OCEAN (2025)
dec31-jan29 — the place of origin
this shows our vertebrate ancestors swimming in the water (craniate fish, jawless fish, lobe-finned fish, lungfish), & then the one who walked out of the ocean 390 mya, from who we all evolved. a lobe-finned fish (Tiktaalik roseae) makes their way out of the water, & represents the emergence of tetrapods onto land. they became every amphibian, reptile, bird, & mammal. these first journeyers (4-9ft long) needed limbs to carry themselves against a new gravity, so they dragged themselves through mudflats with their fins, until fins became limbs. they developed mating systems which did not depend on water, & adapted their bodies to not dry out.
meanwhile, phytoplankton proliferated in the ocean, making abundance of oxygen for all earth, & creating the conditions for animals and plants to survive on land.
we, all animals, still move around carrying with/in us the body of water from which we came. human bodies are ~60% water, the brain is ~80%.
at the bottom right, our skin forms a sealed layer. the keratinocytes in our outer layer of skin are arranged like bricks, packed with lipids as mortar. they expand & contract their weave when wetted or dried out, but water can not pass in or out.
jan30-feb27 — tierraformer
our region was once home to a vast shallow sea. coral, crinoids, clams, mollusks, ammonites, trilobites, sharks, early amphibians. this sea shaped some of the geology we see now: seen in limestone deposits through the region, & in the formation of caves. limestone is an amalgamation of arthropods’ skeletons, sunken to the sea floor and recrystallized into a conglomerated mass. escabrosa limestone is found widely in southeastern arizona. in the santa catalina mountains, this erosion-resistant escabrosa limestone forms gray cliffs in canyons and along mountain fronts. the whetstone mountains to the south were formed by uplift of escabrosa limestone. some of the caves in our area continue to grow because groundwater seeps through the escabrosa limestone & erodes underground tunnels. colossal cave is an example.
at the bottom left is a tidal rhythmite: sedimentary layers of rock deposits that are formed by tidal rhythms as water washes over and retreats from an area. the oldest tidal rhythmite known to science at this time is in utah, perhaps up to a billion years old. this rhythmite shows us that the tides & the moon were very different long ago: the earth spun faster, days were ~18 hours, years were ~400 days, the moon was 17x closer. some believe the physical effect of the tides has slowed down the rotation of the earth.
feb28-mar29 — major lunar standstill, chaco canyon
every ~19 years (technically 18.6 years), the cycles of the sun and moon realign: meaning the lunar phases occur at the same time of the solar year. during this 19-year period, the moon’s location in the sky changes year to year because of the tilt of the moon’s orbit.
this year, we are at the most dramatic point in this cycle, called a “major lunar standstill”. this means the moon is at its most extreme northerly & southerly locations. moonrise & moonset will happen at the most northern & southern extremes, farther north & farther south than the sun is ever observed to rise & set. the moon will bounce between its most northern or most southern extreme every 2 weeks.
in chaco canyon, an ancient rock art is built to project an image of this celestial dance onto a carved spiral. it is a Puebloan creation, & is known as the Sun Dagger. cast by the space between three standing rock slabs, a beam of light falls in the center of the spiral on the summer solstice, halfway between the center and outer edge on equinoxes, & two beams fall on the outer edges of the spiral on winter solstice. even more complex: the shadow cast by moonlight falls on the outer edge of the spiral when the moon is at its most extreme northerly & southerly points (right now), then falls at the center when it is at its least extreme (9.25 years later). as the spiral has 9.5 turns, the shadow cast by the moon moves one spiral turn per year, indicating exactly where we are in this larger ~19 year cycle.
the lunar standstill is placed on this cycle because the tilt will be at its most extreme on march 7 and march 21. but between all of 2023-2026, we are generally in a time of extreme lunar locations. the lunar orbit is tilted 5º to the earth’s ecliptic orbit around the sun, the ecliptic is tilted 23.5º to the celestial equator. when these two tilts align, the tilt is 28.5º, the most extreme we experience on earth.
mar30-apr27 — breath garden, breath giver, blue reflector
the majority of earth’s oxygen comes from phytoplankton & algae. phytoplankton (phyto meaning plant, planktos meaning wanderer) are tiny ocean drifters who alchemize sunlight into something all the others beings of earth can use: oxygen & sugar. they do not move on their own. phytoplankton alone account for half of the world’s photosynthetic activity, but are less than 1% of the global plant biomass.
one prominent phytoplankton is a cyanobacteria called Prochlorococcus — currently the smallest known photosynthesizing organism, & responsible for providing up to 20% of the world’s oxygen. they are abundant in the uppermost, sunlight-rich layer, & typically divide once a day. related, Synechococcus are also shown here.
these cyanobacteria have light-harvesting antennae & internal light-harvesting systems that seem adapted to absorb specific color wavelengths, depending on what layer of the ocean they live.
the sun sends all colors of light down to earth. low frequency/longer wavelengths of light (reds/oranges/yellows) do not travel far past the ocean surface, while high frequency/shorter wavelengths of blue/violet light travel more deeply into the ocean. cyanobacteria who live in the deeper layers are most adjusted to alchemize blue/indigo wavelengths into oxygen & sugar.
apr28-may26 — carbon condenser, oil incubator
crude oil is the remains of organisms who lived in the sea millions of years ago. crude oil is the raw material for gasoline, tar, some plastics, many pharmaceuticals, many chemicals. it has been used for waterproofing, embalming (egypt), lamp fuel (japan), as a glue to attach arrowheads to shafts (our continent). and now, it is used obsessively to fuel machines.
crude oil is made mostly of plankton, algae, & bacteria, through a transformation process that continues today, though most of it has been created over a slow accumulation over millions of years. these creatures use solar energy to stitch together a carbon embodiment. when they die their carbon bodies sink to the ocean floor & mix with inorganic claylike material. in this low-oxygen environment where bacteria can not decompose them, they get buried with sediment & become a sedimentary rock called shale. if that gets buried 2-4km, its temperature increases because of proximity to earth’s interior. increasing temperature & pressure transforms shale into kerogen. if the temperature is around 200-320ºF, kerogen becomes oil. sometimes this oil floats up, finding its way through fissures.
combusting it as fuel, the most intensive way it is used now, converts the long carbon chain molecules back into carbon dioxide, pumped directly back into the atmosphere. in just a few decades, millions of years of carbon nestling is erratically flooded back into the atmosphere, & the anciently-tended & elegant balance of atmospheric carbon is unbalanced.
may27-jun25 — salt maker
all salt was formed in the ocean. every tear dropped, every sweat, every salt-powered nerve signaling in the body: that salt came from the ocean. most of the salt we consume has been on land for a few million years, saltwater concentrated by the sun after a former sea has dried up, but it all originally formed in an ocean.
salt originally formed on early earth in an electric partnership between charged molecules released from rocks & volcanoes. acid rain fell on bare rock which covered much of earth, releasing positively charged sodium ions. earth’s agitated young belly spewed out hydrochloric acid through very active volcanoes, releasing negatively charged chloride ions. the sodium & chloride met in the ocean, & found their destined balance: salt was formed.
salt is essential for our life. it conducts our nervous system by carrying electrical signals through our bodies (via sodium-potassium pumps, pictured), enabling the function of nerves, muscles, movement. it also regulates our blood volume—the flowing ocean inside of us. an adult human contains around 200g of salt (about 2/3 cup). we are constantly in reciprocal salt exchange with the beings of our environment: we release/ they absorb/ they release/ we absorb. cycling. salt is a powerful mineral of healing, & of sacred connection to the past and to ancestral beings. salt has a long trade history here & everywhere, influencing migration patterns. salt is the preserver, & it is the duality of fire and water: made by sun & sea.
jun26-jul24 — source of all water
all terrestrial beings, we still all carry the ocean inside of us. plants move ocean in xylem, animals in blood and lymph. we move water across the land, constantly absorbing & releasing. the ocean is contained within us. we are water moving water.
jul25-aug22 — rain basket, wind maker, energy mover
the ocean is the collector & mover of energy for our whole planet—a liquid storage system for sun’s energy. it balances, churns the planet’s energy. it holds energy in itself as heat or as movement, releases it back out to the universe. this energy drives the wind, & sends rain to land to bring life to all beings who have wandered away.
wind is made as the sun heats the surface. warm air rises, & cold air slides in beneath it, creating wind. it happens everywhere, but the ocean is most reactive to sunlight/heat differences & makes much wind. as it moves across the ocean, the air pushes the water, & the energy is transferred to the waves, & from there dissipates back into heat in the water.
when a raindrop falls on the desert, it is because of a process driven by the ocean. water is warmed, causing water molecules to swirl faster & faster until they gain enough speed to rise up into the atmosphere. they rise high until they condense into a cloud, & wind (another creation of ocean’s energy) moves the cloud toward land. the droplets travel far, & eventually grow large enough to fall as rain. though the rain drops fall, the huge amount of energy moving through the atmosphere stays up there, & propels other weather patterns, like convection & winds.
aug23-sep21 — ancient nourishment
seaweed is a master of growth, adaptiveness, & resilience. the name “seaweed” describes thousands of species of marine algae—some commonly consumed examples are kombu, nori, dulse, wakame, kelp, irish moss, agar, carrageenan, chlorella.
seaweeds must endure a lot. they are beings of change & adaptation. they endure the pounding of the ocean at high tide, & then desiccation at low tide. because they can’t always withstand the force of the ocean, they must regrow incredibly quickly, & are super fast concentrators of nutrients and minerals. many of them get their cell strength from alginate, which humans use as a medical tool, a thickening agent, & in tissue engineering. seaweed is also the best source of iodine, a mineral which animals need for thyroid function.
shown here is kelp, an incredibly tough & quick growing seaweed. in good conditions kelp grows ~11in/day, & has been recorded up to 23in/day.
sep22-oct21 — tide fluxer, moon drifter
the moon, which causes tides, is also pushed away by the tides. the moon leaves us by 1.5” every year, about the speed our fingernails grow. when the moon was formed, it is thought to have been 17x closer. tides were much higher – maybe many miles high. and days were shorter — about 5 hours. the moon also has a slowing effect on the rotation of earth. as earth spins, the ever-moving tidal bulge that moves across the oceans creates friction. the friction is transferred to the moon, & makes it orbit a tiny bit faster, plus very slowly drift away. so earth is ever slowing, & the moon is ever drifting away, due to the interrelation of the moon & the movement of water on earth.
on the bottom left shows the colorado river’s old tidal bore: a large wave that moves up a river during a high tide. some dramatic bores exist in china & the uk. the colorado river had a bore known as el burro before its many diversions. it rose up to 6ft tall & traveled up to 47 miles up river.
oct22-nov19 — structure maker, calcium crafter
calcium – it is the most abundant mineral in our & many other animals’ bodies, & it is a prominent material in the sea. it is also the raw material of concrete, a foundational material. concrete is the 2nd most widely used resource in the world, after water, & it is estimated that every year, humans make 1.4 cubic meters of it for every person on earth. but it is only so easy to make because a tiny calcium-cultivating sea being, the coccolithophore, has done the work of gathering & concentrating calcium, forming soft limestone.
coccolithophores are tiny photosynthesizing algae that float around in incredibly beautiful & intricate geometric shells of calcium carbonate that they are ever building around their single cell. when they die, their heavy coat sinks, and if conditions are right, they accumulate on the sea floor & form limestone.
nov20-dec19 — earth change indicator, dying enigmas
these creatures, some rarely ever seen, have washed up dead on shores in recent years. each has their own story, many of their stories not known with certainty. causes for their deaths include infection, injury from ships, entanglement in fishing gear and waste, ocean currents changing, harmful algal blooms, & extreme weather events. all of these causes are related to the changing temperature & energy of earth.
left to right: american eel, lancetfish, beaked whale. pacific footballfish, giant squid.
~~~~ the increasing energy of earth. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
dec20-jan18 — sea medicine, medicine people
because ocean creatures live in a giant bath of pathogens, because many are stationary, because some live in crowded conditions, competing for food and space…. ocean creatures have developed powerful tools for self protection. several pharmaceutical medicines have been researched & created from ocean beings. many of these are currently in clinical trials. from L to R, top panel then bottom:
top, L to R: Antillogorgia elisabethae, a soft coral: analgesic, antiinflammatory
Conus magus, a sea snail: relief from chronic pain (via conotoxin peptides, found in their venom, whose effect is potent & seemingly not addiction-forming)
Paranemertes peregrina, a ribbon worm: against alzheimer’s (via a nicotine-like alkaloid)
Dolabella Auricularia, a large sea slug: against cancer
Lissoclinum perforatum, a tunicate: against cancer
Ecteinascidia turbinata, a tunicate: against cancer
Elysia rufescens, a sea slug: against cancer
Stylotella Aurantium, a soft coral: against cancer, alzhiemer’s, and osteoarthritis