3/25 Stilly slide, Texas spill, oil effects, BC pipe protest, DuPont shore, Pt Townsend MSC, fracking sand

Fang tooth and abyssal hatchet fish (Norbert Wu)

A wild ride through the ocean's strangest creatures
From the immortal jellyfish to death-defying icefish, it's a safari out there in the ocean, say Stephen and Anthony Palumbi in The Extreme Life of the Sea. Adrian Barnett reviews. (New Scientist)

Aerial History and LiDAR of the Stilliguamish Blocking Landslide
Well worth reading: Geologist Dan McShane provides a very cogent analysis of what happened and why at the Stilliguamish slide. See also: Landslide that hit Port Alice in 1975: 'All we saw was rock and mud'

Crews clean up oil spill in Texas shipping channel
Cannon booms reverberate across the Houston Ship Channel, a scare tactic to keep birds away from oil-slicked beaches. On a mainland shore near a line of refineries, crews scour the sand for quarter-sized tar balls that have washed ashore. Far on the horizon a few ships floated outside the channel, among the dozens of vessels waiting for the U.S. Coast Guard to reopen one of the nation's busiest seaports after a barge collision dumped as many as 170,000 gallons of heavy oil into the water. Juan A. Lozano and Nomaan Merchant report. (Associated Press)

Seattle scientists show how Deepwater Horizon spill caused heart damage in young tuna
On the 25th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez disaster, Seattle scientists are adding to the evidence that oil spills exact a toll far beyond soiled beaches and seabirds drenched in crude. The latest findings, published Monday, document toxic effects on the hearts of young tuna and other top predator fish from the Gulf of Mexico — where the 2010 explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 people and unleashed the biggest marine spill in U.S. history. Sandi Doughton reports. (Seattle Times)

B.C. oil pipeline opponents mark 25 years since Exxon spill
Opponents of any increase in oil tankers off the B.C. coast are marking the 25th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill by launching a renewed campaign against two major pipeline projects. Coastal First Nations are running newspaper and radio ads about the impacts they fear from oil spills at sea from Enbridge's Northern Gateway and Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipelines. (CBC)

Coalition of partners preserves and protects Puget Sound shoreline area
Mayor Michael Grayum has signed two conservation agreements, significant actions that are part of a collaborative effort to restore the Sequalitchew Creek Watershed in DuPont. The first easement preserves and permanently protects a mile of Puget Sound shoreline as well as a 45-acre bluff of forest land granted to DuPont by CalPortland Company. The second easement establishes a location for a future pedestrian trail, creating public access. The easements are part of a settlement agreement announced Jan. 25, 2012, that was established in partnership with the Department of Ecology, CalPortland, DuPont, and a broad-based environmental coalition. (Dept of Ecology)

Port Townsend marine center focuses on local sea life for Friday season opener
An intimate display of animals that can be found in local waters will be on view to the public this Friday as the Port Townsend Marine Science Center opens its doors for the season... The marine display, which features 14 tanks with thousands of different animals, is located at the end of the pier that extends from Fort Worden State Park. The new season begins Friday with a public feed where visitors are invited to help feed the animals at 2 p.m.. Charlie Bermant reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

25 speakers oppose fracking sand
The Port of Olympia commission voted 2-1 Monday night to seek bids for a new marine terminal warehouse. But before that happened, commission members got an earful from more than 20 residents who testified against it. It wasn’t the warehouse structure they were concerned about, but rather that ceramic proppants — known more commonly as fracking sand — would be stored inside it. The product and the oil extraction process have drawn the ire of environmentalists nationwide.... The proposed 50,000-square-foot new warehouse would handle similar cargo. It would be built between the port’s current warehouse and administrative building. Rolf Boone reports. (Olympian)

Now, your tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- 300 AM PDT TUE MAR 25 2014
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON PDT TODAY THROUGH LATE TONIGHT
TODAY
SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT...RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT. SW SWELL 7
 FT AT 9 SECONDS. RAIN THIS MORNING...THEN SHOWERS AND SLIGHT CHANCE OF TSTMS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT
SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 9 FT AT 11 SECONDS. SHOWERS AND SLIGHT CHANCE OF TSTMS...THEN SHOWERS
 LIKELY AFTER MIDNIGHT.

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