Shark Jump
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzJrOLEGmqs&feature=related
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Interesting..
Cyclone damaged 10% of reef
One of the most severe cyclones to lash Australia damaged at least 10% of the world heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef, scientists said yesterday.
Cyclone Ingrid, even more powerful than Cyclone Tracy that devastated the northern city of Darwin on Christmas Day 1974, cut a swath through a third of the region's 260 coral reefs when it hit Queensland's far north coast in March.
The category four cyclone packed winds of more than 155mph and whipped up waves as high as 10 metres (33ft), according to the Australian bureau of meteorology.
Researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science discovered during a 15-day study tour that 80 individual reefs had borne the brunt of the cyclone. They warned it could take decades for the reef to recover
Katharina Fabricius, the project leader, said damaged sections of the reef had been found more than 62 miles from the eye of the storm.
More resistant coral on the outer edge of the damaged area was likely to take just two to three years to fully recover, Dr Fabricius said, while areas that were stripped bare of coral could take as long as 20 years to bounce back.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/aug/18/australia.bernardoriordan
One of the most severe cyclones to lash Australia damaged at least 10% of the world heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef, scientists said yesterday.
Cyclone Ingrid, even more powerful than Cyclone Tracy that devastated the northern city of Darwin on Christmas Day 1974, cut a swath through a third of the region's 260 coral reefs when it hit Queensland's far north coast in March.
The category four cyclone packed winds of more than 155mph and whipped up waves as high as 10 metres (33ft), according to the Australian bureau of meteorology.
Researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science discovered during a 15-day study tour that 80 individual reefs had borne the brunt of the cyclone. They warned it could take decades for the reef to recover
Katharina Fabricius, the project leader, said damaged sections of the reef had been found more than 62 miles from the eye of the storm.
More resistant coral on the outer edge of the damaged area was likely to take just two to three years to fully recover, Dr Fabricius said, while areas that were stripped bare of coral could take as long as 20 years to bounce back.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/aug/18/australia.bernardoriordan
We are to blame.
Jellyfish Invade the Globe, Thanks to Humans
By Robert Roy Britt, LiveScience Managing Editor
posted: 15 August 2005 06:26 pm ET
By Robert Roy Britt, LiveScience Managing Editor
posted: 15 August 2005 06:26 pm ET
There are exotic Frankenfish in the Potomac, unbearably noisy foreign frogs in Hawaii, and the destructive spiny water fleas that have snuck into northern lakes.
Now you can add alien moon jellyfish to the growing list of invasive species that threaten ecosystems around the planet.
Scientists announced the discovery of 16 new species of "moon jellyfish" today while also saying the creatures are invading marine environments all over the world.
We're to blame
The jellyfish are carried by ships, the researchers said. They join several other species that have hitchhiked into new habitats, often to the demise of native species.The moon jellyfish could not have migrated naturally to so many corners of the globe, the scientists report.
The researchers conducted a 7,000-year computer simulation of possible movement based on ocean currents and the creatures' less-than-Olympic swimming skills. That combined with genetic data leaves ships as the only logical mode of transportation.
Ships take in water for stability, and some ends up in faraway harbors.
"Marine organisms traverse the globe in ballast water, on ship hulls and through the trade of exotic species such as tropical fish," said study leader Mike Dawson of the University of
California, Davis. "This has potential to displace local marine species, threaten ecosystems and cause billions of dollars in damage and preventive control."
Growing problem
Other studies suggest that nearly a quarter of all marine species in international harbors are alien, Davis said.
He has tracked the invading jellyfish in Japan, California, western Europe and Australia. The moon jellyfish are, in fact, just about everywhere, including Mexico, Alaska and along the Atlantic Coast of the United States. They include the stinging Portuguese man-of-war.
But 500 years ago, the study finds, they were not so widespread.
But 500 years ago, the study finds, they were not so widespread.
"Until now our knowledge of natural and human-assisted dispersal of species has been insufficient to confidently track and predict the spread of non-indigenous marine species," said University of New South Wales researcher Matthew England, who helped develop the computer program. "Now we have a tool that can include data on currents, geography and the biology of an organism to help separate natural dispersal from that which happens through shipping.
The DNA study also revealed that there are more species of moon jellyfish than known.
"We identified 16 species of moon jellyfish, revealing that marine biodiversity is actually much higher than was thought previously,"Dawson said.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
WOW!!
Seas could rise twice as high as predicted17/12/2007 6:35:00 PM.
The world's sea levels could rise twice as high this century as UN climate scientists have predicted, according to researchers who looked at what happened more than 100,000 years ago, the last time Earth got this hot.
Experts working on the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have suggested a maximum 21st century sea level rise -- a key effect of global climate change -- of about 80 centimetres.But researchers said in a study appearing today in the journal Nature Geoscience that the maximum could be twice that, or 1.6 metres.
They made the estimate by looking at the so-called interglacial period, 124,000 to 119,000 years ago, when Earth's climate was warmer than it is now due to a different configuration of the planet's orbit around the sun.That was the last time sea levels reached up to six metres above where they are now, fueled by the melting of the ice sheets that cover Greenland and Antarctica.
The researchers say their study is the first robust documentation of how quickly sea levels rose to that level.
"Until now, there has been no data that sufficiently constrains the full rate of past sea level rises above the present level," lead author Eelco Rohling of Britain's National Oceanography Centre said in a statement.Rohling and his colleagues found an average sea level rise of 1.6 metres each century during the interglacial period.
Back then, Greenland was three to five degrees Celsius warmer than now -- which is similar to the warming period expected in the next 50 to 100 years, Rohling said.
Current models of ice sheet activity do not predict rates of change this large, but they do not include many of the dynamic processes already being observed by glaciologists, the statement said.
http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2007/12/17/Seas_could_rise_twice_as_high_as_predicted
People really need to get their act together. Stuff like this makes me mad.
South Korea oil spill devastates marine life: official report
South Korea's worst oil spill has devastated marine life, halving the number of sea plants and mollusks found off the western coast, a government report said Thursday.
The oil leak also threatened the underwater food chain, endangering fish and sea birds, the Environment Ministry report said.
Surveys following the spill last December showed mollusk populations had plunged to 56 creatures of five species per square metre from 133 creatures of eight species as mussels were found to have been considerably contaminated by remnants of crude oil.
The density of seaweeds per square metre fell 43 percent from February 2007 and phyllospadix iwatensis, a seagrass, also declined 47 percent.
"Because seagrasses and seaweeds make up the lowest part of the ocean food chain, there are risks of second-hand contamination of fish and birds that are at the top of the food pyramid," the report said.
The surveys, the first since the oil spill, were carried out in order to set up plans to restore damaged beaches and sea farms.
Hong Kong-registered supertanker Hebei Spirit spilled 10,900 tons of crude after it was rammed by a Samsung Heavy Industries barge in rough seas off Taean county on December 7.
Scores of marine farms and kilometres (miles) of beaches were devastated and three people in
Scores of marine farms and kilometres (miles) of beaches were devastated and three people in
Taean, about 110 kilometres (70 miles) southwest of Seoul, killed themselves in frustration over delays in compensation.
Five people -- the skippers of the barge and of the two tugs, and the tanker's captain and chief officer -- are on trial on charges of negligence and violating anti-pollution laws.
Samsung Heavy Industries and Hebei Shipping, a Hong Kong corporation which owns the tanker, have also been charged with violating anti-pollution laws.
Samsung Heavy Industries and Hebei Shipping, a Hong Kong corporation which owns the tanker, have also been charged with violating anti-pollution laws.
Local residents called for comprehensive restoration measures, claiming most sea creatures were wiped out following the spill.
"Oysters, crabs or octopuses have already gone. Even sea slugs or abalones are hard to find in the sea," Kang Tae-Chang, 47, was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency.
Lim Hyo-Sang, 60, said he was worried further damage might occur as spring arrives and temperatures rise, causing heavy tar balls that have sunk to surface again.
Angry residents have protested against previous delays by local officials in distributing compensation from the central government.
Samsung Heavy Industries said last month it was donating some 107 million dollars to help victims, which they rejected as inadequate.
South Korea has reported to the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds that the spill destroyed the livelihoods of 40,000 households and polluted 300 kilometres of shoreline, 101 islands, 15 beaches and 35,000 hectares (86,000 acres) of fish farms.
Jellyfish.... Really?
Jellyfish clogging world's coastal waters
Published: Aug. 3, 2008 at 6:48 PM
BARCELONA, Spain, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Burgeoning jellyfish populations in coastal waters around the world is proof oceans are being impacted by global warming and overfishing, Spanish experts say.
Many coastal waters in Spain, New York, Australia, Japan and Hawaii are filled with more jellyfish now than ever before, The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reported Saturday.
"These jellyfish near shore are a message the sea is sending us saying, 'Look how badly you are treating me,'" said Dr. Josep-María Gili of the Institute of Marine Sciences of the Spanish National Research Council in Barcelona, Spain.
Overfishing of predators such as tuna, sharks and swordfish has resulted in increased numbers of jellyfish, the Times said.
Scientists say because jellyfish survive best in damaged habitats, pollution and global warming are also contributing to their increase.
"Human-caused stresses, including global warming and overfishing, are encouraging jellyfish surpluses in many tourist destinations and productive fisheries," the U.S. National Science Foundation said.
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2008/08/03/Jellyfish_clogging_worlds_coastal_waters/UPI-78981217803737/
Published: Aug. 3, 2008 at 6:48 PM
BARCELONA, Spain, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Burgeoning jellyfish populations in coastal waters around the world is proof oceans are being impacted by global warming and overfishing, Spanish experts say.
Many coastal waters in Spain, New York, Australia, Japan and Hawaii are filled with more jellyfish now than ever before, The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reported Saturday.
"These jellyfish near shore are a message the sea is sending us saying, 'Look how badly you are treating me,'" said Dr. Josep-María Gili of the Institute of Marine Sciences of the Spanish National Research Council in Barcelona, Spain.
Overfishing of predators such as tuna, sharks and swordfish has resulted in increased numbers of jellyfish, the Times said.
Scientists say because jellyfish survive best in damaged habitats, pollution and global warming are also contributing to their increase.
"Human-caused stresses, including global warming and overfishing, are encouraging jellyfish surpluses in many tourist destinations and productive fisheries," the U.S. National Science Foundation said.
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2008/08/03/Jellyfish_clogging_worlds_coastal_waters/UPI-78981217803737/
So scary.. Change has to happen but it probably won't happen.
Arctic ice melting and not coming back: scientist
Updated Sat. Aug. 30 2008 7:27 AM ET
Andy Johnson, CTV.ca News Staff
Updated Sat. Aug. 30 2008 7:27 AM ET
Andy Johnson, CTV.ca News Staff
Arctic sea ice is melting at an alarming rate, and some scientists have little hope the downward trend can be reversed before the ice disappears altogether.
The National Snow and Ice Data Centre in Colorado released its latest ice report this week, showing ice coverage in the region is at its second lowest level in 30 years.
"It's very different from in the past when you had a low year and you tended to rebound. We haven't been doing that anymore," Julienne Stroeve, a research scientist at the centre, told CTV.ca.
As of this week, 2008 is in second place for the lowest amount of sea ice since satellite measurements were first taken in 1979.
And with several weeks left in the melt season, 2008 could still surpass September 2007 for the lowest amount of sea ice since satellite measurements were first taken in 1979.
At last measure on Aug. 26, Arctic sea ice coverage was at 5.26 million square kilometers -- a decline of 2.06 million square kilometres from the beginning of August.
In September of last year, a record low was recorded, with 5.69 million square kilometres of sea ice recorded.
In September of last year, a record low was recorded, with 5.69 million square kilometres of sea ice recorded.
It's not a benchmark that Stroeve is proud of, but she's also not surprised by the chilling picture the numbers provide.
"I guess the main thing people should understand is this is just a continuation of that long term downward trend. I think whether or not we break the record it's just the continuation of what we've been seeing since 2002, where every year we're losing ice and we're not recovering at all," she said.
Much of the ice coverage in the Arctic normally melts each summer and reforms in winter. However, Stroeve said more and more of that ice is being lost to the sea, and failing to reform in winter.
The result is a sort of reverberating effect. Ice serves to reflect up to 80 per cent of the suns rays, and heat, back into space, helping keep the Arctic cool. But as the ice disappears, more and more of the sun's heat is absorbed in the ocean, then released to the air during fall cooling. That speeds up the warming process and makes the ice melt even faster.
Last year was a particularly bad year for sea ice in the Arctic, Stroeve said. Heavy storm conditions took a toll on ice off the coasts of Siberia and Alaska, unusually clear skies and warm ocean and atmospheric temperatures created a "perfect storm."
"You had a lot of things that happened together that caused a lot of ice loss," Stroeve said.
"But had that perfect storm happened say in the 1970s, you probably wouldn't have lost so much ice like you did last year. And the key thing seems to be the ice is just becoming really thin and it's that much more vulnerable to natural variability."
"But had that perfect storm happened say in the 1970s, you probably wouldn't have lost so much ice like you did last year. And the key thing seems to be the ice is just becoming really thin and it's that much more vulnerable to natural variability."
Other experts said the ice has reached a tipping point, and melt will be much more severe from here on in. Stroeve said she wouldn't characterize it as such, but said projection models have shown that with ice thinning at its current rate, it could all disappear -- in summer -- within a decade.
The most immediate effect of the ice loss, Stroeve said, is that animals that depend on the ice, such as polar bear and seals, are finding it harder and harder to survive as the winter ice shrinks, and takes longer to refreeze in the fall.
Observers from the U.S. federal government doing a whale survey in mid August reported seeing nine polar bears swimming off Alaska's northwest coast.
The bears were between 20 and 100 kilometres from shore. Some were swimming north, apparently trying to reach the polar ice shelf, which was more than 600 kilometres distant.
While polar bears have been known to swim 100 kilometres, but can often become dangerously weak from the ordeal.
While polar bears have been known to swim 100 kilometres, but can often become dangerously weak from the ordeal.
Stroeve said she has also heard reports of seals being spotted further north than ever before as they travel further and further north to find ice.
"It's scary. It's such a huge change that's happening very quickly and it makes me very sad because I just can't see how the species that rely on the ice can survive this," Stroeve said.
While scientists have developed climate models to predict the future of ice in the Arctic, little is known about how those changing temperatures and conditions will play out in more southerly latitudes.
While scientists have developed climate models to predict the future of ice in the Arctic, little is known about how those changing temperatures and conditions will play out in more southerly latitudes.
"That's the area I think science needs to go into next. We don't really know what this is all going to mean. We know everything is connected, so when you change one part everything is affected. But how exactly it's going to play out is still not very clear," Stroeve said.
This is the worst........
Cigarette butts biggest scourge along Canada's shores
By Greg Joyce, THE CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER - While the plastic bag is often vilified as the prime polluter of Canada's coast, a nationwide clean-up effort has found that a type of trash many Canadians toss without a second thought is piling up on the country's shorelines.
Cigarette butts - by the tens of thousands - are the No. 1 item recovered during the annual TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.
Eric Solomon, vice president of conservation, research and education, at the Vancouver Aquarium, said few Canadians seem to recognize cigarette butts are trash.
"Many people who would never throw, for instance, a plastic bag on the ground, would go ahead and toss a cigarette butt on the ground and step on it and leave it there," he said.
The annual cleanup was initiated by the aquarium more than a decade ago and TD Bank signed on later as a sponsor.
A recent survey done in advance of this year's cleanup next month shows only 18 per cent of Canadians believe cigarette butts are the top blight on our shorelines.
But during last year's cleanup of shores across the country, volunteers collected well over 270,000 cigarette butts, Solomon said.
That's two and a half times more than the next most common item, which was food wrappers.
Solomon noted it takes anywhere from five to 15 years for the filters in the butts to break down, providing lots of time for clueless birds, fish and marine mammals to mistake them for food.
"Because there's no nutritional value, when an animal eats a cigarette butt or several cigarette butts, they feel full and can actually starve to death," he said.
The results of the shoreline cleanup survey were released Wednesday and indicate that 49 per cent of Canadians believe plastic bags are the major pollutant on shorelines.
The annual cleanup is scheduled for Sept. 20-28 at more than 1,000 sites across the country.
Last year 50,000 volunteers removed almost 90 tonnes for garbage from streams, rivers, lakes and oceans. This year, organizers are anticipating about 70,000 volunteers will get involved.
Matthew Fortier, regional manager of the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, said volunteers essentially pick up everything that shouldn't be there, including tires and shopping carts.
"An antique sewing machine was found last year," he noted.
An article from CN News Canada
By Greg Joyce, THE CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER - While the plastic bag is often vilified as the prime polluter of Canada's coast, a nationwide clean-up effort has found that a type of trash many Canadians toss without a second thought is piling up on the country's shorelines.
Cigarette butts - by the tens of thousands - are the No. 1 item recovered during the annual TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.
Eric Solomon, vice president of conservation, research and education, at the Vancouver Aquarium, said few Canadians seem to recognize cigarette butts are trash.
"Many people who would never throw, for instance, a plastic bag on the ground, would go ahead and toss a cigarette butt on the ground and step on it and leave it there," he said.
The annual cleanup was initiated by the aquarium more than a decade ago and TD Bank signed on later as a sponsor.
A recent survey done in advance of this year's cleanup next month shows only 18 per cent of Canadians believe cigarette butts are the top blight on our shorelines.
But during last year's cleanup of shores across the country, volunteers collected well over 270,000 cigarette butts, Solomon said.
That's two and a half times more than the next most common item, which was food wrappers.
Solomon noted it takes anywhere from five to 15 years for the filters in the butts to break down, providing lots of time for clueless birds, fish and marine mammals to mistake them for food.
"Because there's no nutritional value, when an animal eats a cigarette butt or several cigarette butts, they feel full and can actually starve to death," he said.
The results of the shoreline cleanup survey were released Wednesday and indicate that 49 per cent of Canadians believe plastic bags are the major pollutant on shorelines.
The annual cleanup is scheduled for Sept. 20-28 at more than 1,000 sites across the country.
Last year 50,000 volunteers removed almost 90 tonnes for garbage from streams, rivers, lakes and oceans. This year, organizers are anticipating about 70,000 volunteers will get involved.
Matthew Fortier, regional manager of the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, said volunteers essentially pick up everything that shouldn't be there, including tires and shopping carts.
"An antique sewing machine was found last year," he noted.
An article from CN News Canada
Planet Earth
Planet Earth is one of the best documentary series i have ever seen. Theirs a dvd on caves, jungles, mountains and many more but one of the best to watch is the one on oceans. So if you have anytime to watch these you should really check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AVxK531s1Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AVxK531s1Q
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Coral Sea Battle
Something i found pretty interesting about the Coral Sea was the battle that was fought their in 1942 between the Japanese, United States and Australia. The battle lasted from May 4 to May 8. It was the first battle where aircraft carriers engaged at each other and it was also the first naval battle which neither side's ships sighted or fired directly upon the other.
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