Marvee Sambajon

Management Effectiveness for Marine Protected Areas | Reef Resilience Network

This is super cool news: the Reef Resilience Network just launched a free online course on Marine Protected Area management—available in 5 languages. Practical tools, real-world impact, & accessible globally. Exactly the kind of capacity-building ocean conservation needs right now. 🌊
#OceanHoptimism

I tried this survey of identifying real plankton images vs AI generated ones and I can say I am very happy with my score. As a non-scientist I think I did well. Go try it at daniela997.github.io/plankton-stu...

UV photos from my latest plankton sample. Pseudocalanus copepod, a barnacle nauplius, a Harpacticoida copepod.

#marineplankton 🦑

#DYK: Atlantic spotted dolphins can be identified over long periods of time by spot patterns, by flukes, and by dorsal fins.

Happy Saturday 🐬

#dolphin #dolphinresearch #scicomm #marinebio #oceanlife

🌍🔬 Microplastics are everywhere — from the ocean surface to the lower atmosphere and beyond.

Measuring them? Complex. Challenging. Evolving.

Join SOLAS Seminar XII
🗓 16 March 2026 | 🌐 Online
✨ Register now: zoom.us/meeting/regi...
ℹ️ Details: solas-int.org/events/solas...

The Breaking Boundaries at the Bottom of the World website where you can follow the extraordinary Sea Women Expeditions journey taking place February 14 – March 10, 2026. The Daily Journal features expedition reflections, creative moments and scientific field notes from the 25 explorers. Use the purple filters to narrow in on a specific explorer or boat and click on a point to learn more about their experience.

The most wonderful expedition you've probably never heard about, but need to cheer on NOW. Follow 25 female indigenous & non-indigenous scientists, explorers, storytellers, artists & ocean advocates from 9 countries as they explore "the bottom of the world."
arcg.is/1HTTuv3
🌊 🦑 🧪 ⚒️ 🌎 🌍🌏 🇦🇶 #gischat

Valentine’s Day fieldwork in Bolinao, Pangasinan three years ago. #fieldwork

🧪🌊

GESAMP report on #microplastics transport into the marine environment is available online.

library.wmo.int/records/item...

@solas-ipo.bsky.social @usocb.bsky.social @geotraces.bsky.social

Reposting because I still feel frustrated about this.

Half of the world's coral reefs suffered major bleaching during the 2014–2017 global heat wave, estimates suggest Benefits to society from coral reefs, including fisheries, tourism, coastal protection, pharmaceutical discovery and more, are estimated at about $9.8 trillion per year. For the first time, an interna...

🌊 Half of the world's coral reefs suffered major bleaching during the 2014–2017 global heat wave, estimates suggest

phys.org/news/2026-02...

Plastic threats to coral reefs: A strategic management perspective from Bali's marine protected areas Plastic pollution remains a significant threat to coral reef ecosystems, even within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). This study assesses the levels and…

🐠🌊 New paper led by Udayana University (Bali): plastic pollution in Marine Protected Areas.

📉 Coral cover declined (2015–24); 🧫 microplastics in coral tissue at all sites; 🪢 macroplastics drive damage.

🛠️ Strong case for improving upstream waste management.

“Protected” doesn’t mean insulated.

Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea

Pod of dolphins encountered enroute to Pag-asa Island

Dolphins encountered enroute to Pag-asa Island

Sunset in the West Philippine Sea

Sitting senators are siding with China instead of the Philippines and the Filipino people on the issue of the West Philippine Sea. One even brought up the idea of giving up the Kalayaan Island Group. Shows clear lack of maritime knowledge and definite lack of patriotism. Shameful and disgusting.

Scientific expedition confirms vast freshwater reserve beneath ocean floor Researchers yet to fully understand how freshwater is trapped in pockets under seafloor

🌊 Scientific expedition confirms vast freshwater reserve beneath ocean floor

IODP EXP 5O1

www.independent.co.uk/news/science...

Lab-grown algae remove microplastics from water A University of Missouri researcher is pioneering an innovative solution to remove tiny bits of plastic pollution from our water. Mizzou's Susie Dai recently applied a revolutionary strain of algae to...

Very promising.
phys.org/news/2026-02...

Can phytoplankton help close the carbon dioxide removal (CDR) gap? Ocean Visions’ new report examines whether and how phytoplankton might contribute to the gigatons of CDR needed to meet global climate goals. 🔗LEARN MORE: oceanvisions.org/phytoplankto...

Coral Diversity Drops as Ocean Acidifies - Eos As seawater becomes steadily more acidic, complex branching corals die off and are replaced with hard boulder corals and algae.

There’s no tipping point beyond which ocean acidification kills corals, new research shows. With every creeping bit of acidification, corals just continue to die off. 🧪🌊 eos.org/articles/cor...

One-Third of Pacific Island Fish Contaminated With Microplastics - Inside Climate News From the coral-covered coastlines of Tonga to the remote sandy atolls of Tuvalu, microscopic synthetic fibers are infiltrating the region’s species and food systems. One-third of fish living in Pacifi...

One-Third of Pacific Island Fish Contaminated With Microplastics.
Ahead of February’s Global Plastics Treaty negotiations, new data reveals the contamination rate of Fijian fish far exceeds worldwide averages.
insideclimatenews.org/news/2801202...

🌊🚨 New research on #microplastics in Narragansett Bay

#URIGSO researcher Victoria Fulfer, Ph.D. ’24, and Professor J.P. Walsh have published a new study documenting exponential growth in microplastic pollution in Narragansett Bay since the 1940s.

➡️ buff.ly/oZp0aTc

Chaetoceros socialis - a colonial diatom- imaged with the lisst holo2, an underwater camera that takes 3D images of microscopic particles. The squiggly chains of individual cells grow together in balls that are actually visible by eye if you hold the seawater up to the light. Images are black and white because a laser is used to take 3D images.

The lisst -holo2, an underwater camera that takes 3D images of microscopic particles getting ready for deployment in the land aboard the RV Sikuliaq

The CTD rosette (the workhorse of oceanography) getting ready to be sent to the bottom of the ocean. The lisst holo2 is mounted on the bottom of the rosette and saves 1 image/second as the rosette descends

To study the distribution of phytoplankton🦠 and marine snow❄️, we are sending a holographic camera down on the CTD rosette to a take a 3D image every second. Then we can reconstruct bio volume and export! The most common phytoplankton on this cruise has been Chaetoceros socialis (⬇️) #oceanography 🇦🇶🐧🌊

Ocean Diagnostics and National Research Council Canada Introduce Microplastics Monitoring Framework Ocean Diagnostics and National Research Council Canada have teamed up to introduce a novel microplastics monitoring framework to guide policy decisions.

A lack of standardization can prevent #microplastic pollution regulation. Together with the National Research Council of Canada, we are developing a #microplastics monitoring framework for Canada to help advance standardization. Discover more at oceandiagnostics.com/ocean-diagno...

Ventilation of the North Atlantic is Weakening 20 January 2026 / Kiel. The renewal of deep waters in the North Atlantic has slowed markedly over the past three decades. This is shown by a new study from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Resear...

Ocean waters are aging? What?
Yes: oceanographers call 'age' the time since deep ocean water was last in touch with the atmosphere. It is a measure of 'ventilation', deep vertical overturning of the ocean.
Data show this process is slowing: #AMOC slowdown. Bad news. 🌊
www.geomar.de/en/news/arti...

A tiled illustrated pattern featuring various species found in the intertidal zone of the Pacific coast. There is a two spot octopus, sea cucumber, ochre sea star, California mussel, bat star, black turban snail, chiton, purple sea urchin, anemones, sea lemon, opalescent nudibranch, blue-banded hermit crab, purple shore crab, California aglaja, red abalone, and a green fluffy sculpin. They are illustrated and arranged on a teal-blueish background.

A tide pool pattern for your feed 🐚🦀

The dugong or “sea cow” is a large, gentle marine mammal that lives in warm coastal waters of the Indo-Pacific, grazing peacefully on seagrass, much like cows graze on land, and is a relative of the manatee. 😊

Repairing trust in science requires a more inclusive understanding of innovation These are extraordinarily challenging times for university researchers across the United States. After decades of government largess based on the idea that a large and well-financed research ecosystem...

Public trust in science and technology is a serious, growing problem, especially now. Instead of trying to solve it with better communication, we should adopt a more inclusive approach to innovation that takes low-tech, incremental, and system-wide solutions seriously. My new piece @science.org 👇🏽🧵

Navigating tricky trade-offs in busy seas Study shows how ‘Blue Justice’ is key to delivering fairer and more equitable use of marine space.

The ocean is getting crowded🌊 From #fishing & #shipping, to #offshore infrastructure & #conservation, marine trade-offs are getting tougher. New research from @exeter.ac.uk / @exetermarine.bsky.social + PML explores how decisions are made, and why #BlueJustice matters: pml.ac.uk/news/navigat...

So apparently it’s CTD appreciation day. I’ll try to check my files for CTD deployment during the cruises I have joined. CTDs provide vital environmental data and help give context to the state of our seas.

Green sea turtles can hold their breath for 4-7 hours when resting or sleeping

No new science news from us bc we’ve been “Shackletoned”-stuck and drifting with the ice for a few days now. Hoping a big storm will blow us out tomorrow so we can finally get back to work! Drone photo is by Dr Ellen Buckley, diatoms & filmentous ice algae are from the ice station #oceanography 🐧🇦🇶🌊

Glowing molten ejecta and freshly formed pyroclasts from a submarine volcanic eruption. Two distinct , mildly energetic eruption styles are shown at nearby vents during the 2009 West Mata eruption in northern Tonga. These common but rarely observed fully underwater eruptions produce thick, coarse pyroclastic deposits close to the vent. The deposits are unlike less frequent, but dramatic, very energetic, and more often observed eruptions that break the sea surface, such as Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai in 2022 or Havre in 2012, with eruption plumes and deposits influenced by distribution all or partly in air. Such eruptions that occur entirely beneath the sea surface produced landforms with low sea bed volcanic terrain stability, impacting the geology, hydrothermal activity, and ecosystem development. Image Source: Kenna Rubin, William Chadwick, Robert Embley, Susan Merle, David Clague (2025) Widescale Recent Submarine Pyroclast Production During NE Lau Basin Eruptions at 1-3 Km Water Depth and Resultant Volcano Morphology, AGU Fall 2025 meeting, New Orleans, LA, presentation V42B-07, Abstract ID:1916983, ESS Open Archive . January 21, 2026, DOI: 10.225

🧪🌋🌊 Deep-sea volcanic pyroclast formation decoded. Most submarine eruptions don't break the sea surface & are rarely observed. We're uncovering how energetic underwater eruptions produce distinctive fragmental deposits unlike subaerial plumes. 2 modes shown here presented at #AGU25. More in ALT text

Rock art from at least 67,800 years ago in Sulawesi - Nature A hand stencil painted on a cave wall on a small island off the coast of Sulawesi more than 67,800 years ago suggests a very early occupation of Wallacea.

Hand-stencil motifs found in caves in Sulawesi, Indonesia, dating to at least 67,800 years ago, may be the oldest rock art discovered, according to a study in Nature. These findings support the theory that early humans migrated to Sahul via a northern route through Sulawesi. 🏺 🧪