"We live in a world of such marvels. We should wake in the morning and as we put on our trousers we should remember the seahorse and we should scream with awe and not stop screaming until we fall asleep, and the same the next day, and the next. Each single seahorse contains enough wonder to knock the whole of humanity off its feet, if we would but pay attention."
from 'The Golden Mole and Other Living Treasure', by Katherine Rundell
"The world’s #oceans are facing a “triple threat” of extreme heating, a loss of #oxygen and #acidification, with extreme conditions becoming far more intense in recent decades and placing enormous stress upon the planet’s panoply of marine life, new research has found."
"For many decades, the world's #oceans have been the Earth's 'get-out-of-jail card' when it comes to #ClimateChange.
Not only do they absorb around a quarter of the carbon dioxide that humans produce, they also soak up around 90% of the excess heat.
But over the past year, the oceans have displayed the most concerning evidence yet that they are struggling to cope, with the sea surface particularly feeling the heat."
If you're in the UK, Blue Machine is now out in paperback! The US version will be along this September. An engrossing odyssey into oceanography, this is a captivating book about the liquid engine powering our planet.
When heat waves hit, the weirdest plankton in the sea help keep the whole system from breaking down.
It's great to be back in Scientific American, talking about unnoticed and underappreciated species. This time, binary-breaking plankton with the powers of both plants and animals. New research suggests that they are an important part of polar ecosystems, and even more so during heat waves. In a warming arctic, they could be a very big deal.
Today, learn about the 32 U.S coastal cities, affecting up to 500,000 people, that are at an increased risk of experiencing one or more major flooding events in the next twenty years, due to land subsidence and sea-level rise. https://news.vt.edu/articles/2024/01/research-sinkingcoasts.html
The Science of Ocean Pollution by Frank R. Spellman, 2024
The marine environment supports nearly half of the universal primary production, and a great share of which drives global fisheries. The Science of Ocean Pollution is written and presented in the author's characteristic conversational style and provides comprehensive coverage of the current situation regarding pollution in the world's oceans.
Killings of small whales, porpoises and dolphins are rising, with more than 100,000 of these marine mammals slaughtered each year, according to a new report from German and British NGOs.
Many regions report increased catches driven by demand for dolphin meat as food and shark bait in areas impacted by economic crisis and dwindling fish stocks.
In the latest Headlines of a Warming World, we're writing about the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a vital circulatory system of ocean currents, which is on a tipping course and could collapse due to freshwater input from melting ice and increased precipitation.
Disruption of the AMOC could freeze Europe, scorch the tropics and increase sea level rise in the North Atlantic.
In today's Headlines of a Warming World, we're writing about the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a vital circulatory system of ocean currents, which is on a tipping course and could collapse due to freshwater input from melting ice and increased precipitation.
Disruption of the AMOC could freeze Europe, scorch the tropics and increase sea level rise in the North Atlantic.
#introductions
This is the official account from the Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSI SAF). OSI SAF is the dedicated center from @eumetsat for processing and distributing #satellite observation of the #oceans.
The OSI SAF team focuses on #SeaWind, #SeaIce, #SeaSurfaceTemperature and radiative fluxes of the oceans.
ABOLISH SEISMIC BLASTING SPECIAL PROSPECTING AUTHORITY PERMITS (SPA)
A Special Prospecting Authority (SPA) is a specific type of permit that allows #companies to buy access to large areas of our #oceans to use #SeismicBlasting to search for #oil and #gas, and Carbon Capture and Storage locations below the ocean floor.
Seismic blasts are how the oil and gas industry surveys the ocean floor. Seismic vessels tow an array of airguns and audio receivers (hydrophones) behind them in the water.
"The #oceans absorb 90% of the heat trapped by the #CarbonEmissions from the burning of fossil fuels, making it the clearest indicator of global heating.
The ocean surface temperatures in 2023 were “off the charts”, the researchers said. The primary cause was another year of record carbon emissions, assisted by El Niño. Over the whole year, the average temperature was 0.1C above 2022, but in the second half of 2023 the temperature was an “astounding” 0.3C higher."
‘Astounding’ #ocean#temperatures in 2023 intensified #ExtremeWeather, data shows - Record levels of #heat were absorbed last year by Earth’s #seas, which have been #warming year-on-year for the past decade - The #oceans absorb 90% of the heat trapped by the #carbon#emissions from the burning of #FossilFuels, making it the clearest indicator of #GlobalHeating. Record levels of heat were taken up by the oceans in 2023, scientists said, and the data showed that for the past decade the oceans have been hotter every year than the year before."
Capitalism triumphs again. It’s another big win for Business As Usual. When there are potential profits to be made, that always will override any concerns about the environment or pollution or other species.
Norway has taken a step closer to becoming the first country in the world to open up its seabed for commercial deep-sea mining after giving the go-ahead in a parliamentary vote on Tuesday.
The decision comes despite warnings from scientists that it could have a devastating impact on marine life, and despite opposition from the EU and the UK, which have called for a temporary ban on deep-sea mining because of environmental concerns.
The proposal, voted in 80-20 by Norway’s parliament, is expected to speed up exploration of minerals – including precious metals – that are in high demand for 'green' technologies.
While the decision will initially apply to Norwegian waters, it will expose an area larger than Britain – 280,000 sq km (108,000 sq miles) – to potential mining by companies, which will be able to apply for licences to mine minerals including lithium, scandium, and cobalt.
This is why we can't have nice things. Nice things like a healthy environment, or a future for our children. We can't have them because capitalism says they don't matter.
"Successive #heatwaves threaten nature’s ability to provide us with #food, say researchers, as they warn of an “unseen, silent dying” in our #oceans amid record temperatures scorching the Earth."