Saturday, November 30, 2019

Animals could help humans monitor oceans

Sharks, penguins, turtles and other seagoing species could help humans monitor the oceans by transmitting oceanographic information from electronic tags.

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Tuesday, November 26, 2019

New modeling will shed light on policy decisions' effect on migration from sea level rise

A new modeling approach can help researchers, policymakers and the public better understand how policy decisions will influence human migration as sea levels rise around the globe.

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Monday, November 25, 2019

Climate change is reshaping communities of ocean organisms

Climate change is reshaping communities of fish and other sea life, according to a pioneering study on how ocean warming is affecting the mix of species. The study covers species that are important for fisheries and that serve as food for fish, such as copepods and other zooplankton.

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New technology developed to improve forecasting of Earthquakes, Tsunamis

Geoscientists have successfully developed and tested a new high-tech shallow water buoy that can detect the small movements and changes in the Earth's seafloor that are often a precursor to deadly natural hazards.

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Thursday, November 21, 2019

Scientists develop rapid cell division in marine sponges

Despite efforts over multiple decades, there are still no cell lines for marine invertebrates. For the first time, scientists have developed a breakthrough in marine invertebrate (sponge) cell culture, demonstrating exceptionally fast cell division and the ability to subculture the cells. This groundbreaking discovery forms the basis for developing marine invertebrate cell models to better understand early animal evolution, determine the role of secondary metabolites, predict the impact of climate change to coral reef community ecology and develop novel medicines.

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Underwater robotic gliders provide key tool to measure ocean sound levels

At a time when ocean noise is receiving increased global attention, researchers have developed an effective method to use an underwater robotic glider to measure sound levels over broad areas of the sea.

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Life under extreme conditions at hot springs in the ocean

Marine researchers decipher adaptation mechanisms of biological communities to an active volcano in Taiwan.

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Massive Salmon Farm Die-Off Pollutes British Columbia’s Clayoquot Sound

Oil slick and biological debris from dead farmed salmon contaminate Pristine UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

Clayoquot Sound, November 21st, 2019 – Sea Shepherd Conservation Society crew members have been on the water documenting a mass salmon die-off event at salmon farms within Clayoquot Sound, a UNESCO listed World Biosphere Reserve. The video footage reveals the presence of thousands of dead and decomposing fish being loaded onto barges at the aquaculture sites while clean-up crews operate around the clock to clean up the mess. An oily slick has been leaching into the waters of Herbert Inlet and the Moyehai river estuary on the west coast of Vancouver Island, a sign the fish have been decomposing inside the pens for weeks.

“At the rate Cermaq’s staff are working, the die-off is likely in the hundreds of thousands of fish across multiple farm sites, possibly a million fish, it appears the die-off is being downplayed by the company and the magnitude of the emergency has not truly sunken in,” stated Locky Maclean, Director of Marine Operations at Sea Shepherd, concluding “this area has been designated by UNESCO as having universal significance. The Canadian Government has a responsibility to ensure the water flowing through this Sound is clean and healthy, from the open ocean to the inlets and all the way up the rivers. The only long-term solution is for fish farms to be removed from the environment and for the new Fisheries Minister to ensure their removal as soon as possible.”

The pens belong to Cermaq, a company owned by Mitsubishi which produces farmed Atlantic salmon, and are located near Binns Island and Bawden Point within Ahousaht First Nations traditional territories north of Tofino in Clayoquot Sound. Responding to Sea Shepherd’s drone footage, the company has now admitted that over 130,000 fish have died. Cermaq initially put out a statement on November 15th  downplaying the massive die-off stating a minor mortality event was due to an algal bloom, after members of local group Clayoquot Action reported multiple trucks carrying dead fish departing the Cermaq facilities at night. The Moyehai River is located within Strathcona Provincial Park and has seen record-low returns of wild salmon in recent years.

Alexandra Morton, an independent biologist, confirmed the presence of Piscine Orthoreovirus, a virus from Norway that appears to cause the jaundice in farmed salmon, stating “neither farmed or wild salmon are surviving this cheap and dirty way of farming. It’s past time to move this industry into tanks.”

Alarmingly high levels of sea-lice have been plaguing fish farm operators on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Internal government emails reveal the sea-lice situation has been out of control, despite Cermaq operating a custom made “Hydro-licer” to de-louse the fish at their sites. Some residents of the area such as business owner Len John, an Ahousaht First Nations member who operates his own whale watching business, Keltsmaht Enterprise, stated “In an attempt to control the lice, Cermaq is killing their own fish using the Hydro-licer, as the salmon cannot survive once they have been pressure-washed through the machine and lost scales, as well as their slimy protective coating.”

This past summer, First Nations members and local citizens took to the streets in Tofino in opposition of 30 years of devastation to the natural environment, since the installation of floating farm pens by the salmon aquaculture corporations. Opposition to salmon farming has become global in recent years as people fight to protect the last wild salmon runs from extinction.



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Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Dead-zone report card reflects improving water quality in Chesapeake Bay

The 2019 'dead-zone' report card for Chesapeake Bay indicates that the volume of low-oxygen, 'hypoxic' water was on the high end of the normal range, a finding that scientists consider relatively good news given the unfavorable weather conditions.

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Bursting the bubble: Revealing tasty genetic secrets of gigantic single-celled creatures

Researchers recently unveiled key information about gene expression in sea grapes, which could help shed light on the evolution of sea grape morphology and help farmers improve cultivation of umi-budo.

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Icebergs as a source of nutrients

The importance of icebergs as an important source of nutrients in the polar regions has long been discussed. An international research team has investigated ice samples worldwide. A key result is that only a small part of the glacier ice contaminated with sediment contains large amounts of iron, while the vast majority of clean ice contains very little iron.

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New danger for corals in warming oceans: Metal pollution

Metal copper from agricultural runoff and marine paint leaching from boat hulls poses an emerging threat to soft coral sea fans in the waters around Puerto Rico.

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Deep-sea bacteria copy their neighbors' diet

A new group of symbiotic bacteria in deep-sea mussels surprises with the way they fix carbon: They use the Calvin cycle to turn carbon into tasty food. The bacteria acquired the genes for this process from neighboring symbiotic bacteria in the mussel. These results call into question our current understanding of carbon fixation pathways in the deep sea.

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Saturday, November 16, 2019

Climate tips for Bengal - Telegraph India

Climate tips for Bengal  Telegraph India

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Thursday, November 14, 2019

Bigger doesn't mean better for hatchery-released salmon

A recent study examines hatchery practices in regards to how Chinook salmon hatcheries in the PNW are affecting wild populations over the past decades. Over 65 years, Chinook salmon hatcheries in the PNW have skewed towards releasing larger fish that are more easily preyed upon.

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Researchers find climate change and turf seaweed causing 'patchy' seascape

Researchers find environmental developments caused by climate change are contributing to the transformation of the seafloor to a lower, more patchy seascape dominated by shrub-like seaweed which could impact species habitats and the structure of the food web.

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Going with the floe: Sea ice movements trace dynamics transforming the new Arctic

Scientists have used MODIS satellite imagery to understand long-term ocean movements from sea ice dynamics. The engineers used image-processing algorithms to remove clouds, sharpen details, and separate individual floes. Image analysis algorithms mapped the floe movement over a period of days. The resulting ocean current maps were about as accurate as maps made using traditional methods. Tracking sea ice will help scientists better understand the sources driving sea ice transport.

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Ocean studies look at microscopic diversity and activity across entire planet

Two new articles use samples and data collected during the Tara Oceans Expedition to analyze current ocean diversity across the planet, providing a baseline to better understand climate change's impact on the oceans.

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