New book, Below the Edge of Darkness, out now!

INCREDIBLE! That’s a perfect description of Dr. Edith Widder’s new book, Below the Edge of Darkness: A Memoir of Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea.

Friends of WhaleTimes have met Dr. Widder, but if you don’t know about her, Dr. Widder is a deep-sea explorer, submersible pilot, conservationist, and, as it turns out she is also one heck of a story teller!

WhaleTimes has been share Dr Widder’s research through the years including the incredible NOAA-OER Journey into Midnight research cruise where she and the team filmed a giant squid!

Below the Edge of Darkness is filled with true stories about her deep-sea exploration and amazing discoveries. This exciting read includes beautiful photographs, too.

If you love the the ocean, watching nature documentaries, or want to emulate someone with dogged determination for discovery, then this is the book for you!

Congratulation on another amazing success Edie!

Find the book at your favorite bookstore:
Below the Edge of Darkness: A Memoir of Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea
Random House, available Jul 27, 2021
ISBN 9780525509240

 

 

The Squid Whisperer Strikes Again!

Gulf of Mexico, Wednesday, June 19, 2019: Dr. Edith Widder and Nathan Robinson called out into the deep to see what would answer. Something did, in a very big way. A GIANT SQUID!

This is only the second time a living giant squid has ever been caught on camera. And both times the videographer was Dr. Edith Widder. Both times Dr. Widder’s special deep-sea camera system, called the Medusa, did what no ROV or submersible has been able to do.

The Medusa is a stealth camera system that captures video footage in the deep. Because the Medusa uses red lights that are invisible to most deep-sea inhabitants and has no noise-generating thrusters, it can serve as a stealthy observer of light and life below the twilight zone. (It’s design is to be unobtrusive, unlike an ROV or submersible.)

How do you call a squid? Lights. In the deep, most animals use light. Animals use bioluminescence to find food,  communicate, and escape danger. The lights on the Medusa recreate the alarm lights of an atolla jellyfish. When startled, this jellyfish puts on a light show that beats anything in Vegas. Scientists believe the light show, like a car alarm, catches the attention of other predators. If the jellyfish is lucky, a larger predator will swoop in and eat whatever was trying to eat it. That allows the atolla jellyfish to slip away into the dark.

The Medusa uses specially designed lights that mimic the color and pattern of the atolla’s glowing scream for help.

Science Team member and cephalopod expert, Dr. Heather Judkins (University of South Florida St. Petersburg) quickly identified it as a giant squid — a 10-12 foot long juvenile giant squid.

This exciting discovery, and the on-going research in the Gulf of Mexico midnight zone (below 1,000 meters/3,280 feet) are part of the “Journey into Midnight: Light and Life Below the Twilight Zone” research cruise funded by NOAA’s Office of Exploration and Research.

Read more about this exciting news: Here Be Monsters: We Filmed a Giant Squid in America’s Backyard

K-6 teachers, join WhaleTimes’ this fall for Creep into the Deep: Journey into Midnight and learn more about Dr. Widder (aka the Squid Whisperer), Dr. Judkins…and the rest of this amazing research team and their discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico. Find out more.

Creep into the Deep: Journey into Midnight education program and the Journey into Midnight: Light and Life Below the Twilight Zone research sponsored by NOAA-OER

 

A cool week with sharks

Cool kids. Cool speakers. Cool sharks. We may be having a heat wave here in the Pacific Northwest, but it’s been a cool week for our Sharks vs People program. Trista and Sage, shark experts from the Oregon Coast Aquarium  shared their expertise with summer camp students at two cool science centers — the St Louis Science Center and the Science Center of Iowa.

Sage, Trista, and the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Thank you!

 

 

Summer Camp 2018: Sharks vs People

WhaleTimes announces this year’s summer camp, SHARKS VS PEOPLE. Great whites make headlines. Hammerheads send chills down the spine. Even the prehistoric (and extinct) Megaladon shark has attained legendary status as a monster. The truth is, you’re more likely to become a professional football player, injure yourself fixing the toilet, or get a spider bite than attacked by a shark. More than 500 sharks roam the seas (and some rivers). Some are longer than a school bus. Others swim faster than a killer whale. Some sharks can change color. Many glow in the dark! Sharks’ undeserved fearsome reputation overshadows the real story. The most dangerous animal in the sea is people, not sharks. Many shark species are threatened or endangered. They need our help to save them.  Find out how in this fun and exciting class.

WhaleTimes’ Sharks vs People Summer Camp introduces kids to shark adaptations and species. Throughout this program, special guest Ruth A. Musgrave, author of MISSION SHARK RESCUE  (National Geographic Children’s Books) and EVERYTHING SHARKS (National Geographic Children’s Books), shares her love of sharks, introduces amazing sharks, the scientists who study them, and empowers kids to help save sharks.

This program offered through museums and science centers throughout the country.

Celebration of Conservation Highlights: Elephant Seal 6967 Follow Up

Welcome Teachers. This month we’re posting some of the blogs and activities from our most recent Virtual Research Missions: Celebration of Conservation and Creep into the DEEPEND.  We’ll post the email from the Science Team member, plus photos, videos, activities, Explorer mini-posters (bios) or other related information or links. For our programs, teachers pick and choose, mix and match the blogs, photos, activities…etc. in what ever way works best with their class.

Here’s another one from Patrick Robinson part of Team Elephant Seal from our Celebration of Conservation: Gray Whales, Elephant Seals, and Vaquita. Enjoy

SEAMAIL™: Elephant Seal 6967 Follow up from Patrick Robinson

(NOTE: For classroom use only. Seamails, photos, activities and other related curricula are copyrighted and trademarked and cannot be sold, posted, repackaged, or used in any other way without written permission of WhaleTimes, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Celebration of Conservation Highlights: Hello from Año Nuevo

Welcome Teachers. This month we’re posting some of the blogs and activities from our most recent Virtual Research Missions: Celebration of Conservation and Creep into the DEEPEND.  We’ll post the email from the Science Team member, plus photos, videos, activities, Explorer mini-posters (bios) or other related information or links. For our programs, teachers pick and choose, mix and match the blogs, photos, activities…etc. in what ever way works best with their class.

Here’s another one from Patrick Robinson part of Team Elephant Seal from our Celebration of Conservation: Gray Whales, Elephant Seals, and Vaquita. Enjoy

SEAMAIL™:  Hello From Año Nuevo from Patrick Robinson

(NOTE: For classroom use only. Seamails, photos, activities and other related curricula are copyrighted and trademarked and cannot be sold, posted, repackaged, or used in any other way without written permission of WhaleTimes, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Celebration of Conservation Highlights: Long Distance Traveler

Celebration of Conservation Highlights: Meet the Long Distance Traveler

Welcome Teachers. This month we’re posting some of the blogs and activities from our most recent Virtual Research Missions: Celebration of Conservation and Creep into the DEEPEND.  We’ll post the email from the Science Team member, plus photos, videos, activities, Explorer mini-posters (bios) or other related information or links. For our programs, teachers pick and choose, mix and match the blogs, photos, activities…etc. in what ever way works best with their class.

Here’s another one from Dave Weller from our Celebration of Conservation: Gray Whales, Elephant Seals, and Vaquita. Enjoy

SEAMAIL™: Meet the Long Distance Traveler from Dr. Weller

(NOTE: For classroom use only. Seamails, photos, activities and other related curricula are copyrighted and trademarked and cannot be sold, posted, repackaged, or used in any other way without written permission of WhaleTimes, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Virtual Research Mission blogs

Celebration of Conservation and Creep into the DEEPEND Seamails™

Welcome Teachers. This month we’re posting some of the Seamails and activities from our most recent Virtual Research Missions: Celebration of Conservation and Creep into the DEEPEND.  We’ll post the email from the Science Team member, plus photos, videos, activities, Explorer mini-posters (bios) or other related information or links. For our programs, teachers pick and choose, mix and match the Seamails, photos, activities…etc. how ever you would like to use them with your class. (We put the blog — aka Seamail in pdf format for ease of use in the classroom.)

Here’s the first one from Dave Weller from  the Celebration of Conservation: Gray Whales, Elephant Seals, and Vaquita. Enjoy

Celebration of Conservation Highlights:

TEAM GRAY WHALE

(NOTE: For classroom use only. Seamails, photos, activities and other related curricula are copyrighted and trademarked and cannot be sold, posted, repackaged, or used in any other way without written permission of WhaleTimes, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Forecast Modeling, Postcards from the DEEPEND

What does everyone want for the holidays? Postcards from the DEEPEND, of course! Throughout December we’ll post new Postcards from our amazing and talented scientists from the DEEPEND Consortium.

Merry Deep Sea or Happy Anglerfish or is it…

B Penta, Forecast Modeling

PDF Version Forecast Modeling