Using sharks to study ocean oxygen, and what ancient minerals teach us about early Earth

On this week’s show: Shark tags to measure ocean deoxygenation, and zircons and the chemistry of early Earth

First up this week: using sharks to measure ocean deoxygenation. Contributing Correspondent Warren Cornwall joins us to talk about a group of researchers putting data logging tags on sharks in order to study how climate change is affecting oxygen levels in some of the ocean’s darkest depths.

Next up, what can 4-billion-year-old minerals teach us about chemistry on early Earth? Producer Meagan Cantwell talks to geochemist Dustin Trail about using minerals called zircons to deduce the chemical properties of the early hydrothermal pools where life began.

This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.

About the Science Podcast

[Image: David Salvatori/VWPICS/Alamy Stock Photo; Music: Jeffrey Cook]

[alt: Underwater photo of mako shark with podcast symbol overlay]

Authors: Sarah Crespi; Warren Cornwall; Meagan Cantwell