Nick Houtman is director of research communications at OSU and edits Terra, a world of research and creativity at Oregon State University. He has experience in weekly and daily print journalism and university science writing. A native Californian, he lived in Wisconsin and Maine before arriving in Corvallis in 2005.
Our view of the oceans is expanding regularly: Underwater gliders patrol the Pacific, moored buoys monitor hot spots and satellites view swirling currents from near-Earth orbit. But, says Clare Reimers, we still need ships to put people on the water, to conduct the kind of science that requires a human touch.
West coast waters are likely to see continued impacts from acidification, warming temperatures and low-oxygen conditions. That’s the conclusion of a report in the journal BioScience co-authored by Francis Chan in the Oregon State College of Science.
In Coos Bay, North Bend and Charleston, aka Oregon’s Bay Area, you can take a tour of the working waterfront, courtesy of Oregon Sea Grant.
An underwater robotics competition in North Bend, teacher workshops in Newport, a student-built unmanned sailboat in Astoria — all reflect an ambitious educational initiative known as the Oregon Coast STEM Hub.
Sardines, mackerel and other “forage fish” are more valuable as food for larger species such as cod and tuna than as a commercial catch in their own right.
With a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Oregon State University economists are studying the economic value of coastal features, such as sand dunes, wetlands and estuaries.