Informing and inspiring everyone about California’s underwater world
The scoop on pinniped poop
Our pinnipeds, like this harbor seal (<em>Phoca vitulina</em>), are the constant gardeners of our coast, adding to the lushness of kelp beds. ©1994 Judith Lea Garfield
Pinniped poop is like a One A Day® multivitamin for our coastal environment. It acts as a supplement to enhance the health of our kelp beds and other marine algae and seagrasses. In a published study, scientists in Australia showed that the busy...
Facing facts about castoff microplastics in the ocean
Comparing polyethylene microbeads facial cleanser to sand grains size wise, it’s easy to see how marine life is tricked into ingesting nonnutritional and toxic plastic. ©2010 JUDITH LEA GARFIELD
When Oprah centered an episode of her talk show on the Texas-sized plastic garbage patch stagnating in the North Pacific gyre, and media outlets report a research cruise to the area by Scripps scientists, the situation must be dire, meaning that the...
No bone of contention for whale worms
Whale bone is colonized by bone-devouring worms. Courtesy MBARI
“Worms devour whale bones!” Sounds like a National Inquirer headline but I rib you not; this story is legitimate and yet another example of truth trumping invention. Read on for the body of evidence. . . When whales came to be, around 42 million...
U.S.–Japan space out for watery mission
As the world turns, the NASA–JAXA core research satellite will be launched as part of the Global Precipitation Mission, orbiting Earth along with other internationally launched satellites to provide global rain and snow data at three-hour intervals. Courtesy NASA
When I entered NASA’s “Let it Snow” international photo competition, I didn’t expect to win. I only entered because it was on one of the required reading websites for my climate studies course. My entry was a photo of drifts of snowlike seafoam...
My Mission

To share my knowledge with readers through photographic documentation and writing that blends personal experience, humor, and current science research.

Images copyrighted ©1980-2013 Judith Lea Garfield unless otherwise noted.
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