SOI Says New Ecosystems Found Beneath Hyrdrothermal Vents
A new ecosystem has been discovered in volcanic caves beneath hydrothermal vents at a well-studied undersea volcano on the East Pacific Rise off Central America. The landmark 30-day expedition aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor (too) was led by Dr. Monika Bright, University of Vienna, along with an international science team from the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Costa Rica, and Slovenia.Using an underwater robot, the science team overturned chunks of volcanic crust, discovering cave systems teeming with worms, snails, and chemosynthetic bacteria
NOAA Sued Over Whale Injuries from Drift Gillnets off California
filed suit.A spokesperson for the Fisheries Service, a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said the agency does not comment on active litigation.Two populations of humpbacks are at stake: a group of about 1,500 whales listed as endangered that breed off the coast of Central America in winter, and some 2,900 others listed as threatened that winter off Mexico.Regulations permitting essentially unlimited use of gillnets in their feeding grounds off California and Oregon are based on a 2013 biological review that projected one humpback whale entanglement would occur every
WMU PhD Candidate Ambrose Wins Goldman Environmental Prize
confidential nominations submitted by a worldwide network of environmental organizations and individuals. It honors grassroots environmental heroes from roughly the world’s six inhabited continental regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands & Island Nations, North America, and South & Central America. The Prize recognizes individuals for sustained and significant efforts to protect and enhance the natural environment, often at great personal risk. The Goldman Prize views “grassroots” leaders as those involved in local efforts, where positive change is created through community
PML: Invasive Seaweed Finds New Role as Coastal Cleanup Hero
A research team, led by the University of Exeter and the University of Bath, has developed a cheap and simple way of creating biofuel and fertilizer from seaweed, aiding in its cleanup and the removal of plastic from tourist beaches in the Caribbean and Central America.The study, recently published in the Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, aims to remove invasive seaweed, like Sargassum, which is costly to cleanup and deters tourists, while also producing biofuel in a sustainable way. Professor Mike Allen of the University of Exeter and Plymouth Marine Lab explained the need for an
Drone Specialist Cyberhawk Lands 5-Year Deal with Shell
, offshore, and subsea assets, as well as all global construction projects."The contract follows the successful integration of iHawk at a construction project valued at over $6bn in the USA, where it is now being used by over 800 monthly users and has been rolled out at further sites in the UK, Central America, and Africa," Cyberhawk said.Cyberhawk, which has been working with Shell since 2012, said it would support the oil firm's digital transformation strategy, providing a central platform for all digital and visual data sources. "Additionally, iHawk will provide a fully enabled
Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate Retired
death toll stands at 65, which includes an unknown number of indirect deaths. Hurricane Nate crossed northeastern Nicaragua and eastern Honduras as a tropical storm, then made landfall on the northern Gulf Coast as a category 1 hurricane. It brought rainfall that caused significant impacts in Central America, where media reports indicate that these caused 44 deaths in the region. An additional fatality in Panama was due to a “shipwreck,” bringing the death toll directly associated with Nate to 45. An additional nine people were missing in the region. NOAA's National Hurricane
OPC, CHEC ink deal for Puerto Cortes expansion
mid-2018, the terminal expansion will position Puerto Cortes as the most competitive port in the Caribbean. The port, located north and along the Atlantic coast of Honduras, is the country’s center of transportation and commerce. Considered to be one of the most important ports in Central America, it handles 85 percent of shipment to Honduras, 10 percent to El Salvador and five percent to Nicaragua. In 2013, ICTSI was awarded a 30-year concession for the design, financing, construction, maintenance, operation and exploration of the Specialized Container and Cargo Terminal in
NOAA Awards $9.3 Mln for Coral Reef Conservation
awarded this year directly support coral reef conservation projects led by state and territorial resource management agencies. Other conservation projects are led by non-governmental organizations, community groups, and academic partners. A limited number of international projects in Micronesia, Central America and the wider Caribbean region are also supported. NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program has awarded more than $112 million of federal funding through competitive opportunities since 2002. All proposals underwent extensive and rigorous technical review by a team of NOAA scientists
Archaeologists Dive into History
is a member of the Registry of Professional Archaeologists and visiting professor at UCLA’s Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. An accomplished diver, Breece earned degrees from UCLA from her work on the silver collection from the sunken city of Port Royal Jamaica and the Spanish colonization of Central America. She has worked on a number of high profiler projects with husband and colleague Dr. Bill Breece. “I am very excited about the new program and the opportunity it will offer students to both work in marine archaeology and operate the equipment used in these projects.” She choose JW
February 2024
