The SeaBank Chronicles

#14 – Joules of the Sea: The Hidden Lives of Hooligan

There’s a submersible in the SeaBank supply closet. Locate that—and some thick socks. We’re off to find some hooligan, and they like it cold.   Hooligan are a forage fish that spawn in glacial-fed SeaBank rivers where ideal temperature and salinity conditions support the survival of this rich species. Made of 20% oil, hooligan are a link between essential fatty acids found in plankton and the rest of the food web. Each spring, they return to the SeaBank’s icy waters where embryos tumble-incubate to estuaries before hatching. Hooligan have been a key spring food for Indigenous people for millennia, providing nutrients, medicine, and cultural connection in addition to feeding sea mammals, eagles, and other fish after a long, lean winter. As hooligan runs falter elsewhere on the west coast of North America, it’s more important than ever to protect SeaBank waterways where this key forage fish still thrives. When in doubt, just keep listening. Sources and credits [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Slc_F7lUNQEPw2hRBMhUbD7bGaiMzNxZ/view?usp=sharing]

#13 – Forests are Cool Place: 3 More Reasons People Need Trees

Sensors in your smart shirt indicate you're overheating. Follow the voice of your radio operator to the shelter of a forest canopy. This adventure in the cooling power of trees is sponsored by Earthjustice [https://earthjustice.org/]. You’ve worked up a sweat groundtruthing the SeaBank ecosystem. Lucky for you, there’s a forest in your future—a place where temperatures dip to human-friendly levels beneath feathery western hemlocks and prickly Sitka spruce. But it’s not just shade that makes this old growth forest a cool place. Amid a soundtrack of rustling treetops, flowing water, and spellbinding musical interludes, you’ll learn three ways that forests help cool our planet, beyond the shade factor and the major benefit of climate sequestration. It’s all about those piney smells wafting around you, branches sighing overhead, and the voracious appetite of hydrogen bonds. Think forests are passive players in climate-proofing our world? Think again. More information about the connection between people and forests at www.earthjustice.org [http://www.earthjustice.org]. The SeaBank Chronicles [https://thealaskatrust.org/seabankchroniclespodcast] is a natural sound theater transporting you through the living science of Southeast Alaska. Combining facts and mystery, each 7-minute episode delivers listeners to Alaska’s coastal rainforest to groundtruth terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Immerse yourself in rich audio effects woven with lush voice narration for an experience that is educational and spellbinding. A project of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, The SeaBank Chronicles is written, hosted, and produced by Beth Short-Rhoads. When in doubt, just keep listening. Sources and credits. [https://drive.google.com/file/d/15Jd5m1TrgBzNartIbteNIvXXHEz3UooR/view?usp=sharing]

#12 – A Salmon Habitat Mosaic: Why Glaciers and Volcanoes Matter to Fish

Grab all the foul-weather gear you can find—in this transmission, you’ll trek across a tumultuous landscape in search of resilience strategies for wild Alaska salmon. Sponsored by Acme Smoked Fish. Ice-age glaciers, volcanoes, tectonic motion, windstorms, and flooding are all part of the package when it comes to salmon’s biggest defense against climate change: genetic diversity. While Alaska is home to five species of Pacific salmon, its genetically-distinct stocks number in the hundreds of perhaps even thousands. With subtle differences in appearance and behavior, these robust populations embody what scientists call the “portfolio effect.” What does this mean and how can it help salmon remain climate resilient? Find out as you enjoy a soundtrack of immersive sounds and musical interludes that take you from the placid lakes of Alaska’s Bristol Bay region to the rushing rivers of Southeast. Then, read Sockeye 101 at www.acmesmokedfish.com [http://www.acmesmokedfish.com]. The SeaBank Chronicles is a natural sound theater transporting you through the living science of Southeast Alaska. Combining facts and mystery, each 7-minute episode delivers listeners to Alaska’s coastal rainforest to groundtruth terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Immerse yourself in rich audio effects woven with lush voice narration for an experience that is educational and spellbinding. A project of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, The SeaBank Chronicles is written, hosted, and produced by Beth Short-Rhoads. When in doubt, just keep listening. Sources and credits. [https://drive.google.com/file/d/196IKz5aKU5cKLLAj0lA0o_MBQWljV7O8/view?usp=sharing]

#11 – Cracking the Black Cod Code: Why is Sablefish So Rich?

You're cold. You're wet. You're hungry. Come in out of the rain for a classic SeaBank dinner. This culinary adventure is sponsored by Sitka Seafood Market. After groundtruthing the SeaBank ecosystem, it's time to gather around a crackling fire in a cozy SeaBank outpost to explore a delicious recipe—miso and soy-glazed sablefish. Amid a collage of lively cooking sounds and musical soundtrack that features the traditional Japanese folk song “Sakura,” you’ll break the black cod code to answer the question: why is this species so abundant in healthy, marine-derived lipids like omega-3 oils DHA and EPA? It’s all about microscopic marine plants called diatoms that spin sunlight into sugar at the base of the marine food web. When fellow SeaBank groundtruthers show up in search of a hot meal, you’ll welcome them with the unrivaled taste sensation that is black cod—and the mystery of deliciousness locked inside the black cod code. To find the recipe featured in this transmission, visit www.sitkaseafoodmarket.com [http://www.sitkaseafoodmarket.com]. The SeaBank Chronicles is a natural sound theater transporting you through the living science of Southeast Alaska. Combining facts and mystery, each 7-minute episode delivers listeners to Alaska’s coastal rainforest to groundtruth terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Immerse yourself in rich audio effects woven with lush voice narration for an experience that is educational and spellbinding. A project of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, The SeaBank Chronicles is written, hosted, and produced by Beth Short-Rhoads. When in doubt, just keep listening. Sources and credits [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MSz1_O8DNCQVgO2BMywYfX_KTYbx--aP/view?usp=sharing]

#10 – Sandpipers on the Silvery Stikine: What's the Secret in All That Mud?

What's your boot size? There's a pair waiting in your Stikine River jet boat. This birding adventure is sponsored by Audubon Alaska. Step into another universe during the Stikine River Shorebird Festival, which takes place near the SeaBank outpost of Wrangell each year in late April. You’ll travel a 27,000-acre intertidal delta to reach an otherworldly expanse of silvery mudflats where shorebirds—including enchanting murmurations of western sandpipers—gather for a nutrient-dense feast during their migratory journey to northern breeding grounds. But it’s not crustaceans or worms those sandpipers are pecking at in the mud. What is this mysterious substance? Find out as you immerse yourself in the sounds of flocking birds, flowing water, and a musical symphony that invites your ears to take flight. Don’t forget your birding map from www.ak.audubon.org [https://ak.audubon.org/southeast-alaska-birding-trail-town/stikine-river-delta]—and your Xtratufs! The SeaBank Chronicles is a natural sound theater transporting you through the living science of Southeast Alaska. Combining facts and mystery, each 7-minute episode delivers listeners to Alaska’s coastal rainforest to groundtruth terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Immerse yourself in rich audio effects woven with lush voice narration for an experience that is educational and spellbinding. A project of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, The SeaBank Chronicles is written, hosted, and produced by Beth Short-Rhoads. When in doubt, just keep listening. Sources and Credits [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_Up88aSnOxq96Tl2VefXCg2XtvwRmR4D/view?usp=sharing]