SAMS Ocean Explorer

Marine restoration is the helping hand that nature needs in the battle against biodiversity loss and also a way to offset human impacts in the ocean.

But the benefits can be more than ecological.

In th…

With a global human population in excess of eight billion, governments and planners are looking to aquaculture to provide food security in a sustainable way.

But this is a diverse global industry that…

Oceanographers spend a lot of time exploring the deep sea, but what is it really like taking measurements in the middle of the ocean and how is it done? 

In this episode real-life Octonauts, Drs Neil …

Images of a seahorse clutching a cotton bud, or a marine mammal choking on a plastic bag provoke shocking and saddening reactions - but how much change is made as a result?

As they discover a new plas…

A discovery in the dark depths of the Pacific Ocean has been challenging the scientific consensus of how oxygen is produced and has even called into question how life on Earth began.

Photosynthetic or…

From creating the atmosphere that led to life on Earth, to providing food for the entire ocean food web, plankton have been pivotal to the world we know today. Indeed, by absorbing vast quantities of…

They are giants of the sea in northern Europe, yet not many people have heard of them, let alone seen any...
The flapper skate, considered critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Spec…

We've all heard creepy noises in the forest, but you probably haven't heard one like this...
In this episode, we hear an artist's take on what a kelp forest looks like below the water surface and list…

In part two of our season-opening episode, SAMS Director Prof. Nick Owens talks to host Euan Paterson and guest co-host Ross Lupton about his time as Director of the prestigious British Antarctic Sur…

To kick off season two of the Ocean Explorer podcast, host Euan Paterson and guest co-host Ross Lupton, an undergraduate student at SAMS, quiz SAMS Director Prof. Nick Owens on how marine science has…

Whether it's an attack by another marine creature, or disorientation in a noisy ocean, there are various reasons for marine mammals to wash up on the shoreline.
So how do we find out the cause of each…

A superfood, a sustainable source of fuel and an overall environmentally-friendly industry; there's plenty to like about seaweed farming!

But following some recent unsuccessful planning applications i…

Can whales be famous? Are they becoming more of less common in our coastal waters? How are they affected by climate change and pollution?

Despite being among the largest creatures on the planet, whale…

It's all contained within a yellow case, the size of a small suitcase, but the SIMBA instrument is revolutionising the way scientists measure ice melt rate and thickness and, more recently, how they …

Marine heatwaves are becoming more common and more intense.
They can have devastating effects on ocean life, particularly corals and other species that are fixed in one location.
This year, large parts…

A typical image of a whale is a majestic creature cruising through the deep and vast ocean. But our coastal seas contain unseen hazards, including creel lines, in which they can become entangled. 
Con…

Introducing the new Ocean Explorer podcast from the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), an ocean research institute and partner of UHI based in Oban. 
In this episode, part of our #WhaleTa…