanza began its 2-day steam south and endured gale-force winds and 15-foot seas along the way, but all are well and grateful for the successes along the way. The team achieved a total of 25 sub dives during the expedition, well-exceeding expectations for this part of the world where weather is typically unforgiving.

The team collected nearly a Terabyte (1,000 Gigabytes) of high-definition video, photographs and other data, now being archived, cataloged and distributed. Also collected were numerous coral, sponge, and other invertebrate samples which are being prepared for distribution to scientists around the world for further analysis. Read more

Exploration of Pribilof Canyon Now Under Way, Revealing Rich Ecosystem, Corals

Deepwater corals, like this sea whip (Halipteris willemoesi) photographed on Sunday by Timo Marshall, thrive in the deep waters of Pribilof Canyon

Thanks to great weather, state-of-the-art equipment and a top-notch crew, it has been a productive weekend for the team aboard Esperanza which arrived on site at Pribilof Canyon Saturday morning (July 28) when David Guggenheim and Michelle Ridgway made the first tandem dive in two DeepWorker submarines into Pribilof canyon to a depth of just over 1,000 feet and began to document a fascinating diversity of life, including a variety of corals, anenomes, sponges and fish. On Sunday, the ship visited a second site in Pribilof Canyon where John Hocevar and Timo Marshall completed a successful tandem dive, documenting more corals and successfully collecting a number of specimens with DeepWorker’s manipulator arm for analysis by scientists around the world.

John Hocevar (Greenpeace Senior Oceans Specialist) pilots DeepWorker at 1,100 feet in Pribilof Canyon (Video still by Timo Marshall – 29 July 2007)

Already, the Greenpeace-led team has accumulated nearly 16 hours of bottom time (8 hours per sub), more than all of the previous research done in this region combined. The subs’ high-definition video cameras have already collected over 120 Gb of data. The subs are performing linear transects which will then be analyzed on the video. Twin lasers spaced 20 cm apart allow accurate analysis of the size of organisms encountered. Read more

Esperanza Sets Sail from Dutch Harbor: Bering Sea Expedition Under Way

DeepWorker submarines aboard Esperanza as the ship heads north into the Bering Sea, leaving the Aleutians behind. (Photo by David E. Guggenheim)

The Expedition to the Bering Sea officially got under way as the M/V Esperanza departed Dutch Harbor, Alaska on Friday, July 27 at 4pm Alaska Daylight Time. The Esperanza will steam through the night — for roughly 15 hours — to its first destination, Pribolof Canyon near the Pribolof Islands in the Bering Sea. The first DeepWorker dives are scheduled for Saturday morning.

In June, an international team of researchers and conservation specialists recently completed a week of intensive training and preparations for this Greenpeace-led expedition to Alaska’s Bering sea. The Esperanza is carrying two manned submersibles, a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) and the research team to the Bering Sea for a three week survey of Zhemchug and Pribilof Canyons, specifically to map and document deepwater corals living at depths of more than 1,000 feet. Read more

Making Aquaculture Green

The July/August 2007 issue of National Geographic’s: The Green Guide features guest editor Sylvia Earle, renowned oceanographer, conservationist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. The issue examines solutions for dealing with the global crisis facing the world’s oceans. Among the solutions: Sustainable aquaculture. Read more