Playlist: David Levin's Portfolio
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NOVA Minute: How to Speak Walrus
From NOVA | Part of the NOVA Minute series | 01:30
Marine biologist Colleen Reichmuth works with walruses. She says that, like dolphins, they can communicate using an amazing variety of sounds.
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- NOVA Minute: How to Speak Walrus
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- NOVA
Marine biologist Colleen Reichmuth works with walruses. She says that, like dolphins, they can communicate using an amazing variety of sounds.
NOVA Minute: Diving in Underwater Caves
From NOVA | Part of the NOVA Minute series | 01:29
Anthropologist and explorer Kenny Broad studies some of the world's most dangerous places—underwater caves called "Blue Holes."
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- NOVA Minute: Diving in Underwater Caves
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- NOVA
Anthropologist and explorer Kenny Broad studies some of the world's most dangerous places—underwater caves called "Blue Holes."
NOVA Minute: Speaking Ancient Maya
From NOVA | Part of the NOVA Minute series | 01:27
Anthropologist Barbara McLeod explains how she learned to speak ancient Maya.
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- NOVA Minute: Speaking Ancient Maya
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- NOVA
Anthropologist Barbara McLeod explains how she learned to speak ancient Maya.
NOVA Minute: Humans and Mass Extinction
From NOVA | Part of the NOVA Minute series | 01:29
Sam Bowring studies mass extinctions in the Earth's past. He says humans might not be around much longer... geologically speaking.
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- NOVA Minute: Humans and Mass Extinction
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- NOVA
Sam Bowring studies mass extinctions in the Earth's past. He says humans might not be around much longer... geologically speaking.
NOVA Minute: Leeches
From NOVA | Part of the NOVA Minute series | 01:14
Leech expert Mark Siddall explains why leeches can survive on nothing but blood.
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- NOVA Minute: Leeches
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- NOVA
Leech expert Mark Siddall explains why leeches can survive on nothing but blood.
NOVA Minute: Loneliness in Space
From NOVA | Part of the NOVA Minute series | 01:28
NASA psychologist Al Holland describes the mental challenges astronauts might face during a 3-year mission to Mars.
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- NOVA Minute: Loneliness in Space
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- NOVA
NASA psychologist Al Holland describes the mental challenges astronauts might face during a 3-year mission to Mars.
NOVA Minute: The Art of Archaeology
From NOVA | Part of the NOVA Minute series | 01:16
Archaeologist Mark Lehner says that his field is really about the art of observation.
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- NOVA Minute: The Art of Archaeology
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- NOVA
Archaeologist Mark Lehner says that his field is really about the art of observation.
NOVA Minute: The Star Trek Test
From NOVA | Part of the NOVA Minute series | 01:27
Planetary scientist Alan Stern thinks that when astronomers decide what is or isn't a planet, the criteria should be simple.
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- NOVA Minute: The Star Trek Test
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- NOVA
Planetary scientist Alan Stern thinks that when astronomers decide what is or isn't a planet, the criteria should be simple.
NOVA Minute: A Freaked-Out Physicist
From NOVA | Part of the NOVA Minute series | 01:29
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson says that when scientist Ernest Rutherford discovered that atoms were made mostly of empty space, he was afraid to get out of bed for fear he'd fall through the floorboards.
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- NOVA Minute: A Freaked-Out Physicist
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- NOVA
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson says that when scientist Ernest Rutherford discovered that atoms were made mostly of empty space, he was afraid to get out of bed for fear he'd fall through the floorboards.
NOVA Minute: Diamond Electronics
From NOVA | Part of the NOVA Minute series | 01:17
Materials scientist Stephen Steiner says that high-speed computers in the future might run on man-made diamonds instead of silicon.
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- NOVA Minute: Diamond Electronics
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- NOVA
Materials scientist Stephen Steiner says that high-speed computers in the future might run on man-made diamonds instead of silicon.
NOVA Minute: Triggering Earthquakes
From NOVA | Part of the NOVA Minute series | 01:10
Geologist Chris Goldfinger explains how one earthquake can trigger others in a giant chain reaction.
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- NOVA Minute: Triggering Earthquakes
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- NOVA
Geologist Chris Goldfinger explains how one earthquake can trigger others in a giant chain reaction.
NOVA Minute: Social Robots
From NOVA | Part of the NOVA Minute series | 01:21
Roboticist Cynthia Brazeal makes robots that interact socially with humans—taking cues from people's voices, facial expressions, and body language. She says that one day, we might interact with them the same way we do with our pets and even our friends.
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- NOVA Minute: Social Robots
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- NOVA
Roboticist Cynthia Brazeal makes robots that interact socially with humans—taking cues from people's voices, facial expressions, and body language. She says that one day, we might interact with them the same way we do with our pets and even our friends.
NOVA Minute: The Legacy of Hubble
From NOVA | Part of the NOVA Minute series | 01:24
Astronomer and astronaut John Grunsfeld explains why the Hubble Space Telescope will have a lasting legacy.
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- NOVA Minute: The Legacy of Hubble
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- NOVA
Astronomer and astronaut John Grunsfeld explains why the Hubble Space Telescope will have a lasting legacy.
NOVA Minute: Studying Mt. St. Helens
From NOVA | Part of the NOVA Minute series | 01:12
Ecologist Charlie Crisafulli explains how being at Mt. St. Helens when it erupted completely changed the course of his career.
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- NOVA Minute: Studying Mt. St. Helens
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- NOVA
Ecologist Charlie Crisafulli explains how being at Mt. St. Helens when it erupted completely changed the course of his career.
NOVA Minute: How Earth Got Its Water
From NOVA | Part of the NOVA Minute series | 01:29
Planetary scientist Geoff Marcy describes how the Earth got just the right amount of water to support life.
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- NOVA Minute: How Earth Got Its Water
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- NOVA
Episode 2: Into the Gulf
From David Levin | Part of the The Loop: Stories from the Gulf series | 09:15
Years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the fish in the Gulf of Mexico—in fact, the whole ecosystem out there—is still feeling its effects. How? In this episode, come aboard a research vessel cruising the Gulf to find out.
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- Episode 2: Into the Gulf
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- David Levin
Years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the fish in the Gulf of Mexico—in fact, the whole ecosystem out there—is still feeling its effects. How? In this episode, come aboard a research vessel cruising the Gulf as reaserchers investigate exactly how the oil traveled through the deep ocean, and what it did to the environment along the way.
Episode 1: A New Disaster
From David Levin | Part of the The Loop: Stories from the Gulf series | 08:03
Biologist Steve Murawski is leading a new team of researchers trying to figure out the long-term impact of the Deepwater Horizon spill—not just on the surface, but in the deep ocean.
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- Episode 1: A New Disaster
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- David Levin
Fisheries biologist Steve Murawski from the University of South Florida is leading an international team of researchers to figure out the long-term impact of the Deepwater Horizon spill. Their plan: focus not just on the surface, but in the deep ocean. In this podcast, we dig into their research.
Episode 3: The Little Guys
From David Levin | Part of the The Loop: Stories from the Gulf series | 07:12
In this episode, we’re taking a look at the little guys: the tiny plants and animals at the bottom of the Gulf’s food chain. Even though they’re microscopic, what happens to them after a major oil spill can have a big impact on the rest of the Gulf ecosystem—and on us.
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- Episode 3: The Little Guys
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- David Levin
In this episode, we’re taking a look at the little guys: the tiny plants and animals at the bottom of the Gulf’s food chain. Even though they’re microscopic, what happens to them after a major oil spill can have a big impact on the rest of the Gulf ecosystem—and on us.
Episode 4: Modeling the Gulf
From David Levin | Part of the The Loop: Stories from the Gulf series | 06:45
A team of researchers from the University of South Florida is building a virtual version of the entire Gulf ecosystem inside a computer. Why? Find out in this episode.
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- Episode 4: Modeling the Gulf
- From
- David Levin
In April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon spill hit the Gulf of Mexico, dumping more than 5 million barrels of oil into the ocean. Since then, researchers have been unraveling the impact it’s had on the Gulf as a whole—How the oil moved in the water, how it degraded, and how it affected marine animals along the way.
A small team of researchers at the University of South Florida is using those findings to create a virtual version of the Gulf ecosystem inside a computer. It's a staggeringly complex goal, but if they're successful in building their model, they may be able to predict how future spills will play out before disaster strikes again.
Episode 4: Modeling the Gulf
From David Levin | Part of the The Loop: Stories from the Gulf series | 06:45
A team of researchers from the University of South Florida is building a virtual version of the entire Gulf ecosystem inside a computer. Why? Find out in this episode.
- Playing
- Episode 4: Modeling the Gulf
- From
- David Levin
In April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon spill hit the Gulf of Mexico, dumping more than 5 million barrels of oil into the ocean. Since then, researchers have been unraveling the impact it’s had on the Gulf as a whole—How the oil moved in the water, how it degraded, and how it affected marine animals along the way.
A small team of researchers at the University of South Florida is using those findings to create a virtual version of the Gulf ecosystem inside a computer. It's a staggeringly complex goal, but if they're successful in building their model, they may be able to predict how future spills will play out before disaster strikes again.
Episode 8: Return to Ixtoc
From David Levin | Part of the The Loop: Stories from the Gulf series | 09:03
For the first time in 35 years, Mexican and American scientists are working together to study the Ixtoc 1 spill, a massive oil blowout that happened off the Yucatan peninsula in 1979. What they learn on this cruise might help them understand how major spills—like the Deepwater Horizon disaster—will affect the Gulf decades after they happen.
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- Episode 8: Return to Ixtoc
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- David Levin
For the first time in 35 years, Mexican and American scientists are collaborating to study the 1979 Ixtoc 1 spill, the second largest oil spill to hit the Gulf of Mexico (it was eclipsed in 2010 by by 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster). Together, the international team is collecting samples of sediments and tiny aquatic animals aboard the R/V Justo Sierra, the Mexican national oceanographic research ship—and what they learn on this cruise might help them understand how major spills will affect the Gulf decades after they happen.
Episode 10: Big Fish, Big Science
From David Levin | Part of the The Loop: Stories from the Gulf series | 08:20
Scientists at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, are leading a new experiment that will help uncover the effects of oil spills on fish in the Gulf of Mexico. It all starts with a tank the size of a swimming pool, 20 miles inland from the coast.
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- Episode 10: Big Fish, Big Science
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- David Levin
When when an oil spill occurs, it's extremly hard to figure out which major commercial fish species are at risk. A team of scientists at the Mote Marine Laboratory hope to find out, however. At a facility 20 miles inland from the coast of Florida, they're growing adult fish—some of which are up to four feet long—in a series of huge tanks, and are slowly exposing them to oil. They're hoping their experients will show them how various species are affected by oil, both in the short term and the long term. If chemicals in oil affect their genes or their breeding, they say, the future of those species could be at risk.
Episode 9: Mapping Oil Spills by Satellite
From David Levin | Part of the The Loop: Stories from the Gulf series | 09:50
The 1979 Ixtoc-1 oil spill spewed millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, but has since been largely forgotten. More than 35 years later, a joint team of Mexican and American researchers are revisiting the spill, in the hopes that it will help them predict the the long-term effects of more recent disasters. Their first step: some digital archaeology—dusting off satellite data from the late 70s.
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- Episode 9: Mapping Oil Spills by Satellite
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- David Levin
Episode 1: Mapping the Coastal Oceans
From David Levin | Part of the Deep Soundings: Stories from the Ocean Floor series | 14:52
When it comes to mapping the seafloor, the hardest spots to see are the ones just off the coast. In this episode, find out why that's the case—and how a team of scientists are trying to solve that problem using a radical new approach.
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- Episode 1: Mapping the Coastal Oceans
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- David Levin
Humans are pretty good at making detailed maps—so good, we’ve charted the surface of other planets. But ironically, we know more about the surface of Mars than we do the bottom of our ocean, especially when it comes to the seafloor just off the coast. Making maps of those regions is harder than you’d think, but maybe not for much longer: In this episode, scientists from the Center for Ocean Mapping and Innovative Technologies, or COMIT, explain why we've struggled to produce detailed maps of nearshore waters in the past, and how a suite of new technologies might change mapping in the future.
Deep Soundings: Stories from the Ocean Floor (Series)
Produced by David Levin
Most recent piece in this series:
Episode 2: Into the Field
From David Levin | Part of the Deep Soundings: Stories from the Ocean Floor series | 20:11
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- Episode 2: Into the Field
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- David Levin