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Episode 1707

Last broadcast Thursday December 27, 2007

Ocean Circulation

The ocean seems like a single static mass of water but actually it functions more like the atmosphere with eddies and currents and a circulation system that is not fully mapped. Oregon State Univeristy scientists have exciting new tools which are allowing them to track the complexities of ocean circulation. OSU scientists are using robot submarines, navigational satellites and computers to explore the movements of currents in the depths of Yaquina Bay off Newport. They're finding varying seasonal patterns of currents that impact how the ocean distributes heat and nutrients that support sea life. It took decades to develop systems that help us predict the weather in the atmosphere. Now scientists want to be able to do the same within the ocean, helping us better forecast the weather, develop pollution and erosion controls and aid in search and rescue operations.

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Historic Photos

Time travel to the past is an option thanks to a massive historic photo collection at the University of Oregon's Knight Library. There are about 500,000 images in the collection, 40,000 of which are glass-plate negatives. Thanks to today's computer processors, the crisply clear glass plates can be scanned and blown up 400-500 percent, revealing astonishing details of a bygone era. We'll have a look at what Pioneer Square looked like circa 1910, inside a schoolroom near Cottage Grove in 1905, a Pendleton photographer's studio and more. And find out how you can access this window to the past.

Images courtesy of Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries.

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For more information:

Project Intersect

• See the diary and photographs of Opal Whiteley, a girl growing up at the turn of the 20th century, at Project Intersect, a program of the University of Oregon.
• Online: intersect.uoregon.edu/opal/

University of Oregon Special Collections

• Explore an archive of historical photographs.
• Online: libweb.uoregon.edu/speccoll/photo/index.html

Hobie Cats

The Hobie Cat was created about 40 years ago to give sailing devotees the flexibility of launching directly from the shore and flying across the water. Field Guide travels to Hobie Cat regattas on Yale Lake near Cougar, Washington and on the Columbia River to see what makes this kind of sailing so addictive for Hobie Cat enthusiasts.

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For more information:

Hobie Fleet 72

• Sailors from NW Oregon, SW Washington and beyond!
• Online: HobieFleet72.org