GeoCinema Online: Oceans

This week on GeoCinema Online, we’re taking a look at all things ocean, bringing what few people see straight to your desktop – or, for that matter, any other shiny viewing device you may posses! Take a dive and find out what plankton get up to in the microscopic world beyond our vision, what corals and communities lie in the cold deep and how oceanographers are working to better understand the sea’s mysteries…

The Secret Life of Plankton

New videography techniques have opened up the oceans’ microscopic ecosystem, revealing it to be both mesmerisingly beautiful and astoundingly complex. Using footage from the Plankton Chronicles project, this film ignites wonder and curiosity about this hidden world that underpins our own food chain.

HERMIONE: Hot Spots In The Cold Deep

The HERMIONE (Hotspot Ecosystem Research and Man’s Impact on European Seas) project is focused on investigating marine ecosystems around the world, from hydrothermal vents and submarine canyons to seamounts, cold seeps and deep basins. They support a huge diversity of life that is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and human activities. Here, the HERMIONE Scientists are researching their natural dynamics, gathering information can be used to create effective management plans that will help to protect our oceans for the future.

5th Int. Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals

Deep-sea corals contain unique records of ambient ocean water conditions and bear rich benthic habitats that are more biodiverse than their tropical equivalents. This film presents some of the latest developments in our understanding of cold-water corals together with the needs for improving the management of these amazing habitats.

Fathoming the Sea

A film focusing on how oceans work, global climate history, the dynamics of the coastal Waddenzee and the significance of Dutch maritime research.

IODP 342 Newfoundland Documentary (Episode 1)

The mission of IODP (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program) Expedition 342: recover sediments that tell the story of climate change, ocean currents and glaciations over millions of years. The main drilling target: an interval in the geologic past when the Earth was a lot warmer than today. The sediments of the Newfoundland ridges contain enough detail to teach us precisely what happened, when and why. This  is the first of many episodes (also available on YouTube), so join the scientists and their crew to learn what they were looking for and what they’ve found.

In Search Of Tricho (Part 1)

Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on the research vessel R/V Oceanus undertake a cruise to study health and function of plankton in the western North Atlantic. This is the first in a 3 part series documenting the cruise, the research, and the scientists.

Need a change of scene? Why not take a look at some of the other posts in this series: how telescopes are transforming our understanding of Earth and space or how scientists are working towards better methods of earthquake and eruption forecasting?

Credits

The Secret Life of Plankton: Tierny Thys/The Plankton Chronicles Project (source)

HERMIONE: Hot Spots In The Cold Deep: Marum TV/HERMIONE (source)

5th Int. Symposium on Deep-Sea Corals: ScienceMediaNL (source)

Fathoming the Sea: NIOZ, the Royal Dutch Maritime Research Centre/NWO, Utrecht University/ European Science Foundation/NSF/IODP (USA)/Zcene Moving Moving Media Company (source)

IODP 342 Newfoundland Documentary: IODP/Ocean Leadership (source)

In Search of TRICO: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (source)