>> Sreenivasan: AS THE CLIMATE

WARMS, SEA LEVELS RISE AND

POLLUTION INCREASES, SCIENTISTS

ARE RACING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT

THE HEALTH OF THE WORLD'S

OCEANS.

IN ONE CALIFORNIA LAB, THERE IS

NOW A LONG-TERM STUDY UNDERWAY

TO TRY TO PREDICT THE FUTURE OF

THE OCEANS BY DELVING INTO THEIR

PAST.

NEWSHOUR WEEKEND'S IVETTE

FELICIANO HAS OUR REPORT.

HER STORY IS PART OF OUR ONGOING

SERIES "PERIL AND PROMISE: THE

CHALLENGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE.

>> Reporter: AT NORTHERN

CALIFORNIA'S MONTEREY BAY

AQUARIUM, SCIENTISTS ARE

CONDUCTING AN EXPERIMENT IN TIME

TRAVEL.

>> WE PUT IT IN ONE OF THOSE

LITTLE VIALS AND SEND IT OFF.

>> Reporter: THEY'RE PART OF

WHAT'S KNOWN AS THE OCEAN MEMORY

LAB.

>> SO WE CAN SORT OF GO BACK IN

TIME FROM ZERO TO THE VERY END

HERE.

>> THAT'S SO COOL.

>> Reporter: ITS MISSION: TO

PAINT A PICTURE OF WHAT THE

OCEAN LOOKED LIKE 200 YEARS AGO.

>> IMAGINE OPENING UP A BOOK AT

THE LAST CHAPTER AND TRYING TO

UNDERSTAND WHAT THE STORY'S

ABOUT.

WE'RE KIND OF DOING THAT RIGHT

NOW WITH THE OCEAN.

>> Reporter: SCIENCE DIRECTOR

KYLE VAN HOUTAN HEADS THE

PROJECT.

>> WE'’VE STUDIED THE LAND.

WE LIVE ON LAND.

AND WE'VE STUDIED THE LAND FOR

CENTURIES.

WE KNOW QUITE A BIT ABOUT THE

DYNAMICS OF HOW THINGS WORK IN

FORESTS AND DESERTS AND

GRASSLANDS.

WE KNOW A BIT LESS ABOUT THE

OCEAN.

>> Reporter: STUDIES ON THE

OCEAN'S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

ONLY GO BACK A FEW DECADES, SO

SCIENTISTS OFTEN CAN'T SAY WHAT

MARINE LIFE WAS LIKE BEFORE

POLLUTANTS-INCLUDING PLASTICS

AND CHEMICALS-- WERE INTRODUCED

TO THE WATER.

>> WE REALLY WANNA GENERATE AN

INFORMED BASELINE FOR WHAT A

HEALTHY OCEAN IS.

TO DO THAT, WE NEED MORE DATA

THAN WE HAVE.

AND TO-- WE HAVE TO GET

CREATIVE.

>> Reporter: TO THAT END, THE

YEAR-OLD OCEAN MEMORY LAB DRAWS

ON SPECIMENS COLLECTED BY

NATURALISTS AND EXPLORERS OVER

THE LAST TWO CENTURIES.

USING MODERN TECHNIQUES, LAB

SCIENTISTS CAN ANALYZE THOSE

SPECIMENS AND COMPARE THEM WITH

SAMPLES COLLECTED TODAY.

>> THE SEABIRDS AND THE TURTLES

AND THE WHALES, ALL THESE THINGS

THAT WE STUDY, THEY'RE

ESSENTIALLY DRONES TAKING

INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR

ECOSYSTEM EXPERIENCE OUT IN THE

OCEAN AND RECORDING IT IN THEIR

FEATHERS, IN THEIR BONES, IN

THEIR BLUBBER, VARIOUS PARTS OF

THEIR BODY, AND STORING THAT

AWAY.

SO, BY USING THIS APPROACH AND

USING ANIMALS AS DRONES TO

MEASURE THE ENVIRONMENT, WE CAN

ACTUALLY GO BACK IN MUSEUM

ARCHIVES AND RECORDS AND

REPOSITORIES AND GO BACK MUCH

FURTHER THAN IF WE STARTED

MEASURING TODAY.

>> Reporter: SEABIRDS-- GULLS,

CORMORANTS, AND ALBATROSS--

PROVIDE THE OCEAN

MEMORY LAB WITH A PARTICULARLY

VALUABLE DATA SET.

>> SEABIRDS ARE FAMOUS FOR

NESTING ON LAND, OF COURSE, BUT

FLYING THOUSANDS OF KILOMETERS

OUT INTO THE OCEAN, SOMETIMES

SPENDING MORE THAN 95% OF THEIR

LIFE ON THE WING, IN FLIGHT.

AND THESE AIR-- THESE ANIMALS

SEARCH HUGE AREAS OF THE OCEAN

FOR FISH AND SQUIDS, AND THEN

WILL COME BACK TO THEIR COLONIES

TO BREED.

>> Reporter: TO GET DATA ON THE

OCEAN FROM SEA BIRDS, SCIENTISTS

CUT SMALL FRAGMENTS FROM THEIR

FEATHERS AND THEN GRIND THEM

INTO FINE POWDER.

THEY THEN SEND THE SAMPLES TO A

LAB FOR PROTEIN ANALYSIS.

>> THEY'RE RECORDING ALL SORTS

OF INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR FOOD

IN THEIR FEATHERS.

AND SO WE RECENTLY DID AN

ANALYSIS LOOKING AT 130 YEARS OF

SEABIRD FEATHERS AND RECREATING

THEIR DIETS FROM THOSE FEATHERS,

FROM THE RATIO OF AMINO ACIDS

AND PROTEINS IN THOSE FEATHERS.

>> Reporter: WITH THIS

TECHNIQUE, THE OCEAN MEMORY LAB

HAS BEEN ABLE TO MAP OUT THE

CHANGES IN DIET FOR SEVERAL

SEABIRD SPECIES OVER TIME.

>> WHAT WE LEARNED WAS THAT,

OVER THE PAST 130 YEARS, THESE

BIRDS HAVE GRADUALLY BEEN

SHIFTING THEIR PLACE IN THE FOOD

WEB, AND THEY'VE BEEN EATING

MORE SQUID AND LESS FISH, ABOUT

TWICE AS MUCH SQUID THAN THEY

WERE EATING IN THE LATE 1800s.

FROM OUR ANALYSIS, THAT'S DUE TO

CLIMATE CHANGE AND DUE TO THE

FISHERIES ACTIVITY, THAT HUMANS

HAVE BEEN TAKING A LOT OF FISH

OUT OF THE OCEAN.

>> Reporter: BUT IT'S NOT JUST

ANIMAL LIFE THAT PROVIDES CLUES

TO THE OCEAN'’S HISTORY.

ALGAE SAMPLES HAVE BEEN

COLLECTED AT THE HOPKINS MARINE

STATION-- RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO THE

AQUARIUM-- FOR 125 YEARS.

>> THIS IS FROM 1916.

IT'S AMAZING THAT THEY'VE BEEN

PRESERVED, SO-- BUT WHAT WE HOPE

TO DO IS TO RECREATE WHAT THE

OCEAN WAS LIKE JUST HERE, DOWN

THE COAST, IN 1916 THROUGH THE

EXPERIENCE OF THAT-- OF THAT

SPECIMEN.

>> Reporter: SCIENTISTS CAN

ANALYZE THE SPECIMEN AND EXTRACT

INFORMATION ON THE STATE OF THE

OCEAN FROM THE TIME IT WAS

PRESERVED.

>> SO, WE CAN GET THE

TEMPERATURE OF THE OCEAN, WE CAN

GET POLLUTANTS IN THE OCEAN, WE

CAN GET THE NUTRIENT LEVELS.

WHAT WE HOPE TO DO IS-- IS TO

KIND OF REPEAT SOME OF THESE

THINGS TODAY, BUT THEN,

PRICELESSLY, GO BACK IN TIME TO

THESE SPECIMENS.

>> Reporter: OTHER SPECIMENS CAN

PROVIDE THE LAB WITH CENTURIES'

WORTH OF DATA.

>> THIS IS THE TYMPANIC BONE,

>> Reporter: THIS IS THE EAR

BONE OF A BOWHEAD WHALE, WHICH

CAN LIVE TO BE OVER 200 YEARS

OLD.

THE BONE CAN PROVIDE INFORMATION

ABOUT THE OCEAN THROUGHOUT THE

ANIMAL'’S LIFETIME.

>> YEAH, SO THIS ANIMAL COULD

HAVE BEEN SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS

OLD AND THIS SAMPLE IS FROM THE

EARLY 1950s.

THIS ANIMAL, UH, COULD HAVE BEEN

SWIMMING AROUND IN THE OCEAN

BEFORE THE DECLARATION OF

INDEPENDENCE WAS WRITTEN.

SO, THAT'’S QUITE AMAZING.

AND ALL OF THE INFORMATION HERE,

IT'S NOT JUST A SNAPSHOT OF THE

RECENT LIFE OF THAT ANIMAL, IT'S

THE ENTIRE LIFE.

IT'S KIND OF LIKE A BLACK BOX

FOR AN AIRPLANE, YOU KNOW, IT

RECORDS ALL OF THE DATA THAT

HAPPENED IN THAT WHALE'S

LIFETIME.

>> Reporter: VAN HOUTAN SAYS

THAT FURTHERING OUR

UNDERSTANDING OF THE OCEAN'S

HISTORY ISN'T JUST IMPORTANT FOR

POSTERITY, IT'S ALSO VITAL TO

UNDERSTANDING HOW CHANGES IN THE

OCEAN'S MAKEUP AFFECT PEOPLE

NOW.

>> THE OCEAN IS THE BEATING

HEART OF THE CLIMATE SYSTEM.

AND WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT,

AND WE NEED TO EXPLAIN THAT AND

TO EDUCATE THE WORLD ABOUT THAT.

WE WANT THEM TO UNDERSTAND THE

IMPORTANCE OF THE OCEAN, NOT

JUST FOR FISH AND THINGS THAT

SWIM IN THE OCEAN, BUT THE

IMPORTANCE OF THE OCEAN FOR

THEM.