Chris Maupin
  • Chris Maupin

    Chris Maupin is a research scientist at Texas A&M University, whose primary research interests consist of using the geochemistry of coral skeletons, microfossils and cave deposits to reconstruct climate variability and investigate climate change in the coral-rich regions of World Ocean. His day job ranges from from turning wrenches on mass spectrometers to culturing corals, with fieldwork in incredible places in between.

Recent Content

Digital SLR and sensor dust.

Digital SLR and sensor dust.

Shooting at relatively wide aperture, you may not even know your sensor has dust. Suddenly you get the opportunity to shoot some macro images. Excitedly, you open the RAW files in your processing software only to realize you have the dreaded "sensor dust", the bane of...

From Whence Came the Melting Ice?

Figure: Changes in ice thickness in cm per yr averaged over the interval from 2003-2010. Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Colorado. A pair of satellites, a part of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission, have been used to quantitatively...

Olasana Lagoon: The Ugliest Mini-Reef Ever Evolves

In December, I wrote a post about getting back into coral keeping after a long hiatus.  As I mentioned, the goal of this system was a small, but high energy system. Something to contrast the "less is more" concept that is growing in popularity. In other words, a "more...

Kreisels for Corals

Kreisels for Corals

Most well informed hobbyists are aware that pelagic species of jellyfish are cultured and maintained in kreisel (German for "carousel") systems, where the flow from a pump is converted to a vertically circular or oval pattern of laminar flow. In systems which seek to...

The Ugliest Mini-Reef Ever: Airstone Skimming Still Works.

The Ugliest Mini-Reef Ever: Airstone Skimming Still Works.

Getting back into the hobby, I noticed a huge population of skimmers made for smaller nano tanks that didn't seem to exist in the early 2000's. Mini pumps, mini bodies, engineered to skim your nano tank. I can only speculate that this naturally followed the tremendous...

20 Million Year Old Aquatic Time Capsule Opened in Antarctica

20 Million Year Old Aquatic Time Capsule Opened in Antarctica

Image source: NOAA, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Marc Kaufman and Alberto Cuadra/The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/the-research/2012/01/31/gIQAASqGgQ_graphic.html After twenty years of drilling effort, Russian scientists...

The Ugliest Mini-Reef Ever: A First Journal Entry.

The Ugliest Mini-Reef Ever: A First Journal Entry.

In 2006, I gave up aquariums for what I knew was going to be a long-term hiatus.  I had been a part time aquarist, completely responsible for a collection of rescued and long term-captive corals collected under permit from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. ...

When the Fruit Stand Rots… err, Matures.

When the Fruit Stand Rots… err, Matures.

Video by Rich Ross I have known Rich Ross for a long time, let me start by clearing the air with that disclaimer.  You also may read this post and feel like it is a bunch of ass-kissing.  If that was your conclusion, then apply for a MacArthur Grant, because that’s...