One of the biggest decisions we have to make is whether to go with a Geodesic or Hemispherical style domed roof. Our roof is also a green roof where we’ll be planting over 2,000 native succulents, so our decision has to bring in drainage, steepness, weight limits, aesthetics and more. Ultimately, we’d love to see[…]
Here are a few links / possibilities as we move forward on developing our round structure with a domed roof! The infamous “Round / Sphere House” of Logan Ohio: http://www.artificialowl.net/2008/08/abandoned-concrete-round-house-logan.html A great blog post on round houses around the world: http://roundhouses.wordpress.com/category/70s-and-80s/ Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion House: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dymaxion_house
I’m feeling very lucky to have this incredible company in the bay area, creating ecologically minded, bamboo plywood. I couldn’t think of a better material for the exterior of Oceanic Scales. http://www.plyboo.com/products/flat-grain-bamboo-plywood
The “Touche” conductive sensor system, which was originally designed by Disney, is looking like a viable option for our conductive sensor system within Oceanic Scales. This DIY version is simple and straightforward: http://www.instructables.com/id/Touche-for-Arduino-Advanced-touch-sensing/
One of the most challenging this to deal with in any interactive art installation, is what to do with all the wires? Do you hide them? Do you integrate them? If it’s the later, how do you make it more aesthetically interesting? I’ve been playing with new techniques for coiling dried kelp around wire and[…]
I’ve been comparing various professional & DIY scientific water sensors for PH, Salinity, Dissolved Solids, Conductivity, etc. and have come up with these options. I just purchased an Atlas-Scientific Conductivity kit. While I’m told from a scientist friend of mine that they’re not accurate enough for published data collection, I’m hoping they’re sensitive enough for[…]
Here are a couple of great resources for research going on at UCSC in the realm of phytoplankton other microorganisms: http://oceandatacenter.ucsc.edu/home/oceandatacenter.html http://oceandatacenter.ucsc.edu/home/spotlight%20home.html http://oceandatacenter.ucsc.edu/home/spotlight_microscopy.html http://oceandatacenter.ucsc.edu/home/research.html And some weekly phytoplankton sampling in the Monterey Bay: http://oceandatacenter.ucsc.edu/PhytoBlog/
Little did I know that the bio-luminescent phytoplankton known as Dinoflaggellates are actually predators and eat other phytoplankton. While the rest are busy sequestering carbon and producing oxygen, these ones are hunting their own. http://www.mnh.si.edu/highlight/sem/dinoflagellates.html http://oceandatacenter.ucsc.edu/PhytoGallery/Dinoflagellates/lingulodinium.html
Here are a few resources on red tides and the “first flush” phenomenon. Both the result of an over-abundance of phytoplankton, often caused by man-made fertilizers and waste. http://www.lifesci.ucsb.edu/~biolum/organism/redtide.html http://deepseanews.com/2011/09/the-san-diego-red-tide-faq-from-scripps-professor-dr-peter-franks/ http://www.csgc.ucsd.edu/NEWSROOM/NEWSRELEASES/2010/PredictAlgalBlooms.html http://oceandatacenter.ucsc.edu/home/firstflush.html http://oceandatacenter.ucsc.edu/PhytoGallery/HABS_redtides.html http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2011/09/red-tide-off-california-coast-creates-blue-glow/
http://www.whoi.edu/home/about/annualreport03/research/highlights_picoplankton.html
A great image of scale when it comes to the wide variety of phytoplankton: http://www.jochemnet.de/fiu/bot4404/BOT4404_8.html
A great article on the key role that phytoplankton plays at the bottom of the oceanic food chain: http://discovermagazine.com/2004/aug/plankton-planet#.UWuhTIKTG3x Another great article on the adaptability of phytoplankton: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130308133057.htm A massive archive of phytoplankton videos not to be missed: http://www.planktonchronicles.org/en
Another amazing resource at UCSC for research on the microorganisms and their key role in maintaining the planets “Nitrogen Cycle”: http://pmc.ucsc.edu/~wwwzehr/research/activities/ http://pmc.ucsc.edu/~wwwzehr/research/
Ernst Haeckel is a true and constant source of inspiration, in everything and anything relating to the sea, microorganisms, 19th century naturalism or wonderfully blurred lines between science and art. Proteus: a very unique looking documentary on Ernst Haeckel More images & Info: http://www.kuriositas.com/2012/01/art-forms-of-nature-ernst-haeckel.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Haeckel http://abilliontastesandtunes.blogspot.com/2011/05/ernst-haeckel-part-1-of-2.html
