Saturday, February 8, 2025

Food Chain News

The AUV DeepLeng navigates autonomously in a frozen lake during field tests in Sweden. Copyright: DFKI

SeaMe Project to Leverage AUVs, AI to 'Stand Watch' in Offshore Wind Farms

the impact on marine life.The simultaneous collection of physical and biological data allows for a comprehensive assessment of the marine ecosystem. This includes often overlooked components such as phytoplankton (microscopic algae) and zooplankton (e.g. krill), which play a crucial role in the marine food chain.Further development of the AUV DeepLengIn SeaMe, the DFKI Robotics Innovation Center is further developing the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) “DeepLeng” to optimize it for monitoring offshore environments. To achieve this, the researchers in Bremen are equipping the AUV with

Image Credit Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service

South African Drought Dust Fueled Record Ocean Bloom

blown over the Indian Ocean from South Africa.This saw phytoplankton levels at three times the level normally expected at the time of year it occurred, spreading from southeast of Madagascar into the wider Indian Ocean for three weeks longer than normal.These marine algae form the basis of the marine food chain and help to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by using it to grow then being eaten or dying and falling as organic matter to the seafloor.NOC co-author Dr. Fatma Jebri, said, "Our study shows how African desert dust being blown over and deposited onto the ocean surface was key in triggering

Copyright Photocreo Bednarek/AdobeStock

Using Ocean Robots to Dive into Offshore Wind Farm Wake Effects

today you’re increasingly likely to see offshore wind turbines gently turning on the horizon.These giant structures are supplying an increasing amount of the UK’s electricity mix (<20%), but they could also be mixing up how marine systems function, including the very basis of the oceanic food chain.To find out if they are, ocean robots (known as gliders) have been quietly patrolling an area of the North Sea, downwind of a major wind farm, off Scotland’s east coast.Their task is to gather vast amounts of data, from the seabed to surface, that will allow scientists to build an underwater

From left: the tiny clam that lives in the spaces between the spines of a sea urchin; the rare and miniature isopod (with arrow pointing to it); and the walking sponge. Jannes Landschoff and Charles Griffiths

New Discoveries: Three Tiny Species Added to South Africa’s Spectacular Marine Life

(Pseudionella pumulaensis).Long-term efforts to identify new species like these guide effective conservation. They help to ensure that critical habitats are protected.These three newly described species may seem small and insignificant individually. However, small species make up the foundation of the food chain and play vital roles in nutrient cycling and in promoting biodiversity.The walking spongeFirst, there’s Suberites ambulodomos, or the “walking sponge”. This animal forms a unique partnership with hermit crabs. It settles on the tiny shell of a very young hermit crab. As the sponge

(Photo: Oswaldo Foundation Cruz)

Sharks in Brazil Test Positive for Cocaine

of sharks, since the liver plays a role in the development of embryos."The scientists collected the samples between September 2021 and August 2023 as they monitored environmental impacts of pollution on marine life.Because sharks were predators, Hauser-Davis said they were central figures in the food chain and were considered "sentinel species" that could provide early warnings about environmental threats to humans.The scientists did not list what effects cocaine and other recreational drugs might have on sharks, although other studies have shown brown trout can become addicted to methamphetamin

(Image: Kongsberg Discovery)

Kongsberg Discovery Announces Echo Sounder Upgrade

of biological targets. The 18 kHz transducer is already common on most research vessels, but the wider bandwidth of ES18-11 MK2 can reveal the much richer biological diversity actually present. Findings can be used to fingerprint what species are present, and thus uncover components of the food chain in that area. “Any fish stock that is commercially fished must have a management plan, and the MS18-11 MK2 will help to generate more holistic ecosystem assessments so that authorities can make better stock management decisions,” Andersen says.Understanding life in the water column

Credit: The Ocean Cleanup

Maersk and The Ocean Cleanup Forge Ahead in Plastic Capture

of A.P. Moller Holding and Chair of A.P. Moller – Maersk: “The Ocean Cleanup holds an important mission to remove plastics from the oceans, one of the biggest environmental challenges of our time. Today, plastic pollution impacts hundreds of marine species, and it contaminates the marine food chain with toxic pollutants. With this in mind, Maersk Supply Service, A.P. Moller – Maersk and the A.P. Moller Foundation have decided to extend support to The Ocean Cleanup to finalise and validate their technology and system.”The agreement between Maersk Supply Service, A.P. Moller &ndash

Image credit – Mark Moore / Courtesy NOC

Project Trio Looks at the Sea Life, Carbon Storage Connection

how diversity and ecology influence the oceans’ ability to absorb carbon dioxide. Part of the CHALKY project will examine the influence of marine viruses and grazing by zooplankton, microscopic animals such as copepods, foraminifera and sea snails that form a vital part of the ocean’s food chain.Project 3:The Integrating Drivers of Atlantic Productivity (IDAPro) project will further use a combination of ship-based, robotic and satellite platforms, to improve the understanding of the productivity of phytoplankton, the single cell organisms that form the basis of all life in the ocean and

Diazotroph (Trichodesmium) bloom in the Coral Sea, captured on 1 September 2019 by the Landsat 8 satellite. The interaction between the physics and biology of the ocean is manifested in these green filaments that snake through the currents. Joshua Stevens/NASA, CC BY

Modeling Micro-algae to Better Understand the Workings of the Ocean

l'auteurThe new model allows us to address understudied issues, such as competition between diazotrophs, but also to better understand the role microalgae play in the context of a changing planet. What is their importance as a source of nitrogen going to be for other producers at the bottom of the food chain? Can diazotrophs help limit the effects of climate change? The possibilities for further research opened up by this more realistic representation are huge.The NOTION research project described in this article is generously supported by Foundation BNP Paribas as part of its Climate and Biodiversity

Subsea Vehicle technology is front and center in MTR, with a focus on increased levels of autonomy, reliability and flexibility.
Read the Magazine Sponsored by

Greensea IQ: Advancing Subsea Robotics with Bayonet AUGVs and IQNS

Marine Technology Magazine Cover Nov 2024 -

Marine Technology Reporter is the world's largest audited subsea industry publication serving the offshore energy, subsea defense and scientific communities.

Subscribe
Marine Technology ENews subscription

Marine Technology ENews is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

Subscribe for MTR E-news