Oceanography

Ocean trenches are Earth’s deepest habitats—and they’re full of life. This episode is a guided dive into the hadal zone (6,000–11,000 meters), where tectonic plates create steep trenches that plunge toward the mantle. Learn what trenches are geologically, what conditions are like at full ocean depth (cold, pressure, darkness), and why the deep sea isn’t a single ecosystem—each trench is its own world. You’ll also get myth-busting on how “the abyss” shows up in pop culture, plus an inside look at the technology that makes trench science possible: multibeam mapping, baited landers, and human-occupied submersibles. Finally, we explore the big research questions scientists are asking about biodiversity, evolution, and connectivity across the deepest ocean.

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

Episode Guest: Professor Alan Jamieson
Listen to the Deep Sea Podcast!
Browse Professor Jamieson’s publications on Google Scholar
Visit the Hadal Zone Deep Sea Research Center and follow their work on Instagram
Episode Transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media website
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Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese
Cover art by Jomiro Eming
Theme music by Nela Ruiz
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Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
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What is the deep sea — really? Deep-sea researcher Dr. Thom Linley (Curator of Fishes at Te Papa Tongarewa, National Museum of New Zealand) breaks down the deep ocean as a connected world with distinct zones, ecosystems, and rules — not one mysterious “blob.” From the bathyal and abyssal to the hadal trenches, this conversation maps what’s down there, how life survives crushing pressure and perpetual darkness, and why the deep sea functions as the engine under the hood of the entire planet.

This episode explores:
What counts as “deep sea” (and why the definition is changing)
The major deep-sea zones and how they blend into each other
Whale falls — the deep ocean’s sudden “feast events” and the strange life they power
Why trenches can be food-rich funnels (and why that matters)
How deep-sea animals adapt at the molecular level (cells, fats, enzymes)
The technology that makes deep-sea science possible: landers, traps, cameras, and autonomous systems
The reality of deep-sea pollution: plastic and “forever chemicals” showing up even at extreme depths
Why museum collections are time capsules for future ocean science

And this is part one of a deep dive: next episode continues into ocean trenches and the hadal zone with Prof. Alan Jamieson, co-host of The Deep Sea Podcast.
If you’re into thoughtful mythbusting, weird deep-ocean ecology, and the real logistics of studying a place humans can barely access — you’re in the right place.

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. Thomas Linley
Listen to the Deep Sea Podcast!
Browse Dr. Linley’s publications on Google Scholar

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

Ocean oxygen shapes marine life in ways most of us never think about. This episode explores how oxygen enters the ocean (air–sea exchange and photosynthesis), how it circulates through surface waters and the deep sea, and why scientists track changes in oxygen over time. Learn what oxygen minimum zones are, how they form, and what they can mean for midwater ecosystems in the mesopelagic (“twilight”) zone.

Featuring research that uses fossil fish ear bones (otoliths) preserved in seafloor sediment, the conversation looks back thousands of years to reconstruct a past oxygen shift in the Mediterranean—and what long-term records can teach us about ocean dynamics today.

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. Sven Pallacks
Find Dr. Pallacks’ publications on Google Scholar
Read Dr. Pallacks’ article, Ocean deoxygenation linked to ancient mesopelagic fish decline.
Visit the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute website
Visit the O'DEA Lab 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 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

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

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

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.