With fanfare that even snared some attention outside scientific circles, the 10-year Census of Marine Life came to a conclusion Oct. 1.

Experts convene Nov. 18-20, Dublin, Ireland for Oceans Past III Conference

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I’m Bob Doughty and I’m Faith Lapidus. Today, we will tell about a ten-year study of the world’s oceans. We will also tell about four American women who are being honored for their work in science.

Britannica research editor Richard Pallardy posed some questions about the project to Randy Kochevar, principal investigator and public outreach coordinator for TOPP. Kochevar, who has in the past studied the organisms that live around hydrocarbon seeps and hydrothermal vents, was with the project from its inception.

In the oceans, Mother Nature continues to surprise and delight us with mesmerizing, jaw-dropping marine life that often wildly exceeds our imagination.

[ October 4, 2010 to October 7, 2010. ] The concluding News Conference and Panel Presentations will take place Monday, 4 October at The Royal Institution of Great Britain.

Finally, it was recently announced that Dr. Wes Tunnell, Vice Chair of the US National Committee, was honored by Texas Sea Grant when they announced that their Loggerhead Sportsmanship Award will be named after him.