How oil research protects ocean health. Understanding oil spills, offshore drilling, and marine pollution starts before any accident happens. In this episode, marine microbial oceanographer Dr. Alice Ortmann explains how scientists collect baseline ocean data to measure ecosystem health in oil and gas regions offshore Newfoundland. The conversation covers what counts as an oil spill, how oil and methane move through the water column, why microbes are essential for breaking down hydrocarbons, and how baseline measurements help scientists assess impact, recovery, and long-term change. This episode explores environmental response science, ocean resilience, and how oil research informs regulation, preparedness, and protection of fisheries and marine ecosystems—without alarmism, and grounded in real data.
Oceanography is a podcast that provides both entry-level and nuanced coverage about the science of the sea and the systems that shape our future. The show features interviews from leading scientific institutions to explore how our oceans work, stories from action-takers around the world to remind us where collective and individual agency lives, and on-the-ground reporting from major ocean policy events to understand how crucial decisions about the ocean are made — and by whom.
By uplifting international, interdisciplinary, and diverse voices, the podcast reflects a simple truth: we all have a stake in the ocean. And while the challenges facing our blue planet are vast, Oceanography shows that we have the power to meet them, if we just keep swimming.