Archive for December, 2011

The Physics of Maverick’s

Friday, December 23rd, 2011
World famous surf spot Mavericks is visible from the south part of FMR.

World famous surf spot Mavericks is visible from the south part of FMR.

One of the reserve’s closest neighbors is the world-famous surf spot called Mavericks.

Surfline.com has a fascinating feature article about how wind, waves, and the underlying offshore geology (called bathymetry) combine to create one of the world’s top five surf experiences.

The feature is a slideshow-like presentation of text and beautiful graphics; use the “previous” and “next” tabs you’ll find in the upper left corner (after the 15-second ad times out) to navigate through it:

http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/mechanics-of-mavericks_62313/

Climate Change Effects at FMR

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011
Sunset from Seal Cove Beach

Sunset from Seal Cove Beach

Retired FMR Supervising Ranger Bob Breen is one of the experts interviewed in a short news segment about climate change impacts in the bay area. Bob walks the beach at FMR as he talks with Doug McConnell about the changes he has already seen as the water warms and the sweeping changes he expects to witness as the trend continues.

View the video by clicking this link.

The segment first aired on December 9, 2011.

Where the Stars Come Out During the Day

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

Thanksgiving weekend 2011 brought thousands of visitors to FMR, and they were all treated to some daytime “star gazing” in the form of the many sea stars that make their homes in the rocky intertidal habitat.

The sunflower star has up to 22 legs and can measure 3 feet across.

The sunflower star is one of the most special finds in the reserve. And not just because they have so many arms (up to 22!); they prefer to hunt in the deeper zones of the intertidal, and so they are most visible during very low minus tides.

Other stars we saw included bat stars, ochre sea stars of both the purple and orange varieties, leather stars, and the pink star.

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