Green Scene Blog - National Geographic Kids: Ocean Archives

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Frogfish at Cocos Island

Posted By NG Kids

Watch the video of frogfish swimming near Cocos Island.

Easily mistaken for a sponge when standing still, this frogfish--a favorite of the Ocean Now expedition team--waddles the seafloor beneath Chatham Bay off Costa Rica's Cocos Island. Learn more about Cocos and see more of the frogfish at ocean.nationalgeographic.com.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

A Message From Cocos Island

Posted By NG Kids

To Readers of the Green Scene blog following the Ocean Now Expedition

SUBJECT: A Message From Cocos Island

FROM: Enric Sala

Thank you so much for following our expedition to Cocos Island and the Las Gemelas seamounts. The whole team is thrilled to know that you're watching and reading about our work!

We've seen incredible animals here, including a whale shark, hammerhead sharks, sea turtles, marble rays, and the astonishing frogfish--which walks on the seafloor and looks like a sponge!

I wanted to reply to some of the comments and questions you had for us. (Photograph by Ford Cochran)

PurpleAnimalLUV, I agree with you completely: Sharks ARE sooo cool and are misunderstood. Go Green (and Blue), and spread the word!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Ocean Now E-Cards

Posted By NG Kids

Sylvia Earle, Enric Sala, and other researchers and scientists are on an expedition to Cocos Island to document the ecosystem and find ways to better preserve the ocean for the future!

Send a friend or family member one of these amazing e-cards so they can learn more about Ocean Now and find ways to help ocean conservation efforts.

Pick an E-Card to send.

Follow the Ocean Now Expedition.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Swimming With Sharks

Posted By NG Kids

Enric Sala swam with 100 white tip sharks during a night dive at Cocos Island in Costa Rica. Sala and a team of scientists from Ocean Now are surveying and showing the last pristine places in the ocean.

Would you want to swim with sharks?

Watch videos of Enric diving with white tip sharks and hammerheads!

Follow the Cocos Island Expedition on Ocean Now.

Photograph by Enric Sala

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Cocos Island Adventure

Posted By NG Kids

Real pirates once buried their treasure on Cocos Island. Now a team of scientists, led by Enric Sala and Sylvia Earle is diving into the waters surrounding this beautiful island in Costa Rica to learn more about the fertile seamounts where hammerhead and white tip reef sharks feed during their migratory journeys.

The Ocean Now researchers will document the marine life they find during the month of September. They will be reporting about the turtles, manta rays, and sharks they find.

Follow the Cocos Island Expedition and become involved!

Photograph by Sarah Wilson

Monday, August 10, 2009

Help Clean Up Waterways

Posted By NG Kids

Last year, 400,000 volunteers all over the world helped remove 6.8 million pounds of trash from waterways during the annual International Coastal Cleanup day, according to the Ocean Conservancy. Find a location near you and sign up to help in this year's cleanup on September 19.

Learn about the Ocean Now expeditions on National Geographic.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Ocean Alert!

Posted By NG Kids

It may seem as if the world's oceans are so vast that nothing could hurt them. Unfortunately, that's not true. The oceans suffer from people dumping stuff that they don't want (pollution) and taking too much from the ocean that they do want (overfishing). You can help turn this problem around.

You probably already know how to help fight pollution: Participate in stream, river, and beach cleanups; don't litter; and don't dump things into storm drains. But you may not realize that too many fish--including the bluefin tuna (pictured)--are being taken from the sea. Some overfished species are disappearing--such as sharks.

People kill 100 million sharks every year. The desire for shark fin soup is one big reason so many sharks die. These fish are caught, their fins are cut off to be sold and the rest of their bodies are thrown back into the sea.

National Geographic Kids