Oceanography

Making marine biodiversity visible for everyone Marine biodiversity is vast, complex—and mostly out of sight. In this “ocean story hour” episode, a Paris-based science communicator, Anabelle Chaumun, shares how to translate marine research into stories people can actually feel and remember. We explore why misinformation spreads faster than evidence, why ocean issues can feel distant, and how storytelling (and images) can make the invisible ocean world tangible. Anabelle also introduces EMBRC (the European Marine Biological Resource Centre) and how its network of marine stations supports research that improves food safety, sustainable aquaculture, and ecosystem understanding across Europe. Along the way, we dig into solutions-oriented communication, ethics, representation, and documentary photography as a tool to amplify communities often missing from environmental narratives.
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Special thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for sponsoring this episode.

Episode Guests: Anabelle Chaumun
Connect with Anabelle Chaumun on LinkedIn
Visit the European Marine Biological Resource Center (EMBRC) website

Communications: for science and society, Ministère de l'Enseignement Supérieur, de la Recherche et de l'Espace by Anabelle Chaumun
Artists residencies as part of the TREC expedition
EMBRC's latest annual report 2024
EMBRC's website
A few examples of applications of EMBRC research:
Portugal: Preventing a deadly dinner: How EMBRC Portugal’s marine research is keeping dinners safe
Greece: Innovative disease control strategies in marine aquaculture
EMBRC Political Recommendations

Episode Transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media website
Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia
Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese
Cover art by Jomiro Eming
Theme music by Nela Ruiz

Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below
Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Listen to Something in the Water on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
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What have we learned about microplastics over the last 20 years? This episode surveys two decades of ocean microplastics science: where microplastics come from (fibers, tires, fragmentation, microbeads), where they’re found (shorelines, water column, sea ice, deep sea), and what research shows about impacts across food webs and ecosystems. It also unpacks major gaps—nanoplastics, fragmentation rates, and the thousands of chemicals used in plastics—plus why scientists argue for a precautionary approach even as human-health research evolves. Finally, learn how microplastics are measured at sea (manta trawls, spectroscopy) and why contamination control matters. The episode connects the science to policy, including the UN Plastics Treaty debates over production cuts vs waste management.

Support our science communication by joining us on Patreon or sending us a gift on PayPal

Special thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for sponsoring this episode.

Episode Guests: Dr. Winnie Courtene-Jones
Follow Dr. Courtene Jones on Blue Sky
Find the article 20 Years of Microplastic Research: What have we learned?
Connect with the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty on LinkedIn
Review Dr Courtene-Jones’ publications on Google Scholar

Explore artwork by Benjamin Von Wong

Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Plastic Podcast: The Truth about Biodegradable Plastics
Plastic Podcast: Busan and Beyond - A UN Treaty on Plastics

Episode Transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media website
Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia
Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese
Cover art by Jomiro Eming
Theme music by Nela Ruiz

Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below
Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Listen to Something in the Water on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marine heat waves can make summer heat even worse. New climate research shows that unusually warm ocean conditions don’t just damage marine ecosystems — they can also intensify extreme heat on land. In this episode, Mr. Hirotaka Sato, a Japan Meteorological Agency climate scientist explains how marine heat waves form, why the ocean stores most of Earth’s excess heat, and how a 2023 marine heat wave near northern Japan amplified record-breaking temperatures onshore. Learn the mechanisms behind ocean–atmosphere heat transfer, reduced cloud cover, humidity feedbacks, and weakened sea-breeze cooling. The discussion connects sea surface temperature, climate feedback loops, and extreme weather risk — and explains why warming oceans matter for future heat waves, forecasting, and public safety.

Support our science communication by joining us on Patreon or sending us a gift on PayPal

Special thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for sponsoring this episode.

Episode Guests: Mr. Hirotaka Sato
Find the article we discussed, Impact of an unprecedented marine heatwave on extremely hot summer over Northern Japan in 2023.
Review Mr. Sato’s publications on Google Scholar
Visit the Japan Meterological Agency’s Website
JMA Annual Report on Extreme Cliamte Events
JMA Report on Climate Change in Japan 2025
Episode Transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media website
Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia
Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese
Cover art by Jomiro Eming
Theme music by Nela Ruiz
Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below:

Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Listen to Something in the Water on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How oil research protects ocean health. Understanding oil spills, offshore drilling, and marine pollution starts before any accident happens. In this episode, marine microbial oceanographer Dr. Alice Ortmann explains how scientists collect baseline ocean data to measure ecosystem health in oil and gas regions offshore Newfoundland. The conversation covers what counts as an oil spill, how oil and methane move through the water column, why microbes are essential for breaking down hydrocarbons, and how baseline measurements help scientists assess impact, recovery, and long-term change. This episode explores environmental response science, ocean resilience, and how oil research informs regulation, preparedness, and protection of fisheries and marine ecosystems—without alarmism, and grounded in real data.

Support our science communication by joining us on Patreon or sending us a gift on PayPal

Special thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for sponsoring this episode.

Episode Guests: Dr. Alice Ortmann
Connect with Dr. Ortamnn on LinkedIn
Find Dr. Ortmann’s publications on Google Scholar
Visit the Marine Microbiome Forum

Episode Transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media website
Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia
Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese
Cover art by Jomiro Eming
Theme music by Nela Ruiz

Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below:
Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Listen to Something in the Water on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A legendary research ship’s final sail. For nearly 50 years, the R/V Endeavor served as a floating laboratory for ocean science—supporting 700+ expeditions, training generations of students, and enabling research from CTD/rosette water sampling to seafloor mapping, deep-sea coring, and long-term climate and ecosystem monitoring. In this episode, the ship’s operations manager Brendan Thornton and longtime captain Chris Arminetti take listeners behind the scenes of life aboard a UNOLS research vessel: the tight-knit 12-person crew, the evolution from “go dark at sea” to Zoom offshore, and what it felt like to retire a ship with a million+ miles in her wake. Plus: what comes next for the fleet and ocean stewardship.

Support our science communication by joining us on Patreon or sending us a gift on PayPal

Special thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for sponsoring this episode.

Episode Guests: Brendan Thorton and Chris Armanetti
Learn more about the R/V Endeavor Here:
Meet the next chapter: the Narragansett Dawn
Discover the University of Rhode Island’s Oceanographic Research here

Episode Transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media website
Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia
Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese
Cover art by Jomiro Eming
Theme music by Nela Ruiz

Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below:

Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Listen to Something in the Water on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.