On March 12, with a concerted effort made by 70.8 Media Lab, Marine Operations (XMU), and Banlam Grand Theater, a marine outreach forum was successfully held at the Theater.
Immersed in the journey of exploring the ocean, the audience learned about fascinating and diversified ocean stories from four XMU speakers, including Dr. Haili Wang, Director of Marine Operations (XMU), Professor Feng Tong, Associate Professor Xin Lin, and Haohao Wu, Scientific Popularization Attaché from XMU Faculty of Earth Science and Technology. They were like couriers that connected the ocean with the audience, refreshing their public awareness, knowledge, and understanding of the ocean.
A group photo of all speakers, volunteers, and staff
Before the forum got started, an amazing science fair was also held to attract enthusiastic participants and visitors. XMU students with ocean-related majors volunteered to present marine exhibits and science projects from the previous open houses, offering the audience an opportunity to up close experience the charm of the ocean.
Have you ever thought about the mysteries of a bite of abalone?
Have you ever seen the incredible underwater world?
Did you know how ocean movement occurs?
Why is there so much sand at the bottom of the ocean?
What are plankton?
Participants were immersed with the amazing fair
Dr. Haili Wang, Director of Marine Operations (XMU)
With the efforts of several generations of scientists, the Endurance, the lost vessel of British Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, was spotted in the Weddell Sea at a depth of 3008m on March 5 - right after the 100th anniversary of the Shackleton’s funeral. The stunning news about the rediscovery of Endurance was soon spreading among oceanographers and explorers worldwide really fast.
The Endurance caught in the ice of the Weddell Sea of the Antarctic. Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The stern showing the name and the polestar symbol of the Endurance. Photo: Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust and National Geographic
Surprised by the news, Dr. Haili Wang decided to tell Shackleton’s epic story of endurance and survival at the forum. In his talk, he took the audience on a journey of Shackleton’s ill-fated but legendary Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, and the challenge of searching for the shipwrecks.
Back in 2004 when Wang worked at Scripps, he left Chile for his first voyage to the Antarctic. Deep in his heart, the Strait of Magellan, the ferocious Drake Passage, and the tranquil Paradise Bay live forever.
Feng Tong, Professor of XMU
Prof. Feng Tong, with a background in engineering and science, said at the beginning of his speech that he stayed in this romantic and amazing seaside city Xiamen, simply because he was fascinated by oceans.
Versatile underwater robots have been widely used in various marine missions such as oceanographic surveys and underwater observations. Besides, it is a trending quest to build a wirelessly controlled underwater robot. Tong is engaged in the research and development of underwater acoustic (UWA) communication networking technology, and building the underwater information link of the underwater robot.
In his speech, he presented the evolution of underwater robots and compared them to “AI assistants” for scientists to explore the ocean. He introduced the audience to various underwater robots afterward, including Remote Operated Vehicles (ROV), Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV), Autonomous Underwater Gliders (AUG), and wave gliders.
Lin Xin, Associate Professor of XMU
The coral reef has been revered by the Chinese for thousands of years, not only for its naturally fanciful shapes but also for its riot of bright colors.
Despite covering only 0.1% of the world’s ocean floor, coral reefs are some of the most diverse ecosystems on the Earth, serve as natural breakwaters, and have high economic value.
Lin Xin, who is deeply involved in the field of coral reef symbiosis, took the audience traveling in time to better understand coral reef ecosystems. In her richly illustrated presentation, the live audience seemed to dive into the deep sea and see the coral reefs first appear in the Cambrian period, growing, flourishing, and nourishing the Earth over the past millions of years.
Coral reefs and schools of fish, Photo: Web Image Gallery
Unfortunately, in the past four decades, the survival of coral reefs has been severely threatened by global warming, ocean acidification, extreme weather, and anthropogenic activities. Many of these threats stress corals, leading to coral bleaching and possible death. If the bleaching happens and the conditions are improved before they die, it will take years for the ecosystem to fully heal. She called for actions that people should take to help consrve coral reefs.
Bleaching of coral reefs, Photo: Web Image Gallery
Haohao Wu, Scientific Popularization Attaché from XMU Faculty of Earth Science and Technology
The last speaker was Haohao Wu, who just got his Ph.D. degree in Marine Biology at XMU a few months ago. Compared with the other three speakers who were senior oceanographers deeply involved in marine science for many years, he said jokingly that he was also a “senior marine youth”.
By showing various seafood pictures taken in a local seafood market, Wu explained what they were and where they came from, successfully arousing the audience’s curiosity about marine life.
Seafood in the Bashi seafood market of Xiamen (Photo: Haohao Wu)
Then he introduced deep-sea skates, the “Nezha” in the sea, which can take more than three years for a baby skate to hatch from its ochre-colored egg case. These deep-sea skates use hydrothermal vents, also known as “black smokers”, as egg incubators to speed up development. This wonderful fact displayed the beauty of the ocean and made people reflect on how well they truly know about it.
Eggs of deep-sea skates (Photo: Web Image Gallery)
Q&A session
During the live Q&A session, the speakers and the audience interactively exchanged views on certain topics such as how to enlighten kids about the ocean.
Source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/kt5mKLGB6TB6LCXCmGjz_w
