Quiksilver Pro France 2012: Round 1 Upsets, Round 2 Match-ups

Round 1 of the Quik Pro France is over after two days of questionably contestable conditions. Random shifty peaks, largely closeouts, led to a kind of free-for-all where just about anyone could win. Heats were typically low scoring and it was often a battle of the backup scores. With these trying conditions, I suppose it’s no surprise there were a few upsets.

Jadson Andre barely squeaked by Adriano de Souza and Damien Hobgood with a mere 9.04 heat total. Patrick Gudauskas (12.70) beat Hawaii favorite John John Florence (11.67) and Miguel Pupo (6.86). What’s crazy is that a rookie was odds on favorite in the first place. Tour veteran Kieren Perrow beat out two of his much younger competitors, Julian Wilson and Adrian Buchan. Perhaps the wildest upset of Round 1 came in Heat 5, where Dane Reynolds edged out current world #2 Joel Parkinson. Always the space cadet, Dane floated through his heat seemingly without realizing he was even in a contest, and gave an equally spacey post-heat interview.

Of course a great number of the usual suspects won their Round 1 bouts and get to skip Round 2. Unsurprisingly, Taj Burrow, Kelly Slater, and Mick Fanning made it through.

With some crazy upsets, Round 2 looks really exciting. Joel will be up against Trials winner Wiggoly Dantas. Owen Wright vs. Matt Wilkinson will probably be fun too. But what I’m most excited yet incredibly depressed about is the all Hawaiian heat of John John and Dusty Payne. Why do they have to go up against each other?

At least the swell outlook is finally turning up. Let’s hope the wind doesn’t ruin it!

Check out some highlights:


QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:

Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Wiggolly Dantas (BRA)

Heat 2: John John Florence (HAW) vs. Dusty Payne (HAW)

Heat 3: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Taylor Knox (USA)

Heat 4: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Kolohe Andino (USA)

Heat 5: Jeremy Flores (FRA) vs. Yadin Nicol (AUS)

Heat 6: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)

Heat 7: Julian Wilson (AUS) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)

Heat 8: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)

Heat 9: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)

Heat 10: Heitor Alves (BRA) vs. Bede Durbidge (AUS)

Heat 11: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Tiago Pires (PRT)

Heat 12: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Miguel Pupo (BRA)

"No Other Love" - Common Kings

Addicted...



Town (finally) gets some waves

It's been a long, miserable summer for Hawaiian surf. A few small, fickle swells and alot of strong wind led to a less than satisfactory 2012. But in the dying days of summer, the south side is finally lighting up. Here are a few shots of the waves today.

 



The Quiksilver Pro France 2012 and the World Title Contenders

Likely to start tomorrow, the Quiksilver Pro France is probably one of the most versatile contests on the ASP schedule. It can be a fun and playful beach break where high flying aerialists shine or a heaving, intimidating cave of water demanding power, barrel savvy, and sheer fearlessness. It was here last year that a teenager from Brazil beat the most decorated surfer in history. With this year shaping up to be one of the most exciting title races in recent history, the Quiksilver Pro France may be a make or break event for a number of title contenders.

 

Who could win the title this year? Mick Fanning (41,250 points), Joel Parkinson (39,700), Kelly Slater (35,450), John John Florence (32,650), Adriano De Souza (30,650), and Taj Burrow (30,150) are all in the running if we are being really optimistic. In reality, I’d say the race is between Mick and Joel. Barring a miracle, Taj and Adriano don’t stand a chance. With two 9^ths and a 13^th, Taj has already expended his two throw-away scores and will have to keep a lowly 9^th (I’d say anything below a 5^th is a throw-away score for a title contender). Adriano has two throw-aways (9^th, 13^th) and would likely need straight 3^rds or better for the last four contests this year in addition to the four guys ahead of him suddenly imploding.  

Although John John does have a win this year, he too already has two throw-aways (9^th, 13^th) and is unlikely to win the 2012 title. That being said, I will never give up on John John until the math makes it impossible for him to win. Yes I’m playing favorites. He’s a Hawaii native and looks so comfortable in the water it’s almost laughable. So yes, I’m a John John fan. Emotional leanings aside, the last leg of the schedule does look to be in John John’s favor.  France, if big and barreling, is perfect for him. Portugal could be a toss- up. Big Santa Cruz is perfect for John John power hacks. And, well, he practically learned to surf at Pipeline.

Kelly’s in a tough position this year: he’s got two drop scores as well (INJ, 13). But he’s also already accrued two wins in the last three contests, including the most recent Hurley Pro at Lowers. I think it’s called being on a role. And he’s also Kelly Slater. So there’s that. But keep in mind that two drop scores means he has to perform nearly flawlessly in these last four contests. Keep in mind that he’s never won the Quiksilver Pro France. This contest could mean more to him than any other title contender.

With about a 5,000 point difference between them and 3^rd place, it’s starting to feel like Joel and Mick are fighting on their own. Both only have one throw-away result (Joel: 9^th, Mick: 13^th). But the differences lie in their wins. Joel, despite making it to three finals, has yet to get a win this year. Mick already has two. One of those wins came at the excruciating expense of Joel at Teahupoo (Joel was winning for about 99% of the heat, only to be routed by Mick in the dying seconds of the final). Joel needs a win here at the Quiksilver Pro 2012 to build up some confidence into this final leg of the year. Right now Mick is certainly the one to beat, as he’s remained consistently strong, with his only falter in the very beginning of the year (13^th at Snapper).

How do these guys look going into the Quiksilver Pro France 2012? Only two of our top six guys got a good result here last year: Kelly (5^th) and Taj (5^th). Mick got a 13^th, while Joel, John John, and Adriano lost in the first elimination round, earning a pitiful 25^th each. Mick has won this contest three times (2010, 2009, 2007). Joel has won it once (2006). Kelly, John John, Adriano, and Taj have never won it.

Final thoughts. Barring a first place finish at this upcoming contest, I don’t see Taj and Adriano in title contention. With three low scores already, I don’t see Taj with much of a chance either way. John John will need to transcend his years and be ridiculously consistent in these final contests, including the Quiksilver Pro France. Kelly just needs to be Kelly. Joel needs a win here, has anyone ever won the title without a single win? Mick is sitting pretty. He needs to be dominant here, but not as desperately as his fellow title contenders.

Check out the contest here: Quiksilver Pro France 2012

Dorks on a board

This is the best surf clip ever. Brent Dorrington, Ronny Nelson, and Kauai native Sebastian Zietz charge Rockpiles on a stand up. This is what surfing should always be: lighthearted, funny, and just a little bit dangerous. Enjoy!

Estimating Tsunami Travel Times

Want to know how long you have until a tsunami generated in Chile reaches your doorstep? To figure it out you need two things: the speed of the wave generated and the great circle distance between you and the location of tsunami origin.

Wave speed (c) is related to the depth (H) of the water body the wave is moving through:

c = √(gH)

 

where g is acceleration due to gravity = 9.8 m/s² and H is in meters. The average wave speed in open ocean is approximately 200 m/s. This is fine to use in back of the envelope calculations such as this.

 

To find the great circle distance between two points you need the radius of the earth (approximately 6370 km) and the spherical angle (ψ) between the points, given by: 

ψ = arcos [ sin(φ₁)sin(φ₂) + cos(φ₁)cos(φ₂)cos(θ₂ – θ₁) ]

where φ₁ and φ₂  are the latitudes of the starting and ending points respectively. θ₁ and θ₂ are the longitudes of the starting and ending points respectively.

From there, use the spherical angle and radius to find arc length (s): s=rψ. Once you have that, you can find the travel time of the tsunami: t = s/c. Keep in mind that this is very general and rough!

I've generated a Matlab script calculating the travel time for a tsunami generated in Santiago, Chile to reach Honolulu, Hawaii (~11.5 hrs according to my script). If you want to pick different starting or ending points, just mess with the latitudes and longitudes.

Interested in tsunamis? Check out these sites:
Violent Hawaii: Deadly Tsunamis
NOAA Tsunami Website
 

%Long Gravity Wavesclose all

clear all

c = 200; % speed of propagation (m/s)
r = 6370; % radius of Earth (km)
r2 = r*1000; % radius of Earth (m)

lat1 = -35.846; % Latitude of santiago, Chile -33
lat2 = 21.467; % Latitude of Honolulu, Hawaii 22
lon1 = -72.719; % Longitude of Santiago, Chile -71
lon2 = -157.983; %Longitude of Honolulu, Hawaii -158

cosangle = sin(lat1)*sin(lat2) + cos(lat1)*cos(lat2)*cos(lon2 - lon1);

angle = (acos(cosangle))*(180/pi); % angle in degrees

arclength = 2*pi*r2*(angle/360) % arclength between locations (m)

time = (arclength/c)*(1/60)*(1/60) % travel time (hr)

  

Mars is cool, stop whining about money and religion

I just watched this clip on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission (MER) and my mind was sufficiently blown. How cool are we, how ingenious, that we can design a series of small robots to not only travel a distance of 55 million kilometers (that's seven long months of loneliness) but to also successfully hit an inconceivably small target and survive?



I guess I must be alone in that though. You know, the doe-eyed wonder at our ability to create? Yea apparently I'm the only one who's not jaded because just about every comment under this clip was either about the 'ridiculous' cost or how this video somehow affronts their religious views (you gotta love people like that, or where would The Daily Show be?).

I don't care how much it costs, this stuff is cool. For all those complaining about how our government is wasting money on something completely useless, stop for two seconds and think about all the useless stuff you bought in the past week. Stuffing your face with Doritos isn't solving world hunger and all that music you purchased on iTunes isn't curbing anthropogenic climate change. Until you start spending money more judiciously I suggest you sit down. So go right ahead, cast the first stone.

We do these things because that's what makes us human. We do it because we can. And you know what, we'll probably come up with a way to turn a profit on space exploration (or exploitation) sometime anyway. Baby steps guys.

And to all those who felt their religious views were somehow threatened by this video, how indescribably sensitive can you be? And how does that thought process work?

space exploration = science = thinking differently = blasphemy ???

We went to Mars. We didn't blow a hole through heaven, I promise. This huge fear of scientific thinking in religious communities is just silly. The two are not mutually exclusive. Just calm down and give everyone a hug or something.

AI forever

It doesn't matter how many times I watch this, it always make me tear up.

The Wandering Summer: Venice Beach

Wandering: Summer 2012

On July 13 I quit my job (yes I put in my two weeks notice, jeez) and hopped a flight to the mainland. I will be away from Hawaii for over a month, starting in California, then to Vegas, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and finally Vancouver for a Chondrythian conference. It all started out as a two week family vacation to California. When I found my dad was going to Indiana to visit his side of the family following our Cali venture, I decided to tag along. I haven't seen my grandparents in almost four years so I'm way past due. And they have no idea I'm coming. From there I'll be visiting my sister and her family in Dillsburg, PA. And to top it off I'll head to Canada to give a talk at a conference on deep sea sharks, skates, and rays. So this summer I'll be wandering.

 The California leg of the trip is already in full swing, so let me introduce you to the characters:

1) The Mom (Kiki) - planned this whole trip. Excites easily, and stresses way too much.
2) The Dad (Gramps) - just along for the ride. Cheesy and laid back.
3) The Younger Siblings - A younger sister (17), my dad in teenage girl form. A younger brother (20), thinks he's awesome. Dropped off the map about a year ago. This will be the first time the family's seen him in a while.
4) The Older Sister - happy and care-free. Lives in PA with her husband and two daughters. Basically awesome.
4) The Brother-in-Law - older sister's husband. Funny and outgoing. Kinda cheesy too.
5) The Girlfriend - Younger brother's gf. Knows what she likes and isn't shy to share it.
6) The Nieces - 5 and 8. The 5 year old is wild and hilarious, gets into lots of trouble. The 8 year old is smart and she knows it.

And finally there's me. I'm not nearly self-centered enough to describe myself, so I won't.

We touched down in LA on the 14th and headed to our first stop, Venice Beach. And the strange ramblings begin....

Kristen Stewart should stick to angsty teen movies

My sister and I saw Snow White and the Huntsman last night. We weren't impressed. While it was great visually, just about everything else, well, sucked.

Listen to our review:

The Volcom Fiji Pro is Pau. Please get over it.

I'm sick and tired hearing about the "controversy" over the lay day at the Volcom Fiji Pro 2012. For those of you chasing butterflies, there was a massive swell pummeling Cloudbreak, and I mean massive. After waiting for a couple hours to set up camera equipment, the contest was called on. But only the final two heats of Round 2 were completed before the contest was called off. Crazy wind seemed to be the predominant excuse for calling it quits. Unfortunately, about an hour later the wind died down and Tavarua gave us one of the most spectacular displays the surfing world has ever seen. Beautiful and terrifying, Cloudbreak delivered massive barrels wave after wave. With the contest officially called off for the day, big wave chargers from around the world descended upon the break. Cameras originally set up for the contest continued to roll, giving spectators a glimpse of one of the most amazing free surf sessions ever.

And now everyone and their moms are arguing over whether contest officials were right to call it quits.

I for one am over it. Who cares? The contest was great. We saw a little of everything from massive Cloudbreak to the never ending barrels of Restaurants. Plus we got to watch a crazy free surf session. That's all I need.

I'd love to say more about how everyone that keeps talking about that day are a bunch of whiny brats (on both sides) but the more I say the more I sound like one of them. So I'll finish with this. Please get over it. I won't survive two months of bickering until the Teahupoo contest. Let's argue about something else okay? Like who should be the next leader of the free world? I heard elections were coming up soon.

Mike Love

We toured the Garlic and Ginger Festival at Ward, Honolulu, HI, last night. Surrounded by garlic sandwhiches, garlic steak, garlic ahi poke, garlic garlic garlic! The sweets were thankfully embellished with the ginger half of the festival theme and included ginger cotton candy and (it seemed everyone's favorite) candied ginger bacon.

The entire place had run out of beer by the time we got there, so we got in line for some cocktails. No ginger or garlic themes here though. That would have been fun.

But the highlight of the night wasn't the garlic or the ginger. It was the music. Mike Love, a local reggae musician, was amazing as usual.

Here's a taste of his awesomeness:

Bad Branding: Blueberry Muffin Tops

I was walking through the grocery store the other day and stumbled upon a new gem of a cereal: Blueberry Muffin Tops. I stopped mid way down the aisle and gawked at this masterpiece of advertising. Really Malt-O-Meal? How did that slip through the marketing cracks?

Honestly, Google the phrase "Muffin Top" and the first site that pops up is a Wikipedia definition:

"'Muffin-top' is a generally pejorative slang term used to describe the phenomenon of overhanging fat when it spills over the waistline of pants or skirts in a manner that resembles the top of a muffin spilling over its paper casing."

Yum, can't wait to dig in! 

Gabriel Medina killed it. So can we stop saying he's only good at airs?

For the past two days, the Volcom Fiji Pro 2012 has delivered. Amazing barrels, ridiculous wipeouts, and classic power surfing. Josh Kerr surfing on a super taped-up sprained ankle. Cloudbreak offers a return to a raw, rough form of surfing, the kind we have always loved. It's a refreshing break from all those airs, not that we don't love those too. But I ramble. For the most part, the first two days of the contest have been awesome. Kelly Slater ousted in the last seconds of his heat by wildcard Mitch Coleborn. Don't worry Slater groupies, he won his next heat and is now safely into Round 3.

But Slater going down to a wildcard highlights a really important aspect of Cloudbreak: it's all about the wave. Like Pipeline or J-Bay, you can't force a score here. Catch a great wave and you'll get a great score... assuming of course you don't fall and test out the reef. It makes this contest unpredictable. That being said, just about everyone you'd expect to do well in heaving barrels did do well. Parko, Owen Wright, Mick Fanning, John John, Jordy.

Something you might not expect, and I've been guilty of this too, is that the Brazilian horde is killing it as well. Adriano de Souza, Heitor Alves, and Alejo Muniz all won their first round heats, getting to skip straight into Round 3. Although forced to surf in Round 2, Brazilians Gabriel Medina and Miguel Pupo rebounded and are also into Round 3. The only Brazilian to go down so far is Willian Cardozo and he lost to Taj Burrow (no shame there).

So now can I talk about him? I'm just going to say it. Gabriel Medina can surf. Period. He's not a one-trick pony. This kid does more than just insane airs. He can navigate barrels and destroy waves with beautiful power hacks. And with the contest's first perfect 10 point ride, he's proven it. So are you satisfied yet? Can we stop questioning whether all he can do are airs?

It's a bit of a paradox with Medina. Last year he was ridiculously hyped after making it onto the Pro Tour at the tender age of, what? 17? Anyway, really young. He then went on to - in his rookie year mind you - win two World Tour contests (The Quiksilver Pro France and The Rip Curl Search San Francisco). So, clearly he deserved the hype. What's weird is the excitement was extremely narrow. What I mean is, Medina was type-cast as this hot new kid who took to the air any chance he got. If anyone mentioned his power surfing skills it was only to degrade or at least express some level of concern. Every event he entered was punctuated with the question, "he's good at airs, but can he battle through these waves?" And just about every time he's proven himself. Even after placing 5th at the Pipeline Masters, commentators continued to question his skills outside launch ramps.

The media's views of him have been shaped by his youth, his size (tall, lanky - can those chicken legs really do power hacks?), but mostly his nationality. Brazilians have always had this stigma as choppy, ugly surfers with bad styles and even worst attitudes. While the recent crop of Brazos are working to overcome this wall, there are still years of bias. And that doesn't get overturned overnight. Which is why Gabriel's been so undersold. Ha, see the paradox? Over hyped yet undersold.

And, entering the Volcom Fiji Pro 2012, the questions continued. But Medina's perfect 10 in Round 2 was a game changer. Not even the cameraman thought he was making it out of that barrel. I think he's proven himself, so can we all just shut up now? I'll say it again, just one last time. Gabriel Medina can surf. Oh, and he does airs too.

Check it out:

Mongooses on Kauai?

Yesterday the first live mongoose to be caught on Kauai was trapped at the Marriott Kauai Lagoons. Houston, we have a problem.

Photo courtesy of Hawaii News Now

In the late 1800s mongooses were introduced to Big Island, Maui, Molokai, Oahu in an effort to curb rat populations. Unfortunately rats are nocturnal, while mongooses are active in daylight hours, rendering their introduction completely useless. Mongoose populations exploded on the islands they were introduced, decimating ground-nesting  native bird populations including petrels, shearwaters, and Hawaii's state bird, the nene.

Kauai, it seems, had been spared. The story goes a ship loaded with a crate of the critters was destined for the island in 1883. One of the workers on board was bitten (they're not very nice), and in a fit of rage kicked the entire crate into the water (thank you random bipolar guy!). No other shipments of mongooses were sent to Kauai.

Growing up there, I had always thought of Kauai as mongoose-free. Just another reason it was the best island. (Uhh... I mean worst. Don't go there.) But every once in a while I'd hear someone describe a rat-like creature they'd seen but had no idea what it was. In 2003, my uncle came to visit from the mainland. He was walking along a beach on the north shore when he saw some sort of strange mammal he couldn't place. As he described it to us - kind of like a rat and squirrel mixed together - it sounded a lot like the mammal that wasn't supposed to exist on Kauai. February 2004 saw another report of a mongoose sighting appear in the local newspaper, The Garden Island.

In fact, there have apparently been over 160 "credible" reports of mongooses over the past 44 years, with sightings ranging all over the island.

Then they found one. In 1976 a lactating female was found dead on the road in Kalaheo. Kauai definitely had a mongoose problem. But the question shifted from "Are they here?" to "Are they established?" If mongooses had a stable breeding population, Kauai was in trouble.

Now that a live mongoose has actually been caught - this one a mature male - there is little doubt Kauai has an established population of mongooses in the Lihue area. Likely elsewhere too. What worries me are those sightings spanning the entire island. Just how serious is Kauai's mongoose infestation? And how can we stop it before the Garden Isle becomes as lifeless as Oahu (again, I'm a little biased)?

Check out the article on the KHON 2 News website: First Live Mongoose Captured on Kauai

Preparing for the Volcom Fiji Pro 2012

I don't know about you, but every time I think of a return to Cloudbreak I can't help but jump up and down like a toddler handed a gallon of ice cream. I love Fiji. I love Cloudbreak. And Restaurants. These are the waves that should be mainstays on the contest circuit, rather than the blown out beach break closeouts that have become increasingly common over the past couple years. While I recognize the driving factor in contest placement is and will always be centered around money, we need contests like these to maintain the integrity and soul of the sport. And with a contract spanning 2012-2014, Volcom will be able to give us three years of Fijian perfection.

The 2012 Volcom Fiji Pro marks the World Tour's return to Fiji after a three year hiatus. The contest has actually only been held eight times since its inception in 1999. Occy took the inaugural title, followed by Luke Egan (2000), Michael Lowe (2002), Andy Irons (2003), Damien Hobgood (2004 and 2006), and of course Kelly Slater (2005 and 2008). All were goofy foots except for AI and Slater, meaning goofyfoots have won in Fiji over 62% of the time. US surfers have won four times, Aussies 3, and Hawaiians once (thank you AI!).

Fresh off his win in Rio, and bred for waves like these, I'm looking to John John as the one to beat in Fiji. But I'm also excited to see Jordy, Parko, and Julian, guys who have proven they're not afraid of heaving barrels. Of course expect fireworks from Kelly (and Mick), but don't we always expect that? Finally, I'd like to see how Gabriel Medina and Kolohe Andino fare in waves like these.

Only 10 days till the waiting period! Check out the site: Volcom Fiji Pro

And here's a little tease:

John John wins Billabong Rio Pro 2012

Congrats to John John Florence on his first World Tour win! Next up is Fiji followed by Tahiti, waves tailor made for John John's style. I have a feeling he just might be the one to bring the World Title back to Hawaii.

"Knee Deep"

This song by the Zac Brown Band has been running through my head all day in the lab today. It's the perfect embodiment of everything I want right now: sun, sand, the water. Not a worry in the world. Hopefully I'll get there soon. Right now I'm stuck in my lab running samples that aren't being very nice. Do you know what gas chromatography - isotope ratio mass spectrometry is? No? Here's some advice: don't find out.



Update: I'm officially packing up and leaving this fluorescent lab for the night before all the chemicals make me grow a third eye. Round 2 starts tomorrow at 7 am. Maybe I'll look for some kind of paradise in the meantime.

I take it back...

I'll say it again. I take it back. The Billabong Rio Pro doesn't suck. In fact, it's kind of awesome. No, there weren't perfect lines stretching in from the horizon. And waves were anything but consistent. Rather, the waves were big and weird. Conditions were tough at best. But that's what made it interesting. It was thrilling to watch the world's best battle the tricky conditions. Every wave was unique and that left you guessing what the surfer could do on it. AND BARRELS? Thank you wave gods. This contest just got a lot more interesting.

Natural Selection

Living it up in Macy's

My sister blowing up Miley Cyrus. The most exciting thing Macy's has seen since those silly "I'm too cute to do math" t-shirts.

New Heat Draw

Kelly's officially out. Willian Cardozo (Bra) is in. Currently sitting in 18th on the One World Rankings, this guy looks pretty damn good. No Kelly, mind you. And he's got that Brazilian style. But he's powerful and fast, and should put up a nice fight in Rio.

Check him out here:


**UPDATED** BILLABONG RIO PRO ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Josh Kerr (AUS), Bede Durbidge (AUS), Jadson Andre (BRA)
Heat 2: Jordy Smith (ZAF), C.J. Hobgood (USA), Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 3: Owen Wright (AUS), Raoni Monteiro (BRA), Taylor Knox (USA)
Heat 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA), Kai Otton (AUS), Willian Cardoso (BRA)
Heat 5: Taj Burrow (AUS), Kieren Perrow (AUS), Tomas Hermes (BRA)
Heat 6: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Matt Wilkinson (AUS), Peterson Crisanto (BRA)
Heat 7: Julian Wilson (AUS), Brett Simpson (USA), Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 8: Gabriel Medina (BRA), Adrian Buchan (AUS), Yadin Nicol (AUS)
Heat 9: Mick Fanning (AUS), Damien Hobgood (USA), Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 10: Michel Bourez (PYF), Miguel Pupo (BRA), Tiago Pires (PRT)
Heat 11: Jeremy Flores (FRA), Heitor Alves (BRA), Kolohe Andino (USA)
Heat 12: John John Florence (HAW), Alejo Muniz (BRA), Adam Melling (AUS)

Kelly Slater: Too Hurt for Billabong Rio Pro, but not for the Gold Coast

Check out this video of Kelly getting barreled today. Too hurt to surf? Hmmmm....

Kelly Slater likely out for Billabong Rio Pro 2012

The heat draw for Rio has been posted. Dusty Payne, out with an ankle injury, will be replaced by fellow Hawaiian Freddy P. Though presently in the heat draw, Kelly Slater is likely out too. He tweeted (wow I hate that word) earlier today: "I can surf but can't really turn on heel still. Stitches in foot. Likely won't be in Brazil for the event. And it's not April Fool's day." So no Slater for Rio. Convenient. At least it's not J-Bay he's missing this year.

With Kelly out, the World Title seems to be opening up all over again. Currently in 1st with a 5th and 2nd, Kelly's no-show will allow a number of competitors to catch up. Adriano de Souza, currently in 2nd on the World Title Rankings and last year's Rio champ, has to be one of the favorites for the event. Expect fellow Brazilian Gabriel Medina to shine here as well. Although he had a rough start, Medina (currently tied for 25th) is fresh off a win at the Nike Lowers Pro. Not to mention he was basically engineered for peaky beach breaks with onshore wind.

Taj Burrow and Mick Fanning are sitting pretty with a win apiece. A win here would rocket them up to 1st. But I'm most excited to see Owen Wright, John John Florence and Julian Wilson light up this event. A heat with any of these three will definitely be one to watch.

I haven't talked much about the women's contest, mostly because Steph Gilmore has all but cinched this year's title. With only three contests left, it'll be a miracle if Sally Fitzgibbons (her only real competition at this point) can muscle her way to the top. That being said, look for explosive performances from Carissa Moore who seems to be feeling a lot more free without the weight of World title expectations perched on those shoulders. 

So here are the match-ups for the men's and women's contest.  

BILLABONG RIO PRO ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:

Heat 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF), Brett Simpson (USA), Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 2: Owen Wright (AUS), Bede Durbidge (AUS), Jadson Andre (BRA)
Heat 3: Adriano de Souza (BRA), C.J. Hobgood (USA), Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 4: Taj Burrow (AUS), Raoni Monteiro (BRA), Taylor Knox (USA)
Heat 5: Joel Parkinson (AUS), Kai Otton (AUS), Tomas Hermes (BRA)
Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA), Kieren Perrow (AUS), Peterson Crisanto (BRA)
Heat 7: Josh Kerr (AUS), Adrian Buchan (AUS), Yadin Nicol (AUS)
Heat 8: Julian Wilson (AUS), Damien Hobgood (USA), Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 9: Gabriel Medina (BRA), Miguel Pupo (BRA), Tiago Pires (BRA)
Heat 10: Mick Fanning (AUS), Heitor Alves (BRA), Kolohe Andino (USA)
Heat 11: Michel Bourez (PYF), Alejo Muniz (BRA), Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 12: Jeremy Flores (FRA), John John Florence (HAW), Matt Wilkinson (AUS)

BILLABONG WOMEN’S RIO PRO ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:

Heat 1: Courtney Conlogue (USA), Lakey Peterson (USA), Sage Erickson (USA)
Heat 2: Tyler Wright (AUS), Paige Hareb (NZL), Justine Dupont (FRA)
Heat 3: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Sarah Mason (NZL), Juliana Quint (BRA)
Heat 4: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Rebecca Woods (AUS), Melanie Bartels (HAW)
Heat 5: Carissa Moore (HAW), Coco Ho (HAW), Jacqueline Silva (BRA)
Heat 6: Laura Enever (AUS), Malia Manuel (HAW), Pauline Ado (FRA)

Here we go again: The Billabong Rio Pro

As we roll around to the worst contest on the tour, I thought it would be nice to look back at the zoo that was last year's Billabong Rio Pro. Adriano de Souza ultimately winning the contest (no way a Brazillian won in Brazil?!), after that infamous heat against Owen Wright. How a single floater could ever score an 8 is above me, and most of the surfing community for that matter.

Relive the drama and gear up for another fun ride. Welcome to the Billabong Rio Pro.

The heat:

Listen to competitors thoughts:

Ocean acidification and deep sea communities: can past events provide clues to future responses?

Ocean acidification: the other carbon problem
Ocean acidification (OA) is one of the largest issues resulting from anthropogenic pumping of CO₂into the atmosphere. CO₂in the atmosphere dissolves into oceans, leading to a decrease in pH (called the bicarbonate buffer system):

CO₂+H₂O ↔ H₂CO₃ ↔ HCO₃¯+H⁺ ↔ CO₃¯+H⁺

Atmospheric CO₂doubling will likely lower pH of the entire ocean > 0.1 unit. The normal variation of pH in open seawater (7.6𔃆.2), so .1 units is very significant.


Effects on marine organisms include physiological responses (regulating acid-base imbalance) as well a dissolution of calcium carbonate support structures like shells, tests, or exoskeletons as saturation horizons rise. It is possible deep sea organisms may be particularly vulnerable. For example, the internal control of pH is critical for proper physiological functioning, so many organisms have evolved elaborate methods to regulate internal pH. However, the pH in most of the deep sea is stable over thousands of years, so deep sea organisms have not needed methods to rapidly adapt to or regulate changes in pH. Ocean acidification may be too fast for these deep sea organisms to adapt to (Seibel and Walsh, 2002).


Changes in carbonate saturation horizons are one of the biggest worries when people talk about effects of OA on organisms. The solubility of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) increases with decreasing temperature and increasing pressure. In the north Pacific, the rate of rise for aragonite saturation horizon is around 1 m y¯¹. At atmospheric CO₂ = 780 ppm (near the end of this century), the subarctic North Pacific and Southern Ocean will be undersaturated with respect to aragonite (Fabry et al., 2008; Feely et al., 2006; Orr et al., 2005.) Major planktonic calcium carbonate producers like coccolithophores, foraminifera, and euthecosomatous pteropods (organisms responsible for nearly all the export flux of calcium carbonate to the deep sea) may be at risk as well. In lab studies, foraminifera and pteropods for example showed possible reduced calcification with decreasing pH (Feely et al., 2004; Orr et al., 2005).

 So to be blunt, this is bad.

But what is going to happen? Is there another way, besides controlled laboratory experiments, to gauge where the ocean is headed? Other than just sitting and waiting around to see what happens, I mean.

We could look to the past.
The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum
About 55 million years ago, sea surface temperatures rose rapidly, about 5-10°C in only a thousand years. This rapid warming was likely due to increases in greenhouse forcing, just like today. Rather than anthropogenic however, this rapid influx of carbon to the atmosphere may have come from methane hydrates at the bottom of the ocean. For those of you who are isotopically inclined, δ¹³C records from deep sea sediment cores show a rapid initial decrease (around 20,000 years) followed by a gradual recovery (~130,000 years) back to similar δ¹³C values found before the excursion. The magnitude of the drop in δ¹³C values (-3‰) suggest the carbon source was very depleted in 13C, pointing to methane hydrates as the likely source. This carbon isotope excursion was the signature of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) (Zachos et al., 2005).
Part of influx of CO2 to the atmosphere dissolved into the oceans, lowering pH. This resulted in a rise in the lysocline and calcite compensation depth (CCD) which promoted the dissolution of seafloor carbonate. The CCD shoaled over 2 km within just a few thousand years, but recovery was gradual, around 60,000 years. Ultimately this CO2 would be sequestered through chemical weathering of silicate rocks (Zachos et al., 2005).

All marine communities experienced major changes, including migrations to higher latitudes, evolutionary radiations, and extinctions. There were also distinct responses between planktonic and benthic organisms. Planktonic organisms weren't particularly affected, but did experience radiation and diversification. However for benthic organisms, the PETM marked the largest extinction event in the last 90 million years. 30 to 50% of benthic species became extinct. It's important to keep in mind that gauging PETM effects on marine ecosystems relies entirely on microfossils, as no macroinvertibrate fossils have been described (Rodriguez-Tovar et al., 2011; McInerney and Wing, 2011).

Surprisingly, the driving force affecting these organisms may have been temperature rather than ocean acidification. Temperature affects bottom water oxygenation and increases metabolic rates, meaning organisms need more food to maintain base metabolism (McInerney and Wing, 2011).

Applicability?
Can we expect to see similar responses from marine organisms today? How similar was the PETM to today's global warming/ ocean acidification problem? It turns out we are likely in for much worse. for one, the rate of carbon input was much different. In the PETM, carbon was input to the atmosphere over an 8,000 year period. Contrast that with our pumping CO2 into the atmosphere over a mere 300 years. That's less than the mixing time of the ocean. The longer CO2 input rate during the PETM meant less severe acidification and carbonate dissolution in the surface ocean.

Something else to consider: there was no ice during the PETM. No glaciers, snow. Nothing. No ice means no ice/albedo feedback (warming leads to melting of ice, revealing darker surfaces which absorb more heat, leading to more warming) which means an absence of greater warming at polar latitudes. In contrast, the most drastic warming today is at the poles (McInerney and Wing, 2011; Ridgwell and Schmidt, 2010).

Check out this video:

We are heading for something unprecedented. The PETM at best provides a framework for the mimimum damage today's anthropogenically induced problems will cause deep sea marine life.

Helpful link:                                 

http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/pubs/outstand/feel2633/feel2633.shtml

Nike Lowers Pro

The contest is on and it looks amazing. My only comment: Julian should have won. Period. I don't care about an interference. He killed it. Judges need to swallow their ridiculous egos and let people surf.

check it out now:
http://www.nikelowerspro.com/live/

Puke shoes

My roommate CJ is an amazing musician. Check out her latest collaboration with her bro!

Dog Days

My dad took my dog, Dodger, to the vet last weekend and found he had a tumor. The vet said that nothing could be done and gave Dodger two months tops. I grew up with Dodger. When I was little he'd sleep on my bed every night. In the morning my parents would find Dodger stretched out on the bed while I curled into the last corner he hadn't taken up. I guess what I'm saying is we've got some history.

So I'm dedicating these next two months to my dog. I'm going to take him everywhere, let him in the house whenever he wants, and while I might not let him sleep on the same bed as me (he's got some bladder issues) I'm going to give him the time of his life.

Yesterday I took him and my other dog Kekoa to the park near our house. It wasn't far but we drove anyway, the hills are a little rough for Dodger. We spend the afternoon lounging around the park, the dogs roaming and sniffing things and occasionally returning to me just to touch base. I pulled out a book and eventually Dodger came back and lay next to me. It was an amazing day and while it made me happy, I couldn't help but feel sad every once in a while when I looked at Dodger.

Update: This is now Dodger's last week. The tumor has been growing really fast and he hasn't been feeling very good. He's been getting extra special doggie treats and has complete run of the house. Whatever he wants is his! I'm going to miss him so much but I know he has had a good life.

It's official!

Now it feels real. Finally! I have a Bachelor's degree. And with only a few months to spare before I start my Masters work at UH Manoa. This absolutely made my day.

Flat Stanley's last days in Hawaii

On Flat Stanley's last few days in Hawaii, I took him to my parents' house (Kawena's grandparents, Kiki and Gramps). Stanley visited with my dog Kekoa, who was unsure of Stanley at first but warmed up to him. 

 My parents' house has a direct view of my favorite surf spot on Oahu, whos name I will leave anonymous. It's one of the few places on the south side that no one really knows about or surfs. As usual, it was sunny and beautiful.

These shells were collected over the years by my grandmother and grandfather when they lived on the east side of Oahu

Checking the surf one last time.

==

Did I mention I have a rabbit?

And she likes Stanley.

Bye Stanley!!!!!

Bye Stanley

Flat Stanley in Waikiki

 I took Flat Stanley to check the surf with me in Waikiki. The waves were pretty small but conditions were beautiful. Sunny and light wind. We checked some of our favorite spots. Bowls, Bomburas, Kewalos, and finally setttled on Point Panic. It is a bodysurfing only spot, so we had to be sneaky.

Diamond Head in the background

Checking Bomburas

It's flat!

The surf was fun. Again Stanley had to watch from the beach, but he had a nice tour of the south side of Oahu!

Flat Stanley on the North Shore

We took Flat Stanley to the north shore of Oahu, one of the most famous surfing destinations in the world. Here he is at Mokule'ia.

The Adventures of Flat Stanley

My niece Kawena sent over Flat Stanley in February. Clad in an Aloha shirt and carrying a suitcase, I took him all around the island of Oahu. One of the first places we went was the west side, to a beach called Makaha. It's one of my favorite places to surf, and this day was really fun! The waves were about head high and it was pretty packed since just about everyone goes to Makaha when there is a west swell. Of course Stanley couldn't surf with me, but he had some fun on the sand.

On another day, I took Stanley into the lab with me. I work in a marine biology lab. One part of my work is to catch fish in the wild and look in their stomachs to see what they've been eating.

The fish in the picture below is an opah, a moonfish. It lives in really deep water out in the open ocean and is a really popular fish to eat here in Hawaii. My friend had been looking at their stomachs and saw only... mushy stuff. Now that might not seem weird until you look at their mouths. They have essentially no teeth! Their mouths are like vacuums, just sucking up their prey (usually fish). So you would expect their stomachs to house whole fish! But nope, just mushy stuff. We started wondering if they were actually eating jellyfish.

We decided to look a little deeper. We could feel this rough patch of something deep in the throat of this fish. When we looked, we found rows and rows of small sharp teeth, pointed inward towards the stomach. Imagine having teeth in the bottom of your throat! We are guessing these opah suction fish into their stomachs and these sharp teeth prevent the fish from swimming back out. Anyway, Stanley was there watching this whole discovery.

More Stanley adventures to come!