The Deep-Sea Podcast

We impact the deep sea in many ways we don’t realise. Some are deliberate, some are accidental, some we didn’t even notice at the time. We talk about ways we have impacted the deep sea and touch on the huge problem that is marine plastic, a particular problem in the isolated Mediterranean Sea. His serene highness Prince Albert II of Monaco tells us about his experience diving to the deepest point in the Mediterranean, the Calypso Deep (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calypso_Deep) and his Beyond Plastic Med
(https://www.beyondplasticmed.org/en/) initiative.
To solve these problems sometimes we have to ask ourselves difficult questions. There often isn’t right and wrong but shades of grey and nothing is ever as simple as it seems. How much of the deep sea would you sacrifice if it solved climate change? This may not be as hypothetical as it sounds.
You can submit your own ‘tails from the high seas’ about an experience you have had offshore or pose us a question/comment on:
podcast@armatusoceanic.com
 
Theme – Hadal Zone Express by Märvel (http://marvel.nu/)
 
Links
Mercury paper:
https://www.pnas.org/content/117/47/29292
Sam’s work and his podcast:
https://www.samillingworth.com/
Eurythenes plasticus video:
https://youtu.be/phAFW05eKI8
Eurythenes plasticus educational resources:
https://www.plasticus.school/en/
2020 Grand Prix for Good:
https://www2.eurobest.com/winners/2020/gp4g/
Carbon storage paper:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876610217318878
Mesozoic Ocean:
https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/11283/paleo_TAKASHIMA_et_al-2006.pdf
Deep-Sea observatories:
http://www.poseidon.hcmr.gr/eurosites/about.php
Deep Mediterranean paper:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00227-018-3413-0
Beyond Plastic Med:
https://www.beyondplasticmed.org/en/

It’s the holidays so we decided to get together, have a few drinks and tell some stories from life at sea. We even get Märvel – the barons of high-energy rock and roll on the line for a festive chat.
 
This is a silly/gross episode, even by our standards. There are stories of seasickness and competitive food fungus… you have been warned.
 
podcast@armatusoceanic.com
 
Theme – Hadal Zone Express by Märvel (http://marvel.nu/)

Our world is rapidly changing. As we move away from fossil fuels and our use of electronics increases, demand is climbing for a handful of metals key to the manufacture of modern technology. Mining the deep sea may meet these demands but is probably the most contentious issue the community is facing right now. Is there a net benefit for the deep sea; funding research and understanding, addressing climate change, and encouraging developing nations? Or is the deep sea too fragile and too unknown to be responsibly exploited?
We bite off far more than we can chew by taking on this issue in a deep-sea mining special episode. Luckily, we have some guests we can call on to help us understand the issue. Professor Jeffrey Drazen of University of Hawai`i at Manoa explains just what deep-sea mining is and its ecological impacts. We then speak with Michael Lodge, secretary-general of the International Seabed Authority (ISA). The ISA, comprised of 167 member states and the European Union, regulates and controls all mineral-related activities in the open ocean – that’s the majority of the planet!
We also have current news and a chat with Don Walsh, who of course it turns out, has first-hand experience with the complexities of mining in the ocean.
 
You can submit your own ‘tails from the high seas’ about an experience you have had offshore or pose us a question on:
podcast@armatusoceanic.com
 
Theme – Hadal Zone Express by Märvel (http://marvel.nu/)
 
Links
ECO Magazine Deep-Sea Heroes: http://digital.ecomagazine.com/publication/?i=683954&ver=html5&p=22
Scary bigfin squid video: https://youtu.be/L8xXnVkOGsA
Bigfin squid paper: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0241066
Eel swarm: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967063720302107
ISA website: https://www.isa.org.jm/
DeepData: https://www.isa.org.jm/deepdata
UNESCO report: http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/1535/
#deepseamining #deepsea #mining #ManganeseNodules #manganese #PolymetallicNodules #Polymetallic #ISA #InternationalSeabedAuthority #MichaelLodge #LawOfTheSea #HighSea #InternationalLaw #conservation #EnvironmentalImpact #seamount #HydrothermalVent #ProtectedArea #ProtectedHabitat  

In this episode we explore the power of storytelling and complete the arc of our first five episodes: science communication and perception of the deep sea.
We talk with multiple New York Times bestseller Susan Casey (https://susancasey.com/) about telling a good story and engaging people with a narrative, while still being scientifically accurate. Don Walsh (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Walsh) is kind enough to record his thoughts on the importance of good storytellers, which of course also contains a story we never knew about Don.
 
Storytelling is an incredibly powerful tool, but it can be a difficult one to wield. Alan talks of some experiences where the public perception of a story was not what was expected but also the risk of not telling the story at all and of assumptions being made.
 
We have our regular returning segments: Recent news, which seems very squiddy this episode; tails from the high seas, where Alan is imprisoned in a seaman’s mission; and Thom tries out a new segment about the history of some deep-sea animal names.
 
You can submit your own ‘tails from the high seas’ about an experience you have had offshore or pose us a question on:
podcast@armatusoceanic.com
 
Theme – Hadal Zone Express by Märvel (http://marvel.nu/)
 
Links
The description of the roundnose grenadier from 1765: https://www.ntnu.no/ojs/index.php/DKNVS_skrifter/article/download/710/642
An image of the Grenadier cap: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Prussian_Grenadier_Cap.jpg
An image of the grenadier fish: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abyssal_grenadier#/media/File:Coryphaenoides_armatus.jpg
Frankie Fulleda’s podcast, Hard Candy & Fruit Snacks: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hard-candy-fruit-snacks/id1532914761

It’s the October episode and that means it’s our Halloween Spooktacular, what better time to turn the spotlight on ourselves and wonder why humanity seems to have an intrinsic fear of the deep sea. Glenn Singleman (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Singleman) joins us to give a psychological explanation for why we feel differently about the deep sea and seem to have an aversion to it. Even some of the best documentaries seem to change their wording when talking about the deep sea.
We give Don a quick call to get his thoughts on fear, as that’s something he’s always asked when talking about the first dive to the deepest point. Finally, we have a Tails from the High Seas from Heather Stewart who, after running from some bad weather, found herself in the middle of a military exercise.
Theme – Hadal Zone Express by Märvel (http://marvel.nu/)
Additional music by Harvey Jones (http://www.harvjones.com/)
Links
Blackest black: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28363-super-dark-chameleon-material-shifts-colour-to-boost-solar-power/
Guinness Book of World Records
Deepest fish: https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/deepest-fish
Deepest octopus: https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/83167-deepest-octopus
Deepest eel: https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/626705-deepest-eel
Deepest decapod: https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/626036-deepest-decapod
First new species contaminated with plastic: https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/626040-first-new-species-contaminated-with-plastic
Thanks to the people who recorded monsters in their native tongue:
Rusalka (Slavic) - Christina Nikolova
Afanc (Welsh) - Thomas Hughes
Iku-Turso (Finnish) - Anni Mäkelä
Kappa (Japan) - Kazumasa Oguri
Uile-Bheist Doimhneachd na Mara (Scottish Gaelic) - Andrew Henderson
Cetus, Charybdis, Scylla and Hydra (Greek) - Georgios Kazanidis

Can we use art to help people engage with the deep sea? We stop trying to explain things and let artist Alex Gould (alexandragould.co.uk) help us see deep-sea animals for the first time all over again.
We talk about the aesthetic of deep-sea fish, is it shaped by our expectations? Can we save the blobfish from bullying? Can art help us with the horror of tongue eating parasites and fish absorbing their boyfriends?
Sponsor Armatus Oceanic

On January 23, 1960 Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard were the first people to dive to the deepest point in the ocean, Challenger Deep. Would you believe that Don's full of other stories at least as interesting as that?
We talk science communication and exploration with Don, realise that actually we do know a lot about the Mariana Trench, and we cross the equator.
podcast@armatusoceanic.com
Music by Harvey Jones

 ‘We know more about the moon than the deep sea’ isn't just a bad analogy, it’s wrong. We talk scientific writing and Alan confesses why, after becoming the world’s deepest Brit, he was hunched emerging from the sub.
podcast@armatusoceanic.com
Absence of sharks
Music Harvey Jones

Just a quick hello to introduce the podcast (and check I know how to do this). Official episode 1 coming soon.
 
Dr Thom
https://twitter.com/AllLittleFishes