Sea Turtle Hormone Levels Affected by Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill -Study
New research is revealing potential impacts on the hormones of sea turtles affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.The 2010 spill, the largest marine oil spill in history, is estimated to have exposed hundreds of thousands of sea turtles to oil and killed up to 86,500 juvenile Kemp’s ridley turtles, a critically endangered species. In the aftermath of the oil spill, 319 live sea turtles were recovered from the ocean and taken to rehabilitation facilities for medical assessment and treatment. Responders collected blood samples to assess the health of each turtle, and a
Scientists Discover Possible Hammerhead Shark Nursery in Ecuador's Galapagos
, in the Galapagos if confirmed, the park said.The smooth hammerhead is one of nine known species of hammerhead shark. It is considered "vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's list of threatened species.Scientists on a Greenpeace expedition toured the Galapagos Marine Reserve several weeks ago, spotting a young female hammerhead off of Isabela Island, the Galapagos' largest island, and tagging her.Researchers will continue to monitor the shark to confirm that she was in a breeding area.The Galapagos Islands with its unique wildlife was critical to British
Wave Measurement Technology Helps Protect Vietnam’s Coastal Population
The Mekong Delta in Vietnam is home to over 20 million people and acts as a globally important agricultural area. The health and longevity of this important ecosystem is being threatened by rising sea levels and coastal erosion.Researchers rely on advanced wave measurement devices from Nortek to validate ocean models and provide accurate data for the development of coastal erosion defenses.The Mekong Delta encompasses the southern tip of Vietnam and is home to some of the world’s most fertile land. Over past decades, this area has faced increasing environmental pressure.Upstream dams and sand
OPT Wins Multi-year NOAA ProTech Oceans IDIQ Contract
Marine power, data, and service solutions provider Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (OPT)vannounced its selection as part of a team awarded the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (ProTech) Oceans Domain Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. This award positions OPT within avgroup of service providers supporting NOAA’s mission to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts.Under the terms of the contract, OPT will contribute its advanced technologies, including the PowerBuoy
Greece to Spend 780 Million Euros to Protect Marine Biodiversity
Greece is pushing ahead with 21 initiatives worth 780 million euros ($830.9 million) to protect marine biodiversity and tackle coastal pollution, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday ahead of an international conference.Greece, which includes thousands of islands and which has the longest Mediterranean coastline of any littoral state, said last week it plans to create two marine parks, one in the Ionian Sea and one in the Aegean Sea, as part of the initiatives."Quietly but methodically, Greece is playing a leading role in the defence against dramatic climate changes, which are proven
MBARI Names Kaya Johnson Director of Marine Operations
MBARI recently welcomed Kaya Johnson as its new director of marine operations, tasked with overseeing the institute’s seagoing assets, including three research vessels, a deep-sea cabled observatory and fleet of advanced underwater robots.Johnson comes to MBARI from Oregon State University (OSU), where he worked for the past six years. Johnson was port captain at OSU, then served as marine superintendent of ship operations. He managed operations for OSU’s fleet of three research vessels—Elakha, Oceanus (retired in November 2021) and Pacific Storm.Prior to his tenure at OSU, Johnson
Coral Reefs Suffer Fourth Global Bleaching Event
in March, tropical reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans also began to suffer.A record-breaking number of individual reefs within the Great Barrier have suffered from heat stress in recent months, and many are now draining of color, said coral biologist Neal Cantin at the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences. Cantin noted that marine heatwaves were registering some 2.5 C (4.5 F) above the normal summertime maximum.Recent aerial surveys have shown "very high" or "extreme" levels of bleaching in nearly half of surveyed reefs in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park area.That makes
Partners Secure DEFRA Backing to Improve Marine Biodiversity Monitoring
data processing and extract sea grass height estimates in real-time. Survey and water quality systems will be deployed from a carbon neutral USV to further reduce environmental impact and operating costs.“Defra is proud to announce its investment in UK SMEs that are advancing next-generation marine monitoring technologies as components of complete end-to-end monitoring systems. These innovative systems are pivotal to advancing our biodiversity observation capabilities in UK waters and will contribute to strengthening our evidence base as we progress towards the UK’s vision for clean,
New Electrochemical Technology Could De-acidify the Oceans
this acidity, in a process called geological weathering, but the extreme increase in the rate and volume of CO2 emissions, especially over the last 60 years, has far exceeded the rate of geological weathering, leading to a 30 per cent increase in ocean acidity.As the oceans acidify, millions of marine species and whole ecosystems — especially coral reefs — will be unable to adapt.We are overwhelming the Earth’s natural re-balancing systems and harming its ecosystems in the process. Our recent work at McMaster University and the University of Toronto, supported by the Carbon to
February 2024
