Voyager Archives

These potbellied seahorses will be featured at the new seahorses exhibit at Birch Aquarium at Scripps.

Voyager: How does the tail of a seahorse work and what is it for?



Lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus). Photo credit: Phillip Colla

Voyager: How did seahorses get their name? Why are they called seahorses?



Depiction of subduction zone.

Voyager: Does the location of a volcano change the temperature of the gas or its composition?



Lava stream at ocean entry continues

Voyager: How does a volcano form? Is this a hotspot?



Voyager: How do scientists find medicines in the wilderness?



This organism was found to produce compounds that counteract malaria.

Voyager: How do you know if a compound kills cancer cells? How is it tested?



Voyager: Does smoke (from cigarettes and fires) have an effect on clouds and aerosols?



Voyager: As the Gulf of California expands, does the seafloor sink?



Voyager: What have scientists discovered about the Gulf of California? How long does it take to analyze geological samples?



A smoggy Los Angeles skyline

Voyager: How are aerosols formed? How do aerosols move from place to place? Do aerosols become concentrated in certain areas?



Voyager: How many fish species are in the Scripps DNA database so far?



Voyager: How do scientists collect tissue and DNA samples? Does a fish have to be alive or can it be dead or preserved?



The health of coral reefs is starting to deteriorate as ocean acidity increases.

Voyager: How does ocean acidification directly change coral reef formations?



Voyager: Will the increase in acid affect things like boats, nets, or fishing gear; not just the ecosystem?



A waveform image from a magnitude 5.4 Mexicali earthquake that occurred on Feb. 8, 2008.

Voyager: How do you know you are measuring an earthquake and not something else?



Several faults run through San Diego as part of the larger San Andreas Fault system.

Voyager: Is a large earthquake on the San Andreas Fault imminent?



Voyager: What kind of processes do algae need to go through before they can be used for biofuel? Can you use them raw?



Mark Hildebrand

Voyager: Where did you get the idea to use algae as biofuel?



Voyager: With sea level rising, will cliffs along the coastline fall into the water?



Lynne Talley

Voyager: How will an increase in seawater temperature affect ocean currents?



The thick mucilage cover represents a danger for sea-bottom communities.

Voyager: How does the unusual slime found in the Adriatic Sea affect animals?



Scripps scientist working at lab bench.

Voyager: Where does slime like the kind found in the Adriatic Sea come from?

Submitted by 4th through 6th grade students participating in Birch Aquarium at Scripps’s Summer Learning Adventures program



The process of gathering water for desalination could impact microscopic plankton that are caught in intake water.

Voyager: How do you keep intake pipes at a desalination plant from being clogged with plankton and seaweed?



Voyager: Does the excessively salty water created by desalination change the pH of the ocean? What is its salinity value?



Earth’s magnetic field protects us from charged particles from the sun. Credit: NASA

Voyager: What predictions are scientists making about changes to Earth's environment if the magnetic poles reverse?



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