In The Spotlight
The D/V Chikyu is one of the most advanced scientific drilling ships available today. Coring operations take place 24 hours a day. Image courtesy of Luc Riolon/JAMSTEC
Barely living "zombie" bacteria and other forms of life constitute an immense amount of carbon deep within Earth's subsurface—245 to 385 times greater than the carbon mass of all humans on the surface, according to scientists nearing the end of a 10-year international collaboration to reveal Earth's innermost secrets.
Researchers found that the response of corals to heat stress during the second of two unprecedented back-to-back bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef was markedly different from the first. Credit: Tane Sinclair-Taylor
The future of the world’s coral reefs is uncertain, as the impact of global heating continues to escalate. However, according to a study published today (December 11) in Nature Climate Change, the response of the Great Barrier Reef to extreme temperatures in 2017 was markedly different to one year earlier, following two back-to-back bouts of coral bleaching. Remarkably, corals that bleached and survived 2016 were more resistant in 2017 to a recurrence of hot conditions.
Katie Harding, a UC Santa Cruz graduate student and the paper's first author.
Nitrogen fixation by marine microbes had been thought limited to warm waters, but an unusual type of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria appears to be active globally
This is a pair of reef manta (manta alfredi) in a lagoon in the Chagos Archipelago, viewed using an aerial drone during a survey to identify their habitat use throughout the region. CREDIT Alex Nimmo-Smith
The Chagos Archipelago, a remote British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) located 500 kilometers south of the Maldives, is one of the most pristine marine environments on earth. Now a £1million grant will allow scientists from the University of Plymouth to embark on a two-year program to identify what underlying mechanisms keep the region's seas - and the species living within them - so healthy.
The Alvin deep-sea submersible awaits another collection run in the Guaymas Basin in November 2018. Credit: Brett Baker.
Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin's Marine Science Institute have discovered nearly two dozen new types of microbes, many of which use hydrocarbons such as methane and butane as energy sources to survive and grow. The scientists suggest that the newly identified bacteria could be helping to limit the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and could one day be useful for cleaning up oil spills.
Photo by Drew Bewely, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Alvin, the country's only deep-diving research submersible capable of carrying humans to the sea floor, reached another milestone in its long career on November 25, 2018, when the sub made its 5,000th dive during an expedition to the Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California.
Carl Wunsch continues to expand his foundational framework for understanding the behavior of worldwide oceans as a whole.
The grey seal is the most abundant marine mammal found in the Baltic Sea. Credit: findingnature.co.uk
The recovery of seal populations all over the world has led to concerns over how their interaction with fisheries will affect fish stocks now and in the future. However, a new study published this month in Ambio and led by scientists at Stockholm University has shown that in fact human-driven influences such as climate change and fishing are the main culprit in declining the stocks of Baltic cod, herring and sprat.
The D/V Chikyu is one of the most advanced scientific drilling ships available today. Coring operations take place 24 hours a day. Image courtesy of Luc Riolon/JAMSTEC
Barely living "zombie" bacteria and other forms of life constitute an immense amount of carbon deep within Earth's subsurface—245 to 385 times greater than the carbon mass of all humans on the surface, according to scientists nearing the end of a 10-year international collaboration to reveal Earth's innermost secrets.
Researchers found that the response of corals to heat stress during the second of two unprecedented back-to-back bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef was markedly different from the first. Credit: Tane Sinclair-Taylor
The future of the world’s coral reefs is uncertain, as the impact of global heating continues to escalate. However, according to a study published today (December 11) in Nature Climate Change, the response of the Great Barrier Reef to extreme temperatures in 2017 was markedly different to one year earlier, following two back-to-back bouts of coral bleaching. Remarkably, corals that bleached and survived 2016 were more resistant in 2017 to a recurrence of hot conditions.
Katie Harding, a UC Santa Cruz graduate student and the paper's first author.
Nitrogen fixation by marine microbes had been thought limited to warm waters, but an unusual type of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria appears to be active globally
This is a pair of reef manta (manta alfredi) in a lagoon in the Chagos Archipelago, viewed using an aerial drone during a survey to identify their habitat use throughout the region. CREDIT Alex Nimmo-Smith
The Chagos Archipelago, a remote British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) located 500 kilometers south of the Maldives, is one of the most pristine marine environments on earth. Now a £1million grant will allow scientists from the University of Plymouth to embark on a two-year program to identify what underlying mechanisms keep the region's seas - and the species living within them - so healthy.
The razor clam Tagelus plebeius. Photo credit: Darryl Felder
Researchers conducted mesocosm experiments that simulated beach ecosystems to assess if razor clams, which are bioturbators, can influence environmental conditions and the fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
The Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group, has released its Draft Phase 2 Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #1.1: Queen Bess Island Restoration. The draft plan is consistent with the Trustees’ Programmatic Restoration Plan and proposes projects for restoring natural resources and services injured or lost as a result in Louisiana caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. They are seeking public comment on the draft plan through January 22, 2019.
On 30 November 2018, NOAA Fisheries issued final authorizations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act to incidentally, but not intentionally, harass marine mammals to companies proposing to conduct geophysical surveys in support of hydrocarbon exploration in the Atlantic Ocean.
This week, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) announced a new website tool that highlights past, current and future projects across Louisiana’s 20 coastal parishes. Using the existing website interface of the Coastal Information Management System (CIMS), the Parish Fact Sheets tool generates parish-specific data.
GloFouling Partnerships: A new collaboration between the GEF, UNDP and IMO to address bioinvasions through ships’ hulls and other marine structures
A new international effort to combat the negative environmental impacts of the transfer of aquatic species through ships has been launched this week.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has admitted 15 new natural sites to the IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas – the first global standard recognizing best practice in protected areas.
On November 19, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards with Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority announced an award of $161.4 million from The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund (GEBF) to fund Louisiana projects that support restoration of the Terrebonne Basin barrier island system: West Belle Headland, Timbalier Island and Trinity Island.
Following the overwhelming number of requests, visitors to Ocean Business 2019 will see a record number of autonomous vehicles taking part in demonstrations, when the show returns to Southampton from 9-11 April 2019. Live demonstrations of cutting-edge ocean technology will take place back-to-back on board vessels, in dockside waters, in the test tank and in classrooms; giving visitors a chance to see the latest products first hand in their real environment.
The grants are part of the foundation’s end-of-year cycle and focus on environmental education, Puget Sound restoration and community empowerment
On November 28th, the International Ocean Science and Technology Industry Association (IOSTIA) conducted a highly-focused blue technology exhibition for the United States Coast Guard at their headquarters in D.C.
Ocean Sonics (www.OceanSonics.com) is a world-class innovation house that designs and builds high quality sensor systems for technology leaders in the offshore energy and ocean industries.
Have you ever wondered why whales sing, frogs croak or the dog barks? How elephants communicate over massive distances, or whether noise from planes, trains and automobiles bothers animals? Did you know that healthy ecosystems sound different to unhealthy ones? These topics and many more are all covered within the interesting field of bioacoustic science.
Two leading marine science publications will partner in 2019 to further promote international efforts in marine science and connect the global marine science community.
McLane Research Laboratories, Inc. announces a new a 7,000m (23,000ft) deep option for WTS-LV samplers. The WTS-LV Deep option is available on the Standard, Dual Filter, and High Capacity WTS-LV models. Existing WTS-LV systems can also be retrofitted with the new deep housing option.
ecoSUB, has been successfully trialed in the North Sea off Orkney during a marine robot demonstrator mission coordinated by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC).
A Division of Teledyne Limited, is proud to announce the supply of modified LED-V-Series deep water lamps for installation on board Triton submarines for the Five Deeps Expedition, a collaboration between investor and explorer Victor Vescovo of Caladan Oceanic, Triton Submarines and EYOS Expeditions.
Hydroid, Inc., a subsidiary of Kongsberg Maritime and a leading manufacturer of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), announced that it received an order for a New Generation REMUS 6000 AUV from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science Technology (JAMSTEC) as part of the Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP): Innovative Technology for Exploration of Deep Sea Resources.
EdgeTech, the leader in high-resolution sonar imaging systems and underwater technology, is honored to learn that its industry-leading side-scan sonar technology was used to help find the missing Argentine submarine, ARA San Juan.
Seeing the need for a simple, low-cost, ultra-compact pan and tilt for moving its lights and cameras, Arctic Rays, LLC has released Hammerhead for use on multiple platforms, including ROVs, HOVs, ASVs, landers and fixed platforms.
On December 5, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that Johnny Bradberry will resign effective January 1, 2019 as executive assistant for Coastal Activities and board chair of Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA). Bradberry is leaving for an opportunity in the private sector.
The DAR AL BAIDA
MacArtney France, as a representative of Kongsberg Maritime, supply sensor package for PIRIOU – shipbuilders and naval engineers supplying the Royal Moroccan Navy.
Fugro has been awarded a contract by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to survey the Polynesian island country of Tuvalu.
The finalists have been announced for next year’s Subsea UK awards, which recognize the companies and individuals who are leading the way in the UK’s £7.5billion subsea sector.
RS Aqua are pleased to announce that they have exclusively partnered with Riptide Autonomous Solutions to bring Riptide’s unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) technology to the UK and Ireland.
The mooring being towed to the deployment site.
Dr. David Holland of New York University, in collaboration with Dr. Natalya Gomez at McGill University, is leading an investigation of sea level variations in the Disko Bay region of western Greenland.