Subsea Mining: The Next Big Thing for UUVs
economic zones, or EEZs, of maritime countries where rare earth elements, or REEs, are known to lie. There’s a quiet desperation surrounding both enterprises, as REEs are the stuff of iPhone screens, military-grade aluminum, hybrid cars, TVs and the newest batteries.Enter the drone. The European Union is marshalling its mechatronic (multidisciplinary, robotic) research communities — its university engineering faculties and applied-science scientists — and its geologists to build a supply chain that can mine underwater. EU-funded projects, of which there are many, have helped launch
EU Moves to Curb Ocean Plastic
the equivalent of €22 billion by 2030, and save consumers a projected €6.5 billion, it said.Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for jobs, growth, investment and competitiveness, added, "Once implemented, the new rules will not only prevent plastic pollution, but also make the European Union the world leader in a more sustainable plastic policy. The European Parliament has played an essential role in laying the foundation for this transformation and in giving a chance to the industry to innovate, thus driving forward our circular economy."Commissioner for environment, maritime
Waters West of Europe Drive Ocean Overturning
ocean anywhere, and none at all of the deepest waters of the northern North Atlantic.” Primary funding came from the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Physical Oceanography Program and the United Kingdom’s Natural Environment Research Council. Additional funding came from the European Union 7th Framework Program and Horizon 2020.Co-authors hailed from Duke; the U.K.’s National Oceanography Center; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; the Scottish Association for Marine Sciences; the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University; Memorial University in
The Oceans Are Warming Faster than Expected
had been broken almost yearly since 2000.Overall, temperatures in the ocean down to 2,000 metres rose about 0.1 degree Celsius (0.18F) from 1971-2010, he said. The 2013 U.N. assessment estimated slower rates of heat uptake but did not give a single comparable number.A separate study on Monday, by the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, said 2018 was the fourth warmest year for global surface temperatures in records dating back to the 19th century.Ocean temperatures are less influenced by year-to-year variations in the weather. It can take more than 1,000 years for deep ocean temperatures
US warns sanctions still an option against Nord Stream 2
The United States could yet impose new sanctions to try to block construction of the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline across the Baltic Sea to the European Union, the U.S. ambassador to the EU said on Tuesday.Asked if Donald Trump could take further measures to thwart a project which the president has said would leave EU countries even more beholden to Moscow for their energy, Gordon Sondland said: "We have not deployed the full set of tools yet that could significantly undermine if not outright stop the project."Addressing an audience at the European Policy Centre think-tank in Brussels
Whale Tracks Found in Areas Targeted for Deep-sea Mining
eDNA techniques to see whether or not any whale skin cells are present. However, electronic depth-tags, attached to the animals themselves, will provide direct evidence that whales can dive to these abyssal depths.”This research was published in Royal Society Open Science and was funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) under the MIDAS (Managing Impacts of Deep-seA reSource exploitation) project, grant agreement 603418. Funding was also provided from the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) through National Capability funding to NOC
NOAA Honors Fugro
policy, improve sustainable use and advance scientific research. Additionally, crowd sourced bathymetry data acquired by Fugro in the North Atlantic Ocean is feeding into a regional initiative known as the Galway Statement on Atlantic Ocean Cooperation. Signed in 2013 between the U.S., Canada and the European Union, the statement provides a means for understanding the shared waters of the North Atlantic for scientific, environmental and economic benefits. The Galway Statement specifically references seabed mapping as an activity where cooperation will result in multilateral and mutual benefits
Expanded Underwater Robotics Ready for Oil Spills
and dynamic image of the spill. This cooperating multivehicle robotic technology will allow a cheap, flexible, expandable, precise and rapid decision support system, improving the capacity of responding to these events. Expanded Underwater Robotics ready for Oil Spills (e-URready4OS) is a European Union co-funded project (Directorate General – European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, DG-ECHO) aimed to join forces to make available a fleet of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) with operational capability
Norway's Planned Subsea Cable to UK May Be Canceled
impact will be evaluated and only then can the Norwegian state decide to proceed with any other cables, said Eide. There have been concerns that British plans for more power links with Europe to avert a looming electricity shortfall could be hindered if the country no longer has a say in European Union regulation of networks and power trading. Britain faces an energy supply crunch by the early 2020s as coal power stations close and its oil and gas production declines. To help boost supply, it plans new interconnectors with France, Denmark, Belgium and Norway to provide up
Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage Project Underway
it from entering the atmosphere. Project Acorn is a low cost CCS system in Northeast Scotland which could be operational by 2023. It will exploit redundant North Sea gas distribution assets. The Acorn CCS Project has now begun a feasibility study after concluding funding from the European Union’s funding round Accelerating CCS Technologies (ACT). The ACT Acorn study is being led by Pale Blue Dot Energy with project partners Scottish Carbon Capture & Storage (University of Aberdeen, University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University), University of Liverpool, Bellona (Norway)
SMD Tests Subsea Mining Vehicle Prototype
valuable European underwater mineral resources. U.K.-based subsea engineering specialist Soil Machine Dynamics Ltd (SMD) is technical lead on the VAMOS (viable alternative mine operating system) project, a 42-month international research and development venture, which is part-funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. At a cost of approximately €12.6 million ($14.9 million), SMD and its partners in the VAMOS Consortium, have designed and built a prototype robotic underwater mining vehicle with launch and recovery technology to perform field
MOU for Offshore Wind Development in Taiwan
whilst reducing risk and environmental impact. Recent projects include marine warranty services for the Block Island Wind Farm, America’s first offshore wind farm; a recent site specific survey for an offshore wind farm in the Belgian North Sea; and the provision of mooring solutions for the European Union’s OPERA wave energy project. The launch event also included presentations from Neil Walker, Managing Director of Global Maritime Europe; Steven Foong, Business Development Manager of Global Maritime Consultancy Pte, Singapore; and Ekkehard Stade, Country Manager of Global Maritime
Vast Iceberg Poised to Crack off Antarctica
B shattered like car safety glass into thousands and thousands of pieces. It disappeared in the space of about a week," he told Reuters. Last year was the warmest on record by a wide margin, stoked by greenhouse gases and an El Nino weather event that released heat from the Pacific Ocean, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service said on Thursday. In November, almost 200 nations reaffirmed plans to combat climate change as an "urgent duty", worried that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will try to undo a hard-won global accord for limiting greenhouse gas emissions. (Report
FORESEA Backs 10 Offshore Renewable Energy Developers
dedicated to marine renewable energies. The Region is supporting the sector by funding leading-edge test infrastructures such as the SEM-REV,” said Bruno Retailleau, President of the French region Pays de la Loire and President of the Atlantic Arc Commission of CPMR. "The European Union should foster these bottom-up developments by supporting R&I projects and facilitating commercialization. Tests in open-sea conditions are a critical stage in validating a technology but they require significant levels of investment. The FORESEA project addresses in a very concrete manner
U.S. to Crack Down on Ocean Noise that Harms Fish
collapsing bubbles whose sound waves stun prey and ward off predators. NOAA has long required noise permits for one-off events, like drilling. The draft plan would be the first to broadly set long-term rules around noise levels. Many oil companies already invest in quieter technology, and the European Union is also developing targets for ocean noise. The United Nations' International Maritime Organization in 2014 adopted voluntary guidelines to reduce underwater noise from ships. The NOAA proposal has critics on the left and right. Michael Jasny, a marine noise expert at the nonprofit Natural
Canada Embarks on Arctic Survey Mission
before embarking on a six-week expedition in the Arctic Ocean. On the voyage between Canada and Norway, the Canadian Hydrographic Service will undertake a seabed-mapping expedition under the Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance. This will be the fifth such expedition, which involves Canada, the European Union and the United States. After the Canada-Sweden expedition ends, Canadian researchers aboard the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent will go on to collect data in the Canada Basin, in the western Arctic Ocean, as part of a collaboration with colleagues from the United States. “Securing
Oil Volatility Index Jumps as US Crude Plunges
level since March 2. U.S. crude futures closed the session down $2.29, or 4.8 percent, at $45.14 a barrel, having earlier hit a two-month low at $44.87. Resurgent output from across the world and uncertainty around the global economy after Britain's unexpected vote to exit the European Union have weighed on oil. In the United States, the market is flooded with excess refined product, painting a grim picture for demand. In addition to fundamental concerns, oil's technical support level around $45.80 was also breached on Thursday afternoon, traders said. (Reporting
