Giant Kelp is such an important, integral part of our ocean, providing food, shelter and so much more. It's also a cornerstone of Birch Aquarium, from our iconic Giant Kelp Forest to its presence in our logo!So what better way to celebrate the grand opening of Adam R. Scripps Living Seas Gallery than with a Kelp Cutting Ceremony of our very own?! In place of the traditional ribbon, we celebrated with kelp! After the ceremonial “kelp-cutting”, the Giant Kelp was returned to the aquarium to feed animals like abalone and sea urchins while also creating cozy habitats for some of our fish friends! (fb)

🌊 A new study led by researchers at Scripps Oceanography used long-term data gathered from the ocean at Scripps Pier to model 20 years of mercury trends, showing how environmental factors like rainfall and wave height alone can cause major fluctuations in ocean mercury concentrations. 🧪 By reconstructing historical data using long-term records of precipitation and buoy wave height from key partners, including Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the team demonstrated that without long-term ,consistent environmental monitoring, we risk misinterpreting the data, missing the anthropogenic, or human-caused, pollution signals entirely. “This paper highlights how we need to understand the variability of mercury concentrations in the ocean and their response to climate variables to disentangle the impacts that emissions reduction policies have on global mercury concentrations into the future,” said Hannah Adams, a Scripps Oceanography PhD candidate and lead author on the study. So, why exactly should we care about mercury levels in our ocean? Because mercury is a toxic pollutant that can bioaccumulate, meaning that even small amounts in the ocean can build up in seafood like tuna and swordfish, eventually affecting human health. It's especially bad for developing fetuses as it is linked to poor neurological outcomes in children. Long-term monitoring programs are chronically underfunded and understaffed. Partnerships like CalCOFI and organizations like NOAA, which have provided decades of crucial ocean data, are struggling to find enough people to keep cruises running. A missed cruise could mean a critical gap in our understanding of the ocean’s health. “To understand if policies are working to reduce mercury emissions, we need solid, long-term environmental datasets,” Adams said. “These are not just once-a-year snapshots. We’re talking weekly sampling, holiday sampling, and a serious commitment from researchers and institutions alike.” You can read the paper published in Nature here: https://go.nature.com/3Sdcxkk (fb)