The ocean absorbs almost half of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities, changing its chemistry in ways that may have significant effects on marine ecosystems. Join Scripps marine chemist Andrew Dickson as he explains what we know --Đ and what we don't --Đ about this emerging problem. (56 minutes)

Polar ice sheets are sensitive indicators of current climate and also preserve evidence of past climate conditions. Scientists studying Earth's climate history core thousands of meters deep into ancient ice to retrieve gas bubbles trapped in ice sheets. Ice cores help reconstruct climatic conditions from hundreds of thousands of years ago. Join Dr. Jeff Severinghaus as he explains how gas bubbles are trapped, how they provide detailed chemical clues to the past and how they are helping to shape future climate scenarios. (45 minutes)

Climate has enormous impacts on the marine life off California, influencing its major fisheries and the abundance of krill, seabirds and mammals. Join Tony Koslow as he shows how a 60-year ocean observation program, the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (or CalCOFI) is unraveling the impacts of the El Ni–o/La Ni–a cycle and human-induced climate. (52 minutes)

Coral reefs are among the most productive and biodiverse environments on the Planet. Join Scripps Oceanography marine ecologist Stuart Sandin as he describes his travels to untouched parts of the globe to conduct scientific research aimed at understanding and protecting these fragile ecosystems. Learn how he and his colleagues are working to establish the scientific basis for what constitutes a healthy coral reef and how they are probing the causes of coral reef decline. (58 minutes)

Microbes rule the reef. They determine both coral reef health and decline. Exploration of their diverse roles in these ecosystems has become possible only recently with the development of new research methods, such as metagenomics. Join San Diego State microbial ecologist Forest Rohwer as he builds his case for the role of microbes in the DDAMnation of coral reefs. His research expeditions to the remote Line Islands, including trips with Scripps scientists, have provided new insights into the mechanisms by which human activities can influence reef health; how we convert the essential microbial partners of a healthy coral reef ecosystem into coral killers. (28 minutes)

The magnitude and timing of global sea level change remains one of the outstanding questions in global change research. Join researcher Shad O'Neel for a tour of coastal glaciers and learn why scientists believe these glaciers' unique behavior will make them one of the largest contributors to sea level rise in the next century. (56 minutes)

Join Philip Hastings, curator of the Marine Vertebrate Collection at Scripps and learn how research on fishes of the Gulf of California and Southern California is essential for guiding conservation efforts aimed at protecting marine fisheries and ecosystems. (56 minutes)

Technological advancements over the last decade mean that many fish are now swimming around with their own personal computers. These new tools allow researchers to track movements and behaviors in more complex ways without ever getting wet. Join NOAA marine biologist Heidi Dewar to learn about the intriguing discoveries researchers have made and how these high-tech efforts have advanced ocean management and conservation. (54 minutes)

Join climate modeling expert Guillermo Auad as he explains the various kinds of models that researchers use to understand and forecast climate scenarios and how this science has impacts well outside of the research community. (46 minutes)

The growth of Chinese and Indian economies is improving their well being, but at a very high environmental cost. Widespread air pollution and greenhouse gases are having a range of complex effects on both regional and global climate. Join Scripps Oceanography atmospheric science researcher V. Ramanathan as he explains that while science can offer practical solutions, the effectiveness of these strategies will hinge on global cooperation and immediate implementation. (54 minutes)

Climate researchers have long understood that human induced changes to Earth's atmosphere should impact climate in the polar regions earlier and more dramatically than in most other places. Explore the unique meteorology, oceanography, and ecology of both the Arctic and Antarctic with Dr. Dan Lubin as he describes observations that indicate unmistakable signs of anthropogenic climate change in both the Arctic and Antarctic. (46 minutes)

From mangroves to deep-sea reefs, join Brad Erisman and Octavio Aburto-Oropeza on a grand tour presenting the diversity of marine life in the Gulf of California. Learn how humans impact these fragile ecosystems and how marine reserves and habitat monitoring provide scientists with critical information needed to protect and restore these amazing ecosystems. (51 minutes)

In this Second Annual Keeling Lecture from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, Lonnie G. Thompson, distinguished professor of earth sciences at Ohio State University and recipient of both the National Medal of Science and the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, provides insight into the convincing evidence of climate change provided by glaciers and polar ice-caps, and the implications that inaction in the face of this rapid change will have on societies on a global scale. (58 minutes)

A group of Scripps graduate researchers recently returned from a 20-day expedition to the ŇGreat Pacific Garbage Patch,Ó a little-studied remote ocean region where plastic debris accumulates. Join Miriam Goldstein, chief scientist on the cruise, and colleagues Pete Davison and Chelsea Rochman, as they discuss the garbage patch, why itŐs there, and how they are exploring and analyzing the problem of plastic in the North Pacific Ocean. (50 minutes)

Explore naturally occurring frozen methane deposits under the sea with renowned geochemist Miriam Kastner and discover whether or not they are a hazard to climate change. (53 minutes)

Peak oil may have come and gone, yet we are using oil faster than we are discovering it and have only just begun to think about alternatives. Join Scripps Oceanography geophysicist Steve Constable and learn how he is using sophisticated marine electromagnetic techniques to find dwindling offshore reserves during our transition from the hydrocarbon age to beyond petroleum. (54 minutes)

The Chukchi Sea, a broad and shallow sea between Siberia and Alaska, has a profound influence on Arctic climate and on the supply of fresh water and nutrients to the Arctic Ocean. Join Scripps Oceanography geophysicist Neal Driscoll as he presents research findings from two Arctic cruises onboard the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy that provide intriguing new insightsinto the complex climatic and sea level history of the Arctic. (55 minutes)

Little is known of the initial phase of the sea turtle's lifecycle,especially the critically endangered leatherback. Ocean surface currents play an important role as "conveyer belts" for hatchlings, but these strong swimmers might still be able to influence their trajectories at sea. Join Scripps marine biology student Geoffrey Gearheart as he explains how scientists are determining the dispersal patterns and mechanisms of leatherback hatchlings of west Papua (Indonesia) and how this knowledge may help tailor more adequate conservation measures. (56 minutes)

The sun dominates life on our Planet, yet we know astonishingly little about long-term variation in solar activity and how it might have influenced EarthŐs climate. Join Devendra Lal as he explains how chemical clues locked in Antarctic ice can reconstruct 1,000 years of solar activity and how this knowledge is critical to understanding EarthŐs climate history. (52 minutes)

While often treated as distinct and independent ecosystems, marine and terrestrial habitats are intimately connected through a number of pathways, both natural and unnatural. Join University of San Diego biological oceanographer and Scripps graduate Drew Talley, as he discusses the ways in which these linkages are formed (and broken), and how connectivity across academic, public, and government sectors can help us to better understand coastal habitats. (55 minutes)