What have we learned about microplastics over the last 20 years? This episode surveys two decades of ocean microplastics science: where microplastics come from (fibers, tires, fragmentation, microbeads), where they’re found (shorelines, water column, sea ice, deep sea), and what research shows about impacts across food webs and ecosystems. It also unpacks major gaps—nanoplastics, fragmentation rates, and the thousands of chemicals used in plastics—plus why scientists argue for a precautionary approach even as human-health research evolves. Finally, learn how microplastics are measured at sea (manta trawls, spectroscopy) and why contamination control matters. The episode connects the science to policy, including the UN Plastics Treaty debates over production cuts vs waste management.

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Special thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for sponsoring this episode.

Episode Guests: Dr. Winnie Courtene-Jones

Follow Dr. Courtene Jones on Blue Sky

Find the article 20 Years of Microplastic Research: What have we learned?

Connect with the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty on LinkedIn

Review Dr Courtene-Jones’ publications on Google Scholar

Explore artwork by Benjamin Von Wong

Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Plastic Podcast: The Truth about Biodegradable Plastics

Plastic Podcast: Busan and Beyond - A UN Treaty on Plastics 

Episode Transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media website

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art by Jomiro Eming

Theme music by Nela Ruiz

Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below

Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

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Marine heat waves can make summer heat even worse. New climate research shows that unusually warm ocean conditions don’t just damage marine ecosystems — they can also intensify extreme heat on land. In this episode, Mr. Hirotaka Sato, a Japan Meteorological Agency climate scientist explains how marine heat waves form, why the ocean stores most of Earth’s excess heat, and how a 2023 marine heat wave near northern Japan amplified record-breaking temperatures onshore. Learn the mechanisms behind ocean–atmosphere heat transfer, reduced cloud cover, humidity feedbacks, and weakened sea-breeze cooling. The discussion connects sea surface temperature, climate feedback loops, and extreme weather risk — and explains why warming oceans matter for future heat waves, forecasting, and public safety.

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Special thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for sponsoring this episode.

Episode Guests: Mr. Hirotaka Sato

Find the article we discussed, Impact of an unprecedented marine heatwave on extremely hot summer over Northern Japan in 2023.

Review Mr. Sato’s publications on Google Scholar

Visit the Japan Meterological Agency’s Website

JMA Annual Report on Extreme Cliamte Events

JMA Report on Climate Change in Japan 2025

Episode Transcript  and more information on the Pine Forest Media website

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Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art by Jomiro Eming

Theme music by Nela Ruiz

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Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

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How oil research protects ocean health. Understanding oil spills, offshore drilling, and marine pollution starts before any accident happens. In this episode, marine microbial oceanographer Dr. Alice Ortmann explains how scientists collect baseline ocean data to measure ecosystem health in oil and gas regions offshore Newfoundland. The conversation covers what counts as an oil spill, how oil and methane move through the water column, why microbes are essential for breaking down hydrocarbons, and how baseline measurements help scientists assess impact, recovery, and long-term change. This episode explores environmental response science, ocean resilience, and how oil research informs regulation, preparedness, and protection of fisheries and marine ecosystems—without alarmism, and grounded in real data.

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Special thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for sponsoring this episode.

Episode Guests: Dr. Alice Ortmann

Connect with Dr. Ortamnn on LinkedIn

Find Dr. Ortmann’s publications on Google Scholar

Visit the Marine Microbiome Forum

Episode Transcript  and more information on the Pine Forest Media website

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Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art by Jomiro Eming

Theme music by Nela Ruiz

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Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

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A legendary research ship’s final sail. For nearly 50 years, the R/V Endeavor served as a floating laboratory for ocean science—supporting 700+ expeditions, training generations of students, and enabling research from CTD/rosette water sampling to seafloor mapping, deep-sea coring, and long-term climate and ecosystem monitoring. In this episode, the ship’s operations manager Brendan Thornton and longtime captain Chris Arminetti take listeners behind the scenes of life aboard a UNOLS research vessel: the tight-knit 12-person crew, the evolution from “go dark at sea” to Zoom offshore, and what it felt like to retire a ship with a million+ miles in her wake. Plus: what comes next for the fleet and ocean stewardship.

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Special thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for sponsoring this episode.

Episode Guests: Brendan Thorton and Chris Armanetti

Learn more about the R/V Endeavor Here: 

Meet the next chapter: the Narragansett Dawn

Discover the University of Rhode Island’s Oceanographic Research here

Episode Transcript  and more information on the Pine Forest Media website

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art by Jomiro Eming

Theme music by Nela Ruiz

Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below:

Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

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COP30’s biggest fault lines, explained.

In this final installment of our COP30 arc, we zoom out from Belém to map the conference’s defining tensions: ambitious speeches versus stalled outcomes, science-led urgency versus market-led “solutions,” and the growing leadership of the Global South. We unpack why carbon markets remain so contested, what “net zero” really allows, and how China’s energy transition is reshaping the politics of global climate action. Then we go deep on the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF)—a headline proposal to pay nations to keep forests standing—through a clear-eyed climate justice critique from Carola Mejía of LATINDADD. We close with what COP30 did (and didn’t) deliver—and what to watch next.

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10 New Insights in Climate Science

Nation article

No mention of fossil fuels

1600 + fossil fuel lobbyists at COP 30

Indigenous Flotilla

Climate Home News Indigenous access to COP30

Climate Tracker Report

Episode Guest: Carola Mejía

Latindadd

TFFF: A False Solution

Asamblea Against the TFFF

Devex: TFFF Origin Story 

Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art by Jomiro Eming

Theme music by Nela Ruiz

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia and find more resources on our website

Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below:

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The ocean took center stage at COP30. This episode of Oceanography explores how ocean science, policy, and lived experience shaped the climate conversations at COP30 in Belém, Brazil. From marine carbon dioxide removal and blue carbon ecosystem restoration to funding gaps and governance challenges, the episode traces how the ocean is increasingly framed as both a climate solution and a site of urgent risk. It also examines what COP30 delivered for the ocean, where progress was made, where ambition fell short, and why adaptation, finance, and follow-through remain unresolved. Grounded in reporting from the Ocean Pavilion and informed by broader analysis, this episode reflects on what it really means for oceans to rise on the global climate agenda.

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Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese 

10 New Insights in Climate Science for 2025 by Future Earth 

Cover art by Jomiro Eming

Theme music by Nela Ruiz

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Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

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Voices from Belém

COP30 brought global climate negotiations to Belém, a city where the Amazon meets the sea. This episode offers a grounded introduction to the conference by centering the people who live there. Activist Catarina Nefertari and artist and event producer Danilo Pontes share what the event meant for their communities, the environmental challenges facing Pará, and how local experiences shape the wider climate conversation. This is the first part of a three-episode COP30 series, providing essential context on the host city before turning to ocean science and international negotiation dynamics in the episodes ahead.

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Episode Guests: Catarina Nefertari and Danilo Pontes

Learn more about Amazônia de Pé, Our Kid’s Climate, and Laboratório da Cidade. 

Find Danilo’s artistic portfolio here

Episode Transcript  and more information on the Pine Forest Media website

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art by Jomiro Eming

Theme music by Nela Ruiz

Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below:

Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Listen to Something in the Water on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

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Dive into the ocean’s rainforests and how to save them. This episode explores the science and hope behind seaforestation—the restoration of underwater kelp forests that sustain marine life, capture carbon, and protect our coasts. Joined by Scott Bohachyk of OceanWise and James LaFlamme of the Tseshaht First Nation, Clark uncovers how innovative science and Indigenous stewardship are teaming up to revive ecosystems once lost to warming seas and urchin barrens. From growing “baby kelp” to rebalancing ocean food webs, this episode reveals how kelp could be a key climate ally. Discover what’s being done, what’s at stake, and why restoring these underwater rainforests might just help heal the planet.

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Special thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for sponsoring this episode.

Episode Guests: Scott Bohachyk and James LaFlamme

Find more about OceanWise and the SeaForestation Project

Visit the website of the Tseshaht First Nation

The cause of wasting disease, discovered by the Hakai Research Institue

Episode Transcript  and more information on the Pine Forest Media website

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art by Jomiro Eming

Theme music by Nela Ruiz

Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below:

Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

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 Film sparks action: from screens to shorelines.

In this episode of Oceanography, host Clark Marchese talks with Julie Anderson, CEO and co-founder of Plastic Oceans International, about the Trees & Seas Film Festival and its “participatory film activism” model. We explore how curated films connect to on-the-ground efforts in global Blue Communities, turning awareness into cleanups, tree plantings, and policy conversations. Julie traces her path from witnessing a nurdle spill to building the SEE Positive Change film library, and we dig into timely themes—microplastics, ecotourism pressures, and how environmental stress can drive migration. Hear favorites like The Illusion of Abundance and House by the Sea, and learn how storytelling done locally and shared globally reframes who has the power to make change.

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Episode Guest. Julie Anderson

Find more about Plastic Oceans International and the Blue Communities here

Learn more about the Trees & Seas Film Festival here

Access the SEE Positive Change film library here 

More on The Illusion of Abundance here

Episode Transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media website

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art by Jomiro Eming

Theme music by Nela Ruiz

Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below:

Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

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Turn seawater into a species map. In this episode of Oceanography, host Clark Marchese talks with OceanOmics director Dr. Michael Bunce about how eDNA (environmental DNA), DNA barcoding, and genomics reveal what’s living in the ocean—from microbes to megafauna—using just a few liters of water. We follow the journey from deck to lab, then into powerful, human-friendly AI dashboards that translate massive datasets into decisions about fisheries, marine protected areas, water quality, and climate resilience. We also explore citizen science with easy eDNA kits and how these data help detect invasive species and track ecosystem health over time. If you’re curious how OceanOmics is transforming biodiversity monitoring into actionable ocean intelligence, this conversation is your field guide.

Episode Guest. Dr. Michael Bunce

Find all Dr. Bunce’s publications on Google Scholar

Learn more on the OceanOmics webpage and explore the OceanOmics Dashboard

Discover the work of the Minderoo Foundation on their website and on Instagram

Listen to the other PFM interview with a team of Minderoo scientists on the impacts of plastic on human health 

Episode Transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media website

Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia

Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art by Jomiro Eming

Theme music by Nela Ruiz

Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below:

Listen to South Pole on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Listen to Plastic Podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Listen to Something in the Water on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.