By Andrew Kornblatt

The ocean makes up 71% of the Earth’s surface. This is a common fun-fact that gets kicked around, conveying the importance of focusing more attention on our oceans. When much of the world’s news and sciences concentrate on the small swaths of land that make up our Earth, ocean related stories tend to be brushed into the categories of curiosities or myth.

In truth, the ocean continues to be a treasure trove for discovering new species, novel technological advancements and interesting tales. For the last five months my partner Samantha Wishnak and I have been seeking out these stories and collecting interviews on the subject of ocean science and technology. Being the ocean science wonks we are, we got excited about this project and wanted to share these awesome stories.

As a result, we have developed the continuing podcast titled Ocean Science Radio. While we expect to keep on podcasting, we thought it would be a nice to introduce you to four things we learned about the ocean by starting an ocean science podcast:

1. Every animal has its own champion: A small island off the coast of Java is taken over by millions of crabs almost every year. Instead of declaring war on these crustaceans, the staff at a state park have worked on solutions that will allow the crabs and humans on the island to coexist peacefully.

2. There's probably a really cool story behind new piece of ocean tech: The California East Bay tech startup, OpenROV, has developed two insanely successful crowdfunding efforts, garnered international media attention with their underwater robots, and have been part of numerous expeditions. Their origins will definitely surprise you.           

3. The future of ocean exploration may be from land: Virtual reality technology is becoming the mainstream. Instead of the clunky old versions that you could only find in specialized labs or over-priced game stores, people around the world now have their own versions at home. The ocean exploration community has started taking advantage of this trend through fully immersive 360 degree video.

4. Innovation can come from some unlikely areas: The winners of the much sought after Wendy Schmidt Ocean Acidification prize faced competition from all over the world. The challenges of being able to measure the ocean’s pH levels both at a deep depth and affordably were met by a team from big sky country, not big ocean.

Again, this is only the beginning of what is out there to be discovered and Samantha and I will continue to bring you the latest and greatest stories in ocean science and technology. Want to follow Ocean Science Radio? Feel free to check us out on Twitter, subscribe on Soundcloud, and watch out for us on iTunes. 

https://soundcloud.com/ocean-science-radio/

Andrew Kornblatt is co-host of Ocean Science Radio and the founder of the Online Ocean Symposium, a group that develops media and outreach campaigns to spread the word about ocean advocacy, policy and science. He has worked directly with numerous ocean NGOs and government agencies over the last 4 years, on projects ranging from microbead legislation to creating interactive capabilities at ocean conferences. When he is not staring dreamily into the ocean waves on the beaches of California, he obsessively researches nudibranchs and cuttlefish. 

Samantha is the co-host of Ocean Science Radio and co-founder of Global Engineering & Exploration Counselors, offering immersive underwater robot building workshops to young women around the world. Part of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's ecosystem for the last decade, she shared kelp forest curiosities with visitors in the aquarium and online. When she's not testing new ways to show landlubbers the world below the waves, she spends her free time scuba diving in hopes of spotting her favorite squid.