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Oil Exploration Leads To Video of a Mysterious Elbowed Squid
eldavojohn writes "A rare glimpse from Shell Oil of a giant squid brings to light the strange relationships some deep sea marine biologists have with drilling companies. The video of the squid (Magnapinna) is very rare as this creature remains largely a mystery to science. While some are concerned of a conflict of interest, biologists and big oil sure make for strange bedfellows. The video is from 200 miles off the coast of Houston, TX and about 4,000 feet down." Looking at this creature gives me the willies, frankly.
biologists and big oil sure make for strange bedfellows
Really? I would think that they (deep sea drillers and deep sea biologists) have learned quite a bit from each other over the years.
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Squid with elbows? What's next, jellyfish with knees and octopi with nipples?
In all seriousness, we should be a little concerned about the effects that our deep drilling is having on biodiversity. If we're just now discovering new species at the bottom, them maybe we shouldn't be drilling down there until we've explored more fully, if not just for the sake of protecting our ecosystems from us, then for the sake of protecting our oil rigs from the unknowns in our ecosystems?
The data doesn't care, but oil drillers are unlikely to give information that harms their potential to drill, and can afford to be "selective" on what they provide. They also have more than enough technical equipment and expertise to "improve" the data, if it is in their interests to do so. That is why it is generally bad science to get information from those who have a vested interest in your conclusions being what they want them to be. It has nothing to do with the camera and everything to do with the eyes far behind it.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
The data doesn't care, but oil drillers are unlikely to give information that harms their potential to drill, and can afford to be "selective" on what they provide.
The conflict is potentially deeper than that. The oil drillers, by providing the hardware, may be able dictate the direction science takes.
Its no different really than the cigarette companies providing the labs for cancer research. Any scientist working in the lab who finds that 'cigarettes cause cancer' is out of work... any scientist who finds that cigarettes and cancer is unrelated gets increased funding and access to better equipment.
THAT is the real potential conflict of interest here.
Really? You thought of squids getting hit by the drill bit as the disturbance to their ecosystem? Of course, you were joking.
Real men read Slashdot articles at -1, bottom up.
The oil drillers believe in science as long as it supports their worldview. That is, drilling for more oil. As soon as a scientific finding conflicts with what they want, however, you can bet said belief wavers considerably.
This ain't rocket surgery.
Probably would think the same thing about us...
The oil drillers believe in science as long as it supports their worldview.
The wonderful thing about this truth is that you can replace oil drillers with environmentalists, politicians, religious leaders, nazis, whatever, and it is still true.
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
What you say is true, but same can be said for any other organization that funds research. Everything from global warming to offshore drilling to nuclear energy has scientists on both sides proving their case.
Arthur C. Clarke:
"For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert."
Those who advocate genocide deserve every protection afforded by law, and none afforded by common human decency.
Truly awesome video and a truly awesome creature visible for the first time. Awesome might even be a bit understated.
But, the manner in which it was discovered? As ordinary as dirt. Face it ... imperial expansion, military exercises and exploration of the furthest corners of the earth, and beyond, and below, are all pretty much the province of the miner, the soldier, the geologist, the imperialist paying those salaries. There is nothing new about how this was found ... it's how EVERYTHING is found. The hunter finds the range and extent of the animals in the local area. The mapping of America was done by fur traders and those seeking treasure. You could go on and on.
There are those who oppose commercial enterprise, who oppose war and the exercises that preparation for war entail, who find man is essentially unkind to both man and the world he lives in. But, they learn from the adventures and the wallets of the "Bad Man".
That Shell released this video is hardly a surprise. Our entire knowledge of the world around us is essentially paid for by those like Shell Oil and those who came before them. Shell Oil is as interested in advancing our knowledge as anyone; perhaps more so because they intend to live in this world where this particular creature was found.
To imply evil intent is really off base ... they have plenty of opportunity to be evil the markets, on Capital Hill, at the UN, or the WTO. Note that few endangered species are likely to be found in those places, that is the environment of man, and is also the place where you are most likely to encounter the environmentalist, PETA, and the like.
They don't go a mile or more under the ocean's surface ... Shell Oil does, though.
I have never met anyone who works in the field for companies like Shell who is not far more aware of the world around them than those who occupy the cities and rail against the destruction of our environment. They have tremendous respect for the environment and the absolute wonder of the world we live in. Those who sit at their computers or write letters about banning plastic bags have no concept of the outdoors, usually. In fact, they rarely go about exploring the very city they live in.
is that the same anatomies keep getting reinvented for various reasons: environment, food source, etc.
so you have dolphins mimicking the body plans of fish
you have bats mimicking the body plans of birds
you have the herds of grazers during the dinosaur age and the predators who track them, and you have the herds of grazers in our age and the predators who track them
the same bodyplans and anatomical features and feeding strategies keep getting reinvented
and here, you have a squid, who has evolved to live like a jellyfish
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
In fact that reminds me of the movie Abyss.
And if you want inventivity, you will have to look toward SF writers, not movie directors.
The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
discovering a cure for cancer would be all in the interest of cigarette companies at this point
Absolutely... as an ex-customer of theirs, they'd be on their way to getting my business back...
If there were a cure to every known serious illness caused by smoking (cancer being just one of the many), I would happily start smoking again.
Quitting has:
I'll put up with these negatives because I know that they're far less serious than the health issues associated with smoking, but remove the health issues (such as having cures available at prices I can afford), and I'd go back to it in a flash.
My book about LSD and Self-Discovery
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Read the last paragraphs of that article. One can only assume that Shell are trying to clean-up their image after fucking up over a period of time.
In short, I need more than just the bleatings of a CEO in trouble to convince me that an oil company is fighting global warming.
Maybe you shouldn't be so naive.
Patriotism is a virtue of the vicious
Yes, of course you would have. Naturally. Without question.
I bet you'd disagree if I called you an arrogant twit too?
I thought the camera's movement spoke volumes.
To me it said "Whoa WTF was that (doubletake)"
Yes, because I'm sure that the oil companies are only using barely trained idiots to operate their multi million dollar ROVs for their exploration of oil worth billions.
Seriously, WTF? Do you think they spend all that money on oil exploration only to have some tool operating the ROV who doesn't know how it works?
If you knew the squid was going to be there and rehearsed it, you might have gotten a better shot. If you were operating the ROV in real time and saw this thing, your odds of doing better are pretty slim.
Cheers
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
No, you would not. This is a Remotely Operated Vehicle. The endpoint of the control is not less than 4000 feet away -- straight down. The camera is not anything like a camera you hold in your hand. The camera is specifically designed for deep water use; and not for taking live action sweeps. The water at that depth is close to freezing, there are currents, and there is immense pressure.
Videography is not limited to just the narrow uses to which you are acquainted.
Every mans' island needs an ocean; choose your ocean carefully.