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UNDERWATER SCHEMING

by: KNUCKLEHEAD

Sat Jul 24, 2010 at 22:57:32 PM EDT

( - promoted by RiaD)

I`m a day late this week, in posting reminders of what kind of life we stand to lose due to the oil gusher in the gulf.
I know it is presently capped, albeit temporarily, but I worry about the situation going south fast.
I feel that the decisions that were made in the last few weeks, are to hide to the public, the fact that they (BP) are not very confident they can stop this disaster, even with the relief wells so near completion.
But I post these images in hopes that people will never forget this disaster, man made, I should add, & never allow it to happen again.
It seems like greed has taken over, regardless of the consequences to the livelihood of humans, & the lives of all the defenseless animals above & below the surface.

CORA BANDED SHRIMP

KNUCKLEHEAD :: UNDERWATER SCHEMING

EEL & RABBITFISH (venomous)

STARFISH NAUGHTIES

HERMIT CRAB

BROWN POLYPS

GREEN POLYPS

GOBY (rear view)

GORGONIA

PAJAMA CARDINALFISH

BULLSEYE SHRIMP

CHRISTMASTREE WORM

REEF CREST 1

REEF FACE

REEF CREST 2

RABBITFISH

CORAL BANDED SHRIMP

SHARKNOSE GOBY

PYGMY ANGELFISH

MAROON CLOWNFISH

YELLOW TANG

BLUE TANG & GREEN TORCH

Tags: BP disaster, gulf coast gusher, reefs, ocean life, Firefly Flying, photography, (All Tags)

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UNDERWATER SCHEMING | 20 comments

Underwater (15.00 / 9)

Have a cool weekend, & remember the oceans are the heartbeat of the planet.

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Sun Jul 25, 2010 at 02:58:59 AM UTC

Thanks for this post and photos, KH, (14.60 / 5)

and for making everybody aware of the life beneath the vast oceans, including the Gulf that sustain our lives as well as other animals' lives, and the life of the oceans themselves. If only our politicians would be more caring and aware of and about the consequences of their actions and behaviours. A recently-deceased friend of mine used to say that the biggest criminals of all are the politicians. The more I think about it, the more I think he was right on his money about that.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

by: mplo @ Sun Jul 25, 2010 at 21:01:04 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

mplo (14.67 / 6)

"the biggest criminals of all are the politicians"
The simplest proof of that is that they are not in jail.
They make laws to protect themselves & the money they stole from us.
Thanks mplo.

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Mon Jul 26, 2010 at 17:24:42 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Awesomer and awesomer! (14.33 / 6)

Your photos are spectacular, as are the creatures themselves.
Thanks for keeping awareness focused on the Gulf.

"In proportion to the vigor of the individual, these revolutions are frequent, until in some happier mind they are incessant..." R.W.Emerson - Compensation

by: incessantrevolutions @ Sun Jul 25, 2010 at 04:30:12 AM UTC

incessantrevolutions (15.00 / 7)

Thank you,
That`s about where all my focus is these past three months.

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Sun Jul 25, 2010 at 04:51:20 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

thank you, knucklehead (14.20 / 5)

you'll always have my deep appreciation for keeping the Gulf and her amazing life alive in our hearts and minds.

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see. ~ Thoreau ... and, do no harm

by: newpioneer @ Sun Jul 25, 2010 at 19:15:17 PM UTC

newpioneer (14.00 / 5)

Thank you,
Sadly it`s the most I can do.
I would love to be able to do so much more.

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Mon Jul 26, 2010 at 17:27:33 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Combien fois est-que je peux (14.00 / 5)

dis "merci" et "fantastique?"

by: Tahoe @ Sun Jul 25, 2010 at 22:30:36 PM UTC

Your gifts (14.00 / 4)

are embedded in my heart. Thank you knuck as always your faithfulness to what really matters in this world.

Fireflies are with you.......

by: Kathleen @ Mon Jul 26, 2010 at 16:30:31 PM UTC

Kathleen (12.60 / 5)

I love the image, thank you very much.
I hope you are well.

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Mon Jul 26, 2010 at 17:29:23 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yes knuck (13.75 / 4)

I am well, I am well because of people like you in this world, I am well.

by: Kathleen @ Mon Jul 26, 2010 at 17:38:08 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Kathleen (15.00 / 2)

That is overly generous.
But I`m glad you`re well.

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Tue Jul 27, 2010 at 05:35:42 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

sorry (15.00 / 1)

i'm so late promoting this today.
it's really been a day! today....

& thank you so much for this knucklehead.
i visit your essay every morning to start my day serenely & at peace

"Indeed, if a poor man will spend a year in prison for stealing out of hunger,
how high would the gallows need to be to hang the rich man?"
~The Patrician in 'Snuff' by Terry Pratchett

by: RiaD @ Thu Jul 29, 2010 at 03:01:04 AM UTC

RiaD (15.00 / 2)

Sorry to bother you but here comes another pile.
I`ll post a new essay in a minute.

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Sat Jul 31, 2010 at 02:09:27 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Plankton, base of ocean food web, in big decline (13.00 / 3)

Study finds 40 percent drop since 1950s, ties it to warming seas

Despite their tiny size, plant plankton found in the world's oceans are crucial to much of life on Earth. They are the foundation of the bountiful marine food web, produce half the world's oxygen and suck up harmful carbon dioxide.
They also are declining sharply.
Worldwide phytoplankton levels are down 40 percent since the 1950s, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. The probable cause is global warming, which makes it hard for the plant plankton to get vital nutrients, researchers say.
snip
"These tiny species are indicating that large-scale changes in the ocean are affecting the primary productivity of the planet," said Burkett, who was not involved in the study.
When plant plankton plummet, as they do during El Nino climate cycles, sea birds and marine mammals starve and die in huge numbers, experts said.
"Phytoplankton ultimately affects all of us in our daily lives," said lead author Daniel Boyce, also of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. "Much of the oxygen in our atmosphere today was produced by phytoplankton or phytoplankton precursors over the past 2 billion years."
Plant plankton - some of it visible, some microscopic - help keep Earth cool. They take carbon dioxide, the key greenhouse gas, out of the air to keep the world from getting even warmer, Boyce said.

by: Timbuk3 @ Thu Jul 29, 2010 at 03:34:21 AM UTC

i dunno (10.00 / 2)

if global warming is manmade or not - & really it's immaterial - but i do know that we could be doing soooooo much to not exacerbate the problem

gha!
why are people so stupid?

"Indeed, if a poor man will spend a year in prison for stealing out of hunger,
how high would the gallows need to be to hang the rich man?"
~The Patrician in 'Snuff' by Terry Pratchett

by: RiaD @ Thu Jul 29, 2010 at 03:50:38 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Interesting comment (15.00 / 2)

There's a woman in KS who I correspond with who takes the same position; "i dunno if global warming is manmade or not..."

I certainly won't argue that ALL changes are due to mankind's activities.

But I also can't understand any argument that we have ZERO EFFECT on our environment.

Stand in the middle of a mall parking lot on a hot summer day. Then, as quick as you can, drive to a park and stand in a field of grass. See if you feel a temperature difference.

We do affect our environment.

So I agree with this: "...we could be doing soooooo much to not exacerbate the problem."

Maybe the sunspots, or whatever, are going to change our climate no matter what we do, but there's really no effective argument that CO2 absorbs light in the "heat producing" wavelengths. I know. I taught organic chemistry. I've seen the IR absorption spectra for CO2.

Bonus note: "Why is the sky blue?"

Rayleigh Scattering

(I included the "bonus" because I don't think a lot of people understand that the atmosphere is a selective filter for sunlight. Fact is, it's fundamental physical chemistry that proves CO2 traps infrared, i.e. heat, wavelengths.)

by: Timbuk3 @ Thu Jul 29, 2010 at 04:12:18 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Just a Tich More (15.00 / 3)

Infrared light (think the heat lamps on the hotel bathroom) is "electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength between 0.7 and 300 micrometres".

Here's the absorption spectra for CO2. The "X" scale is in microns. Note that the peak absorption is a ~10 microns. (A micron is a "micrometre".)

What's happening when you do an IR scan is you're scanning the wavelengths of the light you're passing through a material. When the light doesn't reach the detector it is because the sample under observation is absorbing it. This causes the peaks in absorption, which is the "Y" axis.

So, and this has been know for at least a century, CO2 absorbs light the best at the wavelength of 10 microns, which is infrared, which is heat. Also, it doesn't matter which direction the light is coming from. CO2 absorbs IR on it's way from the sun to the ground, and any that reaches the ground and is reflected can also be absorbed. Of course, the ground can soak up a lot of that energy, too.

Put more energy into an atmosphere and you have more activity, storms can be more intense, and established weather patterns can change. This is why it's preferable to speak of "climate change", not "global warming", because some areas can be cooler, even though the change is due to more energy, i.e. "heating", of the atmosphere.

I just felt like being "sciency" tonight. Not arguing with you, RiaD. Thought you might be interested.

by: Timbuk3 @ Thu Jul 29, 2010 at 04:30:32 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Fixing a typo (15.00 / 3)

"there's really no effective argument that CO2 absorbs light in the "heat producing" wavelengths" should read "there's really no effective argument that CO2 DOESN'T absorb light in the "heat producing" wavelengths."

by: Timbuk3 @ Thu Jul 29, 2010 at 04:35:37 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Timbuk3 (13.33 / 3)

I feed my reefs Phytoplankton.
I`ll be back in a few minutes.
I`ve got a new essay going up.
Thanks.

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Sat Jul 31, 2010 at 02:11:19 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

UNDERWATER SCHEMING | 20 comments

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