Tag: healthy oceans

Crude oil from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster causes severe defects in the developing hearts of bluefin and yellowfin tunas, according to a new study by a team of NOAA and academic scientists. Oil near the Deepwater Horizon disaster spill source as seen during an aerial overflight on May 20, 2010. (Credit: NOAA) The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on the 25th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, show how the largest marine oil spill in United States history may have affected tunas and other species that spawned in oiled offshore habitats in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Atlantic bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, and other large predatory fish spawn in the northern Gulf during the spring and summer months, a time that coincided with the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010. These fish produce buoyant embryos that float near the ocean surface, potentially in harm's way as crude oil from the damaged wellhead rose from the seafloor to form large surface slicks. The new study shows that crude oil exposures adversely affect heart development in the two species of tuna and an amberjack species by slowing the heartbeat or causing an uncoordinated rhythm, which can ultimately lead ...

Marine plastic debris is a serious environmental problem that needs immediate global attention. DNV GL says that has now begun efforts to address the problem in a partnership project with WWF-Norway, called Plastic Aquatic. Even when all preventative measures for reducing plastic pollution have been taken, there will still be large amounts of plastic in the oceans, and cleanup will be necessary. Creating efficient solutions requires understanding of the problem in all its complexity. Together, DNV GL and WWF Norway have partnered to create a concept platform which makes further research and innovation possible. The world needs solutions to remove environmental toxins and plastics from the ecosystem, even if we are able to remove only a small fraction. This must be done without having significant negative effects on the marine life. At the same time, we are in serious need of political will, money and arrangements to prevent new debris from ending up in the ocean in the future, says Nina Jensen, general secretary of WWF-Norway. The seas and oceans are increasingly becoming the waste dump of the planet. The European Commission aims to adopt additional measures which could contribute to a further substantive reduction in the future.EC issued last October ...

ICS Chairman, Masamichi Morooka, addressed delegates at the World Ocean Summit organised by The Economist magazine in San Francisco on 25th February, following a key note speech by US Secretary of State, John Kerry, and a video presentation by HRH Prince Charles of the UK. In response to a suggestion, endorsed my most of the Summit delegates, that the United Nations might establish a 'World Ocean Organization' to tackle the crisis developing with respect to the environmental wellbeing of the high seas below the surface, Mr Morooka suggested that a model for such a new UN agency already exists in the form of the London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO) which works within the framework provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Mr Morooka explained that, although the IMO may be one of the smallest UN Agencies with commensurately modest costs, it regulates the global shipping industry very effectively through a wide range of diplomatic Conventions that are genuinely enforced worldwide. He remarked: "The IMO MARPOL Convention on pollution prevention has contributed significantly to the dramatic reduction in oil pollution from ships despite massive growth in maritime trade. MARPOL also addresses sulphur emissions and the ...

With active involvement in the conference programme; a raft of associated events and on-stand activities; and a key role in ‘Careers Day' the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology is taking its most active position ever in Oceanology International (OI 2014) - the world's largest exhibition for marine science and technology taking place Tuesday 11 - Thursday 13 March 2014 at London's ExCeL. "We are proud to be a supporting organisation of this influential event," says IMarEST's Chief Executive, David Loosley. "I am delighted to see such strong involvement by our science and technology experts, Special Interest Groups, and key individuals. We are also supporting Catch the Next Wave, the associated one-day conference at the Royal Academy of Engineering on 10 March in advance of the opening of OI 2014 the next day. "The conference will be taking a longer-term view of some of the capabilities that will shape our future ability to explore, understand, use and protect our oceans. The objective is to stimulate creative thinking in areas such as materials science, sensor technology and complex systems and for delegates to leave the conference buzzing with new ideas that will lead to new research and business opportunities, it ...

At a press conference under the suspended blue whale replica at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society USA joined with partners Bionic Yarn and Cookies for All for the U.S. unveiling of The Vortex Project, an unprecedented partner campaign to clean the oceans of plastic debris and transform it into fashion, and its first collaboration, G-Star's ‘RAW for the Oceans,' a long-term partnership between denim brand G-Star RAW and Bionic Yarn to turn ocean plastic into denim. The New York Fashion Week event is part of Parley for the Oceans, an initiative comprised of artists, activists, tastemakers, entrepreneurs and innovators to address and solve the plastic pollution problem impacting ocean ecosystems. Sea Shepherd is an official partner of Parley for the Oceans and together with Bionic Yarn is cofounder of The Vortex Project. The Vortex Project takes waste from the oceans and shorelines, and recycles, enhances, and reuses it for yarn, fabric, and other elements in consumer products. Parley collaboration partners will use the reclaimed plastic waste from the oceans to create exclusive products with a unique product story. They will also seek to close the loop by again recycling these products at ...

The Economist continues its global ocean sustainability initiative with the second World Ocean Summit. Taking place in San Francisco from and chaired by John Micklethwait, Editor-in-Chief of The Economist, the summit will convene global leaders from government, business, international organisations, NGOs, think-tanks and academia to continue the unique outcome driven dialogue first established at the 2012 summit. The World Ocean Summit 2014 will offer delegates the opportunity to better understand the risks bought about by ocean degradation and help shape debate about governance of the ocean. Central to the 2014 Summit are two things. The first is GOVERNANCE; the second, SUSTAINABILITY. Governance is critical-our seas are in trouble for want of governance. But good governance is difficult to forge-not least in the high seas, where there is little formal jurisdiction. The sustainable use of our seas is equally essential-and intimately linked, of course, to better governance. A small cohort of progressive companies are leading the way on the responsible use of the ocean. They rightly view governance, regulation and certainty-and sustainability-as central to their very future. The best talk now of integrating natural capital approaches into their business models, and of mitigating risks to their businesses of the externalities or threats ...

A new action plan has been presented to facilitate the further development of the renewable ocean energy sector in Europe. A central element in this action plan will be to establish an Ocean Energy Forum, bringing together stakeholders to build capacity and foster cooperation. The action plan should help drive forward this nascent 'blue energy' sector towards full industrialisation. Ocean energy covers all technologies to harvest the renewable energy of our seas and oceans other than offshore wind. Its exploitation would contribute to the decarbonisation of the EU's economy and provide secure and reliable renewable energy to Europe. European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanaki, said: "As our Blue Growth strategy highlights, seas and oceans have the potential to generate huge economic growth and much-needed jobs. By helping the ocean energy sector to fully develop we can fulfil this potential through innovation while also securing clean, renewable energy for Europe." European Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger said: "Ocean energy has a significant potential to enhance the security of supply. This Communication aims to contribute to promote technological innovation and to reach the Objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy and beyond. Developing a wide portfolio of renewable energy sources ...

Almost 70 % of the debris swept to sea by last year's tsunami has sunk Bottles, plastic foam and floating buoys are just a few of the scattershot items washing ashore in Alaska, part of a wave of debris surging toward U.S. shores from the March 2011 earthquake in Japan, CNN reports."In the past we would find a few dozen large black buoys, used in Japanese aquaculture, on an outside beach cleanup," Patrick Chandler of the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies told Agence France Presse. "Now we see hundreds."Officials estimate almost 70 percent of the debris swept to sea by last year's tsunami has sunk, but that remaining 30 percent has begun showing up on Canadian and American shores in the last few months. In April 2012, a Japanese child's soccer ball turned up in Alaska, a ghost ship had to be sunk, and a lost Harley Davidson washed ashore on Graham Island off the coast of British Columbia.According to CBS News, one-and-a-half million tons of an estimated five million tons of debris remain afloat. And more than radioactivity, toxicity poses the greatest concern when it comes to wreckage."Think about everything in your garage and imagine that dumping in the ...

The study was funded by the National Science Foundation Toxic compounds derived from oil that was released in the Deepwater Horizon spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico nearly two years ago has entered the ocean's food chain through microorganisms, a recent study has confirmed.The study, funded by the National Science Foundation and led by a team of researchers from East Carolina University, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Oregon State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the U.S. Geological Survey, detected chemical compounds found in oil called hydrocarbons, some known to be carcinogenic, within the bodies of microscopic crustaceans called zooplankton."Our research helped to determine a 'fingerprint' of the Deepwater Horizon spill--something that other researchers interested in the spill may be able to use," Dr. Siddhartha Mitra of East Carolina University said in a statement. "Furthermore, our work demonstrated that zooplankton in the Northern Gulf of Mexico accumulated toxic compounds derived from the Macondo well."Zooplankton form the base of the ocean's food web and are typically fed upon by fish larva and smaller crustaceans, said Dr. David Kimmel of East Carolina University. Whether or not these larger organisms have accumulated significant amounts of toxic compounds, or ...

But Long-Term Environmental Impact Is Unclear As oceans warm due to climate change, water layers will mix less and affect the microbes and plankton that pump carbon out of the atmosphere -- but researchers say it's still unclear whether these processes will further increase global warming or decrease it.The forces at work are enormous and the stakes huge, said Oregon State University scientists in an article publishedFebruary 10 in the journalScience. But inadequate ocean monitoring and lack of agreement on how to assess microbial diversity has made it difficult to reach a consensus on what the future may hold, they said."We're just beginning to understand microbial diversity in the oceans and what that may mean to the environment," said Stephen Giovannoni, an OSU professor of microbiology. "However, a large portion of the carbon emitted from human activities ends up in the oceans, which with both their mass of water and biological processes act as a huge buffer against climate change. These are extremely important issues."The interest is growing, scientists say, because nearly half of the world's photosynthesis is contributed by microbial plankton, and the process of marine carbon production and consumption is much faster than on land. A turnover of ...