logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2019
59m 11s

13. Mercury in the Ocean, Santa in the N...

K. G. MUZIA
About this episode

Send us a text

You hear about mercury in seafood, and that you should be careful not to eat too much. But have you ever wondered where the mercury that’s in the ocean even comes from? 


On the show today is Dr. Carl Lamborg, a marine chemist, specializing in studying mercury in the ocean. Carl’s research has taken him all over the world, including to the Arctic Sea, and through different research institutions such as WHOI. Now Carl is currently teaching and conducting his research with UCSC. 


In this episode, learn where mercury in the ocean comes from, how it gets into the food web, and ultimately how we may have this neurotoxin inside our own tissues. Carl has a really great ask and resource at the end of the episode, so be sure to stay tuned to hear about that.

For links to everything discussed on this episode, please visit https://marinebio.life/carl

Support the show

GET THE *FREE* COURSE: ✨ BACK TO NATURE
Daily drops of goodness to bring your closer to Ocean, Nature, and Yourself

1:1 COACHING with KARA: ✨ APPLY HERE✨(limited space available)

✨BACK TO OCEAN RETREAT ✨
Weigh in here

Check out the website: https://karagracemuzia.com/

GET THE *FREE* GUIDE: HOW TO BE A MARINE BIOLOGIST WITHOUT THE DEGREE

PURCHASE ✨ SCUBA FOR BEGINNERS ✨ DIRECT DOWNLOAD

DROPS OF GOODNESS, TO YOUR INBOX: ✨JOIN MY NEWSLETTER

Up next
Jun 2025
Taylor Cunningham: Shamu Dreams, Underwater Photography, and Swimming with the Sharks
Taylor Cunningham is a trained marine biologist and shark diver. Growing up ten minutes from Sea World shaped what she wanted to do in life– and that was to train Shamu. In this episode, we dive into the controversy around aquariums and animals in captivity, the importance of kee ... Show More
1h 28m
Jun 2025
112. Shane Gero: Sperm Whales, the Importance of Culture, Decoding Animal Language, and Project CETI: Using AI in Science
Shane Gero is a marine biologist who studies whales. Growing up in Canada, Nature captivated him at an early age, and a childhood love for orcas grew into a career studying their cousins, the sperm whale.In this episode, Shane shares his path to working with the whales in Dominic ... Show More
1h 2m
May 2025
111. Alan Weisman: The Magic of the Swamp, Eating Fancy Trash Fish, Poking Your Nose in People’s Business, and Hope Dies Last
Our world is in a state of change, and my guest today is asking the questions: What comes next? How do we adapt? And who is finding the solutions?Alan Weisman is an award-winning journalist whose reports have appeared in national outlets including The Atlantic Monthly and NPR, am ... Show More
53 m
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2024
How studying octopus nurseries can shape the future of our oceans
Watching documentaries about the Titanic inspired deep-sea microbiologist Beth Orcutt to study life at the bottom of the ocean - a world of ‘towering chimneys, weird shrimp and octopus nurseries’ that she has visited 35 times. But Orcutt says there is so much we still don't know ... Show More
31m 12s
Jul 2023
Introducing... Ocean Matters
How We're Wired season 1's final episode will be with you next week, but in the meantime, why not check out our sister podcast Ocean Matters? Our ocean is the earth's defining feature. But the blue of our blue planet is so much more than just a colour. It is rich with life and pl ... Show More
4m 36s
Mar 2024
How Much is there Still to Learn About the Ocean?
How much do we know about the ocean? And how much is there still to learn? TONS! Aquanaut and scientist Brian Helmuth is on our show today to talk about all of the amazing things he has learned about while studying the ocean for his entire career. Listen and celebrate our 200th e ... Show More
38m 14s
Feb 2025
How Flavor Has Guided Human History & The Threat of Pseudoscience - SYSK Choice
Modern kitchen freezers are actually cruel to ice cream and other frozen foods. This episode begins by explaining why this is and why there is often ice crystals on top of your ice cream and how to prevent them. Source: Professor Richard Hartel author of the book Ice Cream (https ... Show More
49m 42s
Jun 2025
Ocean: David Attenborough's new film will transform how you see Earth
<p dir="ltr">"Once you've truly seen the sea, you'll never look at Earth the same way again."</p> <p dir="ltr">David Attenborough has spent nearly a century on Earth, bringing the mysteries of nature to viewers around the world. In his latest film, Ocean, he shows how humans stil ... Show More
45m 58s
Nov 12
How Science Can Hack Flavor
Will eating mint cancel out the feeling of spice in your mouth? How do you manipulate aroma compounds to mimic the taste of lemon? When it comes to the science of flavor, there is no shortage of questions to ask. On this episode, Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by renowned flavor ... Show More
30m 20s
Aug 27
Ice Sheet Time Machine
The US military carved a tiny city into the Greenland ice sheet. What they found, and lost, and found again, and what it tells us about climate change. Guests: Paul Bierman, geoscientist at the University of Vermont and author of When The Ice Is Gone; Richard Alley, geoscientist ... Show More
31m 40s
Sep 15
How to Harness Your Intuition & The Surprising Science Hidden in Music
It might sound strange, but the way you evaluate your relationship could actually depend on the chair you’re sitting in. Multiple experiments suggest that posture and stance can influence how you judge your marriage or partnership. In the opening segment, I explain this fascinati ... Show More
49m 19s
Sep 2021
169. The Science of Cool, with Dr. Troy Campbell
<div style="color: black; padding: 10px; font-size: 115%;">Today is a very fun episode about something that you might not think has a science to it, but definitely does which is so amazing! My guest is Troy Campbell, who got his Ph.D. at Duke University and has worked at/for Disn ... Show More
48m 49s
Jun 2021
The Science of Less ft. Leidy Klotz
<p>Today we are talking about the science of less or the science of subtraction with expert on the subject Leidy Klotz! He’s an amazing researcher, on the front page of Nature Magazine, and he’s going to teach us about how getting rid of things is a better way to solve our&nbsp;p ... Show More
58m 53s