May 14, 2012

I have been working on a new book called SEYMOUR SIMON’S EXTREME OCEANS. In the chapter called "Big Waves and Giant Tides" I write about places along the coasts of Hawaii, California and Australia where huge waves are regularly whipped up by strong winds blowing at sea.

One of those places is Nazare, off the coast of Portugal. Recently, a 44-year-old Hawaiian surfer broke the world record for riding the biggest wave ever recorded. Garrett McNamara, who started surfing when he was 11 years old, successfully surfed a 78-foot (23.8 meter) wave. His ride beat the previous 2008 record by more than a foot, and is now in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Click on the "play" button below to see this awesome ride on a magnificent wave!

I think I might take a shot at the record. What do you think? Can I make it into the Guinness Book of World Records as a surfer?!

Video © Billabong XXL, courtesy Telegraph.co.uk

May 3, 2012

Brazilian scientists have been studying a small fishing community in Laguna, Brazil, where fishermen work together with dolphins to catch their fish.

This friendly pod of dolphins works together, herding groups of mullet (a local fish) toward the fisherman who are waiting in boats or standing in the water. Then the dolphins slap their heads or tails on the water to show the fishermen where to throw their nets.  Both groups, the fishermen and the dolphins, catch all the fish they need by working together in this way.

What is most surprising is that It is one special group of about twenty dolphins that work with the fishermen, and they have been doing it for more than fifteen years. The men recognize them by their markings, and have even given some of them names like "Scooby" and "Caroba." There are plenty of other dolphins in the waters around Laguna. The others do not cooperate with humans, going off to fish on their own.

The cooperation behavior is probably passed down from mother dolphin to her calves, and that is how it is learned by the humans, as well. Elders in the community teach the younger fishermen how to work with the dolphins.

Photo:  Fábio Daura-Jorge

May 1, 2012

NASA has released this photograph of a flaming meteor that unleashed a powerful sonic boom last week, rattling houses in California and Nevada. The meteor broke up as it traveled through our atmosphere, releasing the same amount of energy as if there had been a 5-kiloton explosion!

A sonic boom is an explosive sound caused by the shock wave of an object traveling faster than the speed of sound. The explosion was big enough to rattle windows, causes many Californians to think they had had an earthquake.

"An event of this size might happen about once a year," said Don Yeomans from NASA. "But most of them occur over the ocean or an uninhabited area, so getting to see one is something special."

Who can tell me why most of these meteor explosions happen over the ocean, rather than over land where we can see them? Hint: Think about the big, blue ball that is our Earth…...

Answer: Brian B., one of our readers, was onto the right idea. Most meteors explode over the ocean because oceans make up 71% of Earth’s surface. That means that most atmospheric events are likely to happen over the ocean, simply because there is so much of it.

Photo: Lisa Warren / NASA-JPL via AP

April 26, 2012

Many of my readers were interested in yesterday’s "Writing Wednesday" story about the soccer ball belonging to a Japanese student that washed up on an Alaskan island more than a year after the big tsunami.

This is a photograph of Misaki Murakami, the teenager whose ball traveled nearly 3,500 miles (5,600 km) across the Pacific Ocean, from Rikuzentakata, Japan to Middleton Island, in Alaska.

In fact, it is not surprising that the ball showed up on the U.S. coastline - scientists expect that we will see even more debris in the coming weeks and months.

The reason is that when water rises or falls very quickly, it often creates a whirlpool. Think about what happens in the bathtub when you pull the plug and water starts emptying quickly out of the tub - you see a spinning whirlpool above the drain. This is what happens, on a much bigger scale, when a huge tsunami wave rushes in, and then pulls back from the shoreline.

This is a photograph, taken from a helicopter, of one of the massive whirlpools that appeared off the Japanese coast in March, 2011 after the 6.9 earthquake and tsunami. The water was rotating clockwise, which means it was pushing debris away from the coastline, into the Pacific Ocean, and toward the U.S. coast.

And that explains why Misaki’s soccer ball washed up on a beach in Alaska.

Seymour Simon’s new book, EXTREME EARTH RECORDS, is full of information and photographs about the biggest tsunamis, earthquakes, and many more Earth record breakers. It will be available in September, 2012.

April 25, 2012

Welcome to Writing Wednesday! Every week there is a new opportunity to publish your own creative writing on the Seymour Science blog. This week, we are asking you to read a science news story about a long-lost soccer ball, and then answer a question about that story.

The Facts:

  It is a good thing that Misaki Murakami’s name was on his soccer ball. He thought it was lost in last year’s tsunami in Japan, but it was returned to him after it washed up on an island in Alaska last weekend.

15-year-old Misaki Murakami was home when the tsunami struck Japan in March 2011, and he grabbed his pet dog and ran to safety on higher ground. His family lost everything, including their house, and have been living in temporary housing ever since. 

Misaki and his family members have been looking for their belongings, but the soccer ball is the first thing that has been found. His name and the name of his school were written on the ball with a Sharpie because this was not just any old soccer ball. It was a goodbye gift from his teacher and classmates when he had to change schools seven years ago. He has kept it next to his bed ever since.

Your Assignment: Once you have read and understood the story above, answer this question. Why was it so surprising that Misaki got his soccer ball back, and why was it important to him? Click "comments" below to write your answer.

Photo: NOAA - Jiji Press / AFP

Educators: Today’s Writing Wednesday is designed to use in support of CCSS Anchor Standard W.8: Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

April 13, 2012

My readers love animals, and when you all write about Earth Day, you often write about the fact that you wish you could help animals. You can, if you look for opportunities in your own community.

The Manns worked with local police to be sure they could safely help the salamanders. The police department has installed two flashing lights and a lower speed limit sign at the salamander crossing, and drivers get a ticket for breaking the speed limit. On rainy spring nights you will find the Manns, along with other volunteers, scooping salamanders into plastic containers, carrying them safely across the road to their breeding pond.

Thomas Mann, who is a zoologist with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, would like to see the state close this two-mile stretch of highway for the salamander breeding season each year. But until that happens, he, his wife and a handful of other volunteers are out there on rainy nights, trying to make a difference.

What kind of animals need help in your community? Could your local ASPCA use volunteers? Is there a wildlife sanctuary anywhere nearby? Or you could call your local Cooperative Extension to find out where volunteers are needed. Work with your family or your teacher, and I bet you will find a way to help!

Photos: James Patterson/The New York Times 

April 1, 2012

Today is April 1, and we are beginning our celebration of Earth Day with a report of the discovery of a new species on our planet! A chameleon small enough to perch on the head of a match has been discovered on a tiny island off Madagascar. It is called a "Brookesia micra" chameleon, and it is believed to be the smallest species ever found. This tiny reptile is just six-tenths of an inch (16 millimeters) long, and even with its tail fully extended, it only measures 1.1 inches (29 millimeters).

Chameleons (even ones as small as this one) are particularly well-adapted for catching the insects that make up most of their diet. They have feet like parrots, with two toes facing forward and two facing backward, so that they can grab onto branches and climb easily. Each of their eyes moves on its own, so they can see all around them as they hunt for insects. And when they spot an insect, they shoot their long tongues out of their mouths at lightning speed, enabling them to catch fast-moving prey.

Photo: Joern Koehler / Reuters

March 28, 2012

Welcome to WRITING WEDNESDAY! Every week there is a new opportunity to publish your own creative writing on the Seymour Science blog. This week, we are asking you to contrast two different kinds of science news stories - a firsthand account, and a secondhand account.

The Facts: This week’s big science news story is about James Cameron, the film director who directed both "Titanic" and "Avatar." On Monday, Cameron used a specially designed submarine to dive alone to the deepest place on Earth. The place is known as the Challenger Deep, off the coast of the Pacific island of Guam, and it is almost impossible to imagine how deep it really is. The Challenger Deep is 120 times deeper than the Grand Canyon and more than a mile deeper than the tallest mountain on Earth, Mount Everest, is tall.

Only two other people have ever made this dive. In 1960, Swiss engineer Jacques Piccard and U.S. Navy Capt. Don Walsh descended to the bottom in a bathyscape (a deep-sea diving craft) called the Trieste.

Read these descriptions of the two events. The first one is a firsthand account - which means that the story is being told by the person who was actually there. The second is a secondhand account - a story that is retold by someone who was not there, but has heard it from someone else.

Firsthand Account (James Cameron writing on Twitter): "Just arrived at the ocean’s deepest point. Hitting bottom never felt so good. Can’t wait to share what I’m seeing with you." 

Secondhand Account (U.S. Navy website):  "Only two people have ever been to the deepest part of the world ocean, and Dr. Don Walsh is one of them. In 1960 Walsh, along with Swiss inventor Jacques Piccard, piloted the U.S. Navy’s bathyscaph Trieste to a spot at the bottom of the Marianas Trench known as the Challenger Deep. Inside Trieste’s seven-foot diameter cabin and with more than 16,000 pounds per square inch pressure outside, Walsh relied on the knowledge and skills of the ocean engineers and marine technicians who built the craft and supported its operation."

Your Assignment: Tell us about the differences between the firsthand account and the secondhand account. Contrast and compare the two stories by telling us about the main focus of each. How is the information you got from each of them alike? How is it different?

When you are ready, click "comments" below and write about the differences and similarities between these two accounts.

Happy writing! 

Photo: Mark Thiessen / National Geographic

Educators: Today’s Writing Wednesday is designed to use in support of CCSS Anchor Standard RI.4.6: Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event of topic; describe the differences in focus and the information provided.

March 23, 2012

As many of my readers know, I love to fold and fly paper airplanes. I have been doing it my whole life. But a 45-foot (13.7 meter) long, 800-pound (363 Kg) paper airplane? That is a little excessive, even for me!

A few months ago, Arizona’s Pima Air and Space Museum sponsored a paper airplane flying contest for kids. Hundreds of kids came, and their enthusiasm inspired the aerospace engineers at the museum to launch the Great Paper Airplane Project!

Their project was completed on Wednesday, when a helicopter lifted the giant paper airplane high above the Arizona desert and then released it. The paper airplane flew at a speed of 98 miles (158 km) per hour. Now THAT is a paper airplane. I wish I had been there!

Photo: Joshua Lott / Reuters

Learn how to fold your own paper airplanes with Seymour Simon’s classic PAPER AIRPLANE BOOK.

Click here to download a free paper airplane pattern to print and fold!

March 5, 2012

Following last week’s storm systems that unleashed devastating tornadoes in the Midwestern and southern U.S., many readers are writing to ask about tornadoes and why they happen. You can check your library to see if they have my book, TORNADOES, which explains these terribly destructive storms.

I have also written often about Tornadoes on this blog. Here is a link that will take you to a list of all my tornadoes blog posts. There is lots of good information for you there.

My heart goes out to kids, families and communities in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina, whose lives were affected and in some cases, forever changed, by these powerful storms. 

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