The Deep-Sea Podcast

Check out our lovely new website where you can find more detailed notes, images and links to the wider reading. In this episode… Welcome back to the Deep-Sea Podcast, your punk take on all things deep sea! Join Alan in the Industrial Badlands of the Canary Islands as he cuts holes in ships, while Thom rubs elbows with New Zealand’s political elite. In the news, get ready for updates on: A meeting in Perth to discuss the Red List status of Deep-sea organisms.  Deep-sea desalination techniques Capturing Octopus movements for robot creation Common Starf...

Welcome to the PRESSURISED version of episode 61, just the science, none of the waffle PRESSURISED: Trench nutrient cycling with Ronnie N. Glud | The Deep Sea Podcast | Episode 61   Guest Interview: Nutrient cycling in the hadal trenches (6 to 11 km) and the crucial role they play in global element cycling. Professor Ronnie N. Glud, a leading biochemist and Director of the Danish Centre for Hadal Research (HADAL) talks us through how the trenches, once thought to be barren, are actually "dynamic deep-sea hotspots with intensified microbial activity and diversity". Learn about: How hadal trenches act as "depocenters" for o...

In this episode… Welcome back to the Deep-Sea Podcast, your punk take on all things deep sea! Join Dr. Thom Linley and Professor Alan Jamieson as they dive into the latest from the abyssal plain and beyond. Deep Sea News Highlights: We kick things off with a rethinking of the deep-sea boundary! Professor Alan Jamieson discusses his recent "food for thought" paper that challenges the long-held 200-meter definition, arguing for a more scientifically relevant boundary of 1,000 meters. Find out why this seemingly arbitrary line might be doing "a lot of damage" to our understanding and attitude towards th...

Welcome to the PRESSURISED version of episode 60, just the science, none of the waffle PRESSURISED: Mesophotic Reefs with Yi-Kai Tea | The Deep Sea Podcast | Episode 60   In this month's episode, we discuss mesophotic reefs, the deeper extents of coral reefs that have been overlooked in the past. It’s a wild ride that leads us to homemade hyperbaric chambers, the aquarium trade and the world’s most expensive fish. Strap in for a rollercoaster ride as we dive to the limits of scuba.    Find out more at deepseapod.com Social media BlueSky: @deepsea...

In this episode… Sorry the episode is a little late…. But it’s a bumper!    Alan has been checking out hypercars while sharks have been checking out Thom. In the news, we have art, anglerfish, squid and sea spiders. Then an orafish turns up, and we are all doomed.   In this month's episode, we discuss mesophotic reefs, the deeper extents of coral reefs that have been overlooked in the past. It’s a wild ride that leads us to homemade hyperbaric chambers, the aquarium trade and the world’s most expensive fish. Strap i...

eDNA with Georgia Nester | The Deep Sea Podcast | Episode 59 Welcome to the PRESSURISED version of episode 59, just the science, none of the waffle   For this month’s interview, we speak with Dr. Georgia Nester, a colleague of Alan’s from the University of Western Australia, about eDNA (Environmental DNA is any genetic material left behind by organisms in an environment). She talks about how several collection methods, eg.: Niskin bottles, sponges and paper filters, located on the deep-sea lander system, can retrieve different types of eDNA from the deep. Georgia also touches on how diel migrators can r...

eDNA with Georgia Nester | The Deep Sea Podcast | Episode 59   “Exploration is about the place, adventurism is about the person, science is about the question” Professor Alan Jamieson   In an episode recorded earlier than usual, which is to say not recorded late, and so perhaps recorded right on time?... we are talking about environmental DNA or eDNA.  Thom is headed off to Norfolk Island, north of New Zealand, to characterize the unique life in the region and hopefully not be eaten by sharks. Alan’s been up to secret things, o...

Welcome to the PRESSURISED version of episode 58, just the science, none of the waffle   We are still talking about Antarctica, the continent that keeps on giving!   For this month's interview, we speak with Devin Harrison - Marine Geoscientist/Postdoctoral Researcher at Kelpie Geoscience - Devin is a postdoctoral research fellow at Kelpie Geoscience. His research utilises high-resolution topographic models of the seafloor and complementary geophysical and geospatial datasets to understand the geomorphic evolution and process landform relationship of the deep sea and the continental shelves. Devin is particularly interested in the glacial geomorphological re...

We are still talking about Antarctica, the continent that keeps on giving! Alan and Thom discuss trying to stop working momentarily, constructing a treehouse, and acquiring a shark. In the news, we rattle off a list of newly discovered species with some very cool (but hard to pronounce) names. There has been a lot of squiddy news. Footage of divers swimming with a giant squid has resurfaced; in an exclusive for the podcast, Alan has recorded more amazing Magnapinna (bigfin or elbow squid) footage. And the biggest bit of news: the colossal squid has been s...

It’s the last in our run of episodes about Antarctica. We are all back home, and we promise to stop bothering the poor continent.   Thom couldn’t talk about it until after the press release, but the Schmidt Ocean Institute cruise he was on had to look at the seabed under a 150-meter-thick ice shelf right as it moved out of the way. We talked to the science leads on that cruise, Patricia Esquete and Sasha Montelli. We learned about the hydrography and glaciology of that region and then the seabed and communities that were reve...

It’s the last in our run of episodes about Antarctica. We are all back home, and we promise to stop bothering the poor continent. Alan and Thom discuss returning to an inbox of horrors and readjusting to time away. More cable cutting in our news updates, blobfish being voted fish of the year, and the tongue-eating louse potentially being invertebrate of the year. We don’t want to say we influence the news, but it seems a little spooky. Thom couldn’t talk about it until after the press release, but the Schmid...

Coming to you from an Airbnb, above a ski hire shop, next to a construction site in Ushuia, Argentina… It’s a very special episode as we continue to pester Antarctica. We are here for today is a very special birthday. Our favorite and most elusive colossal squid, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, has been described for 100 years but never seen in its natural environment! We are having a birthday bash for the big girl. Joined by Kat Bolstad of the Auckland University of Technology, Squid Squad, we learn what we do and don’t know, as well as the...

Coming to you from an Airbnb, above a ski hire shop, next to a construction site in Ushuia, Argentina… It’s a very special episode as we continue to pester Antarctica. Alan checks in from Barcelona for mysterious reasons. We’ll have to get the truth our of him in the future…   Lots is going on in the news; deep-sea fish keep turning up, including a little Melanocetus anglerfish - sometimes called a black seadevil. This has had a real impact on people. The media tried to call it a monster, but the people fe...

Our short and to the point PRESSURISED version of episode 55. If you don't have time for the full episode and want to get right to the science without any of our waffle, this is the place to be! Read the show notes and find the full episode here: https://www.armatusoceanic.com/podcast/055-antarcticfishes   Now it’s Thom’s turn to hit Antarctica. He’s out with the Schmidt Ocean Institute on the Antarctic Climate Connections expedition to the Bellinghousen Sea, to the west of the Antarctic Peninsula.  He will rec...

The gang has swapped places, Alan is back in Perth and now it’s Thom’s turn to hit Antarctica. He’s out with the Schmidt Ocean Institute on the Antarctic Climate Connections expedition to the Bellinghousen Sea, to the west of the Antarctic Peninsula.  He will record, edit and upload a podcast from there… somehow. This episode may sound a little rougher as a result, but the content is gold as ever… Underrated belter alert.   The Prof managed to have some downtime with the family in Antarctica and has some great stories to tell, he’...

Our short and to the point PRESSURISED version of episode 54. If you don't have time for the full episode and want to get right to the science without any of our waffle, this is the place to be! Read the show notes and find the full episode here: https://www.armatusoceanic.com/podcast/054-antarctica   It’s a big one! With The Professor down in Antarctica and Dr Thom not too far behind him, we’ve got an update live from the field. We’re talking about Antarctic submarine dives, below-freezing trenches, unexpec...

It’s a big one! With The Professor down in Antarctica and Dr Thom not too far behind him, we’ve got an update live from the field. We’re talking about Antarctic submarine dives, below-freezing trenches, unexpected uses of glacial ice and, of course, the importance of growing a beard… But they’re not alone! This month we’re joined by the incredible Shaylyn Potter (Marine Scientist, Sub Pilot and polar diver) as she talks us through the intricacies and unique nature of this environment. We learn about what makes an iceberg different from a bergy bit (yes, th...

Our short and to the point PRESSURISED version of episode 53. If you don't have time for the full episode and want to get right to the science without any of our waffle, this is the place to be! Read the show notes and find the full episode here: https://www.armatusoceanic.com/podcast/053-corals   With Dr Thom and The Professor busy prepping for their upcoming expeditions offshore, we had time to squeeze out one more episode before they set sail. We caught up with the legendary Di Tracey from N...

With Dr Thom and The Professor busy prepping for their upcoming expeditions offshore, we had time to squeeze out one more episode before they set sail. We caught up with the legendary Di Tracey from NIWA to talk all things deep-water corals. How they live, what makes them different from their shallow water relatives, and how they are adapted to life in the deep dark ocean. Di's long career in deep-sea ecology is also intertwined with her extensive work in making the marine sciences a better place for women to work. She talks us through what it...

Our short and to the point PRESSURISED version of episode 52. If you don't have time for the full episode and want to get right to the science without any of our waffle, this is the place to be! Read the show notes and find the full episode here: https://www.armatusoceanic.com/podcast/052-blackwater-diving   This month, we come face to face with deep sea species in our blackwater diving special. Join us this episode as we jump into the fascinating world of blackwater diving, where expert scuba divers plunge into the o...