Big Brother Ocean

Steve Scher
11/29/2007 at 10:00 a.m.

The $331 million dollar Ocean Observatories Initiative aims to monitor everything from sea life to earthquakes. It features an elaborate system of underwater robots, cameras, microphones, and fiber-optic cables hooked up to the Internet. Scientists will use it to study topics ranging from tsunamis to climate change to the origins of life. You'll be able to tune in too via the Web. Today we'll talk to two University of Washington Oceanographers, including the man who first envisioned the observatory plan.

Guests:
John Delaney is Director of the NEPTUNE Program and Professor of Oceanography at the University of Washington. A marine geologist, his research focuses on the deep-sea volcanic activity of the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the northeast Pacific Ocean.
John A. Baross is Professor of Oceanography at the University of Washington. He studies Thermophilic microorganisms from volcanic environments; the origin and evolution of life and life on other planets and moons; and other topics.