Tina Tennessen

View
Twitter

Tina Tennessen

Tina Tennessen has a background in radio journalism and loves hearing a good story. She is a science writer, web editor, and a former radio producer. Before joining the Ocean Portal team as a web content and social media producer in early 2011, she held the position of Public Affairs Officer at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Edgewater, Md. While at SERC, Tina created and edited a news blog called Shorelines and publicized Smithsonian research and educational programs, generating press coverage and public attention for issues such as ocean acidification, hypoxia, invasive species, sea-level rise, shoreline development, and over-fishing. Tina grew up near five of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes and feels fortunate to be working among marine scientists who have dedicated their lives to understanding the underwater realm and the issues that affect it.

Collaborator Contributions

Tagging Along With Whale Sharks

The sea's largest fish has been a mystery until recent decades. Thanks to electronic tags, researchers are uncovering some of the secrets of the whale shark (Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828). One tagged animal, dubbed "Rio Lady," swam some 5,000 miles during a span of 150 days. Another dove to a depth of 6,324 feet in the Gulf of Mexico. These sharks are attracting scientists and tourists alike to places like the Yukatan Peninsula.

A photo of the puffer fish Lagocephalus cf. suezensis

A Library of Puffer Fish DNA

Some fish you can fry up in the pan, no questions asked. Others require a bit of research. Case in point: the puffer fish. Commonly known as fugu, some species contain toxins more deadly than cyanide. The Indo-Pacific puffer Lagocephalus cf. suezensis (pictured here) is among the more toxic. Ensuring that only the safe puffers make it to market is of concern to the U.S.

A message in Korean calligraphy reads, 'The ocean is essential to all.'

'Ocean' in Korean Calligraphy

"The ocean is essential to all," reads a sign written in Korean by calligrapher Myoung-Won Kwon, a resident of Maryland. The artist showcased his craft for visitors at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History during a May 2011 event in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Kwon works on scales small and large; one of his brushes is some four feet tall and he's created one piece that's 150 feet long.

Myoung-Won Kwon

Calligrapher Myoung-Won Kwon's pen name is Mook Jae. He poses here with a work that has an ocean-themed message. Kwon moved to the United States from South Korea in 1986. While he's a master of his craft, he calls calligraphy his hobby. During the day, he and his wife run a store in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Calligrapher Celebrates the Ocean

"The ocean is essential to all" is one of the Ocean Literacy Principles, and it seems to look more arresting when written in Korean calligraphy than it does in any computer font. Artist Myoung-Won Kwon shared his talents during a visit to the National Museum of Natural History.

An artist sketches the preserved bones of a specimen in the Smithsonian's collection.

Flippers, Jawbones, and Blowholes: Marine Specimens Inspire Artists

Rachel Caauwe was one of a dozen artists who spent a recent Saturday sketching specimens from the Smithsonian's musky-scented marine mammal collection. Here she's shown drawing the remains of a harbor seal (Phoca vitulina). The workshop, organized by the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators, focused on larger whales.