Robotics Essential to Coral Reef Preservation Efforts
two distinct modes that determine the pace of climate recovery.“Reefs didn’t just respond to climate change – they helped set the tempo of recovery,” said Salles. In one mode, when tropical shelves are extensive and reefs thrive, carbonate accumulates in shallow seas, reducing chemical exchange with the deep ocean. This weakens the biological pump – the process by which marine organisms draw down carbon – and slows the planet’s recovery from carbon shocks.In the other mode, when reef space collapses due to tectonic or sea-level change, calcium and alkalinity
CSignum Launches Through-Ice Wireless Monitoring System
CSignum has launched its through-ice wireless monitoring technology with the patented EM-2Q electromagnetic field signalling (EMFS) system.Critical monitoring is often suspended for several months annually, leaving a blind spot during a period of significant biological and chemical change in lakes, reservoirs, and inland water bodies, as ice formation typically forces monitoring equipment to be removed or disabled for several months each year.Surface cables are prone to damage and failure as ice forms and shifts, creating safety risks, equipment loss, and significant gaps in environmental data.CSignum&r
Deep Ocean Landers Help Scientists Explore Dark Oxygen Mystery
, has designed two highly specialised landers that resemble equipment more often associated with space exploration. Named Alisa and Kaia after Professor Sweetman’s daughters, they will determine if the nodules spontaneously interact with salt water to create electricity, whether there’s a biochemical process at work, or another, as yet unknown factor is at play.The Nippon Foundation’s funding includes construction of the world-first landers. The landers will be submerged in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the central Pacific Ocean in the spring, with initial results expected later
Golden Software Makes Upgrades Grapher Scientific Package with Enhanced Templates
users at every level.Grapher enables users to make better decisions by visualizing and communicating complex data sets in ways that simply can’t be accomplished with spreadsheets. Enhancements in the latest release of Grapher gives users faster and deeper insights into diverse data sets, including chemical, physical, geologic, and geospatial data, through 80 different 2D and 3D plotting types. The package is used extensively by scientists and engineers in environmental services and consulting, climate research, exploration, and academic pursuits.The newest release of Grapher, which is downloadable
Battery Power Management and Control
thermocouples, photovoltaic, and piezoelectric. Passive transducers produce a change in resistance (potentiometer, strain gauge, thermistors, reed switch), capacitance (gauges), or inductance (differential transformer) as the response to a change in a parameter.A sensor detects a specific physical, chemical or biological quantity and converts the value it receives into an electrical signal. Sensors require an amplifier as they are limited to signal level power, often less than 1W. They cannot pass a great deal of power themselves. For power management, use a sensor to control an amplifier circuit:
Scientists Collect Biodiversity Data in Argentina’s Submarine Canyons
seafloor features; some canyons had steep walls, while others had terraces. Scientists know the canyons concentrate phytoplankton, the base of the marine food web, along the shelfbreak, particularly near the canyon heads and surface waters, but no one had collected all the necessary physical and chemical oceanographic data documenting the conditions that facilitate the large blooms in these areas.Ph.D. student Melina Scian from the Universidad de Buenos Aires, Assistant Researcher Lucía Carolina Kahl from the Servicio de Hidrografía Naval, and Chief Scientist Silvia Romero from Servicio
Study: Allseas SMR Tech Seen as Key Maritime, Industry Decarbonization Tool
sites. The reactor is being developed with NRG PALLAS, TU Delft and other partners, with the first units targeted for operation by 2030.The report said the compact and scalable design makes the reactor suitable for offshore operations, commercial vessels, port areas and industrial clusters such as chemical plants, steel facilities, refineries and data centers. It can also supply autonomous power for defense infrastructure and high-demand growth sectors including semiconductors, AI, quantum technology and supercomputing.Roland Berger estimates potential for installing up to 110 SMRs on land in the
Oil Leaking from USS Arizona Could Provide Guidance for Thousands of WWII Shipwrecks
high concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), compounds known for their persistence and potential toxicity.WHOI Marine Chemist Chris Reddy collects oil samples from the USS Arizona Memorial in 2018. (Photo by Brett Seymour, NPS Submerged Resources Center)Researchers also found that the chemical composition of the oil varies depending on the leak location, reflecting differing degrees of natural “weathering” processes, including microbial biodegradation and dissolution. While lighter compounds are gradually breaking down, key petroleum biomarkers remain intact, allowing scientists
Coast Guard to Invest in Robotics and Autonomous Systems
, subsurface infrastructure surveys, disaster response and search and rescue missions. Their use will reduce reliance on Coast Guard divers, improving efficiency and safety.Coast Guard Strike Teams, which respond to hazardous materials spills, major marine casualties, groundings, natural disasters, chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) incidents and national special security events, will use the new UGVs to access and sample air in confined spaces aboard commercial vessels.The SR-UAS will support operations including infrastructure inspections, environmental observation, pollution response
December 2025
