Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Julie Robidart

Plymouth Marine Laboratory @pml.ac.uk · Jun 19

What a day for it! Blue skies & calm seas for our team, who have brought in our Autonomous Scientific Buoys for maintenance and upgrades. PML's John McDonald said: "Great to see some of the younger PML team getting hands-on with the more challenging tasks - all good experience, & they smashed it 👊"

2 4

Reposted by Julie Robidart

Scripps Institution of Oceanography @scrippsocean.bsky.social · Jun 18

🐦 Why are five booby species showing up in the California Current Ecosystem? Using data from CalCOFI, eBird and more, Scripps Oceanography alumna and postdoc Tammy Russell uncovered the major shift.

🌊 Read the study published by Frontiers In Marine Science: bit.ly/4mOBroh

1 10 40

Reposted by Julie Robidart

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · May 30

This chart shows that in the City of London (the tiny historical part of London in red), bicycles have overtaken cars to become the most common vehicle. Let's make this throughout Greater London!

www.economist.com/britain/2025...

A line graph titled "On their bikes" shows transport volume trends in the City of London from 1999 to 2024, measured in thousands. The graph compares two transport modes: motor vehicles (light red line) and bicycles (dark red line). The motor vehicle line starts at approximately 190,000 in 1999 and shows a steady decline over the years, reaching around 50,000 by 2024. In contrast, the bicycle line begins just above 0 in 1999 and gradually increases over time, crossing the motor vehicle line around 2023, and also reaching approximately 50,000 in 2024. This indicates that bicycle traffic has equaled and possibly surpassed motor vehicle traffic in the City of London. Data was collected at 12 locations during autumn between 07:00 and 19:00. The source is the City of London Corporation.

A map of Greater London, England, showing the boundaries of all the London boroughs. The borough of the City of London is highlighted in red at the center of the map, just north of the River Thames. All other boroughs are shown in a light beige color with black borders. The River Thames and other bodies of water are depicted in light blue. The map provides a clear visual distinction of the City of London's central location relative to the other boroughs in Greater London. The map is from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_London

5 67 430

Julie Robidart @robidart.bsky.social · May 27

I have thoughts

Reposted by Julie Robidart

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · May 26

@bopplaurent.bsky.social kicking off #LiegeOcean25 with a talk about the state of the climate and potential need for CO₂ removal (CDR).

The surface ocean has warmed by more than 1°C, which is astounding if you think about how much energy it takes to do that. 🌊

The image shows a presentation at the 56th International Liège Colloquium. A speaker, standing behind a wooden podium, discusses climate change, highlighting trends in global surface temperature, ocean warming, land temperatures, and sea levels.

2 33 130

Julie Robidart @robidart.bsky.social · May 26

Windy day bike tricks

Julie Robidart @robidart.bsky.social · May 24

This is a super unique senior role on our technology team, during an exciting time for technology investment in the UK 👇

Allison Schaap @allisonschaap.bsky.social · May 24

Our team is looking for a new senior colleague with experience leading the development of new marine sensing technology. Have a look! You'd join a highly-interdisciplinary team of great people developing novel instruments from concept to field deployments.
careers.noc.ac.uk/vacancy/prin...

Careers | National Oceanography Centre

careers.noc.ac.uk

2 1

Reposted by Julie Robidart

Plymouth Marine Laboratory @pml.ac.uk · May 22

Honored to be among the 24 global recipients of the #BezosEarthFund’s #AI Grand Challenge for Climate & Nature. PML's Prof Kerry Howell has been awarded a $50,000 grant to support using #artificialintelligence to radically improve our understanding of #deepsea ecosystems: pml.ac.uk/news/project...

Project to revolutionise deep sea understanding using AI awarded pioneering grant from Bezos Earth Fund

The grant supports innovative AI-driven solutions to tackle urgent environmental challenges

pml.ac.uk

2 9

Reposted by Julie Robidart

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · May 8

Go see the #OceanFilm with David Attenborough (happy 99th birthday!).

I’d like to have a word with the scientific advisors. Among other things, phytoplankton doesn’t remove 1/3 of our CO₂ emissions (the ocean removes 1/4, but it’s abiotic) and the ocean doesn’t produce half the O₂ we breathe.

A person stands alone on a beach, facing the ocean under a cloudy sky. The scene is framed within a dark theater setting, with silhouettes of viewers in the foreground.

8 39 200

Reposted by Julie Robidart

Helen Amanda Fricker @helen-amanda.bsky.social · May 10

Wonderful to see AGU standing up for what is right. As an AGU member and Fellow I could not be more proud! Thank you @agu.org

AGU (American Geophysical Union) @agu.org · May 10

A victory for the federal scientific workforce! We could not stand by while this irreparable harm continues at NSF, NOAA and all our scientific agencies.

TODAY the judge granted our request to temporarily HALT the mass firings at federal agencies under Trump’s Executive Order.

1 10

Julie Robidart @robidart.bsky.social · May 3

vwt2oc.co.uk/2015/02/

5

Reposted by Julie Robidart

John Timmer @jtimmer.bsky.social · Apr 29

Good for the @agu.org.

news.agu.org/press-releas...

AGU files new lawsuit to protect hundreds of thousands of federal workers

AGU and a coalition of plaintiffs have filed a complaint in a new lawsuit arguing President Donald J. Trump’s February Executive Order No. 14210 directing federal agencies to engage in “large-scale” r...

news.agu.org

15 50

Reposted by Julie Robidart

Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · Apr 28

Don’t destroy your seed corn, says a VC director.

“The only thing more damaging than the recent attacks on our research universities is the silence from my colleagues in the venture capital world, especially from those who have the ear of the president.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/28/o...

Opinion | The White House Tech Bros Owe Their Fortunes to the Research They’re Killing

Underlying many investments are breakthroughs in medicine and technology from great universities.

www.nytimes.com

3 55 160

Reposted by Julie Robidart

Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · Apr 26

The world's biggest companies have caused $28 trillion in climate damage, a new study estimates

For comparison….slightly less than the total value of all goods and services produced in the United States last year

apnews.com/article/clim...

The world's biggest companies have caused $28 trillion in climate damage, a new study estimates

A new study estimates that the world’s biggest corporations have caused $28 trillion in climate damage, which is a shade less than the sum of all goods and services produced in the United States last ...

apnews.com

1 3 16

Julie Robidart @robidart.bsky.social · Apr 26

🙌 “…transitioning to clean energy mitigates both emissions and pollution-related illness; shifting urban infrastructure away from car-centric design towards active transportation… fosters physical activity while reducing fossil fuel use; and …plant-based diets enhances nutrition and sustainability.“

Howard Frumkin @howardfrumkin.bsky.social · Apr 26

Glad to share this short paper, just published, describing work at the National Academy of Medicine to promote broad system change (beyond the health sector) to confront climate change.

@thirdactorg.bsky.social @katharinehayhoe.com @maibached.bsky.social

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Charting a path to health for all at net-zero emissions

Climate change is the defining health challenge of the 21st century, with record-breaking temperatures and extreme weather events already exacting an unprecedented toll on human health and wellbeing. ...

www.thelancet.com

1

Reposted by Julie Robidart

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · Apr 23

Universities like mine are limiting hiring, travel, and other spending using federal funds because of the fear of things like this. It's basically impossible to do science, whether NSF takes back funding or not.

National Science Foundation Terminates Hundreds of Active Research Awards (Gift Article)

The agency targeted grants focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as research on misinformation.

www.nytimes.com

7 160 540

Reposted by Julie Robidart

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · Apr 22

Bikey McBikeface.

The image features a yellow underwater vehicle labeled "AUTOSUB BOATY McBOATFACE" positioned next to a white bicycle with a green bag attached. The background includes a brick wall, green bushes, and a door.

6 5 99

Reposted by Julie Robidart

Dr Angel Borja @drangelborja.bsky.social · Apr 16

Colossal squid filmed in its natural habitat for the first time | Science | AAAS

#marineecology

www.science.org/content/arti...

Colossal squid filmed in its natural habitat for the first time

The enigmatic predator, the heaviest known invertebrate, had never been seen alive in deep water

www.science.org

3 7

Reposted by Julie Robidart

GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel @geomarkiel.bsky.social · Apr 15

Scientific report on deep-sea research sees 2025 as a decisive year for ocean health 🌊

Led by Prof. Dr Sylvia Sander of GEOMAR, a group of internationally renowned marine scientists has published a Future Science Brief on deep-sea research.

🔗 www.geomar.de/en/news/arti...
📸 HROV Ariane, Ifremer

5 8

Reposted by Julie Robidart

National Oceanography Centre @noc.ac.uk · Apr 11

"The results highlight the need for policy interventions to limit the future flow of plastics into natural environments and minimise impacts on ocean ecosystems." 🌊

Find out more here 👉 noc.ac.uk/news/scienti...

1 2 7

Reposted by Julie Robidart

Ocean Technology and Engineering group @biogeosensing.bsky.social · Apr 10

📢PAPER ALERT! New Capability in Autonomous Ocean Carbon Observations Using the Autosub Long-Range AUV Equipped with Novel pH and Total Alkalinity Sensors
🌊 @biogeosensing.bsky.social sensors integrated in NOC ALR during OCEANIDS cruise
For more info👉https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.4c10139

2 4 8

Reposted by Julie Robidart

Scripps Institution of Oceanography @scrippsocean.bsky.social · Apr 7

🔬 Science makes our world better, safer, healthier and stronger. Scripps Oceanography scientists joined fellow members of @nationalacademies.org to call attention to the importance of funding science that supports not just the U.S., but our planet. @nytimes.com has more.

Trump Administration Has Begun a War on Science, Researchers Say (Gift Article)

Nearly 2,000 scientists urged that Congress restore funding to federal agencies decimated by recent cuts.

www.nytimes.com

6 25

Reposted by Julie Robidart

Jennifer Biddle @jenbiddle.bsky.social · Apr 4

Awesome @archaeon-alex.bsky.social !

Oded Rechavi @odedrechavi.bsky.social · Apr 4

That's dramatic (and cool): "archaea species can also form multicellular tissue–like structures when compressive forces are applied... ... These results establish multicellularity as a feature of all three domains of life" www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Tissue-like multicellular development triggered by mechanical compression in archaea

The advent of clonal multicellularity is a critical evolutionary milestone, seen often in eukaryotes, rarely in bacteria, and only once in archaea. We show that uniaxial compression induces clonal mul...

www.science.org

1 3 10