Oyster, Clam Farms Face Blow from Acidification
U.S. shellfish producers in the Northeast and the Gulf of Mexico will be most vulnerable to an acidification of the oceans linked to climate change that makes it harder for clams and oysters to build shells, a study said on Monday. The report said the two regions would be more at risk in coming decades than the Pacific Northwest, which had previously suffered the most from the problem, with losses to the oyster industry estimated at $110 million, putting 3,200 jobs at risk. Carbon dioxide, emitted into the atmosphere by mankind's burning of fossil fuels, gets absorbed by the oceans
Photo of the Day: ‘Windship’ Over Rotterdam
to the 2012-built Brave Tern are necessary because wind turbines became heavier and the blades of the rotor blades have grown larger. Sister vessel Bold Tern will get the same upgrade later this year. Brave Tern will first do a maintenance job in the North Sea, before heading to the U.S. east coast where it will assist in the construction of the first U.S. offshore wind farm.
New Maps Reduce Threats to Whales, Dolphins
Scientists have created highly detailed maps charting the seasonal movements and population densities of 35 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises – many of them threatened or endangered – in the crowded waters of the U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico. “These maps show where each species, or closely related group of species, is most likely to be at any given time of year,” said Laura Mannocci, a postdoctoral research associate at Duke University’s Marine Geospatial Ecology Laboratory (MGEL). “This makes it easier to monitor and manage them, and
NOAA Proposal Aims to Extend Reduced Whale Ship Strikes
currently scheduled to expire in December 2013. NOAA's proposal to make them permanent, which includes a 60-day public comment period, was filed at the Federal Register today. The existing rules, which reduce an ocean-going vessel's speed to 10 knots or less during certain times and locations along the East Coast from Maine to Florida, have reduced the number of whales struck by ships since 2008, when the speed limits began. No right whale ship strike deaths have occurred in Seasonal Management Areas since the rule went into place. Modeling studies indicate the measures have reduced the probability of
NOAA’s Flood Information Tool Expanded
From Texas to Maine, mapping tool visualizes anticipated flood effects, aiding preparation for coastal storms A NOAA flood exposure risk mapping tool that was developed in New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania has now been expanded to cover coastal areas along the entire U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico. The Coastal Flood Exposure Mapper, a deliverable of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, provides users with maps, data, and information to assess risks and vulnerabilities related to coastal flooding and hazards. According to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau
Deep-sea Canyons and Seeps Discovered Off U.S. Northeast
Ocean explorers in July on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer discovered a wide diversity of seafloor features and communities of life in the largely unexplored deep-sea canyons off the northeast U.S. coast. Now through August 16, as the expedition continues, the public can join the mission as "citizen scientists," at oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos, to see live seafloor video and listen as scientists discuss their observations in real time. During the expedition's July leg, there were nearly 60,000 visits to the live streaming video. Canyons represent some of the most striking features of the
Bubbling Methane Vents Discovered Off US E. Coast
Mississippi State University (MSU) researchers say they have found more than 500 bubbling methane vents on the seafloor off the US east coast. Lead author Adam Skarke, assistant professor of geosciences at Mississippi State University (MSU) worked with researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other institutions on a scientific team that discovered methane seeps in unlikely places along the seafloor on the northern part of the U.S. Atlantic margin. Before he joined the faculty at MSU, Skarke worked as a physical scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA)
Drones Detect Sharks in Intercoastal Waters
he said. In addition to their work on sharks, researchers at the Unoccupied Systems Facility at the Duke Marine Lab are also using drones to track and study sea turtles, seals and other marine species; analyze marine debris on remote beaches and islands worldwide; and map estuaries along the U.S. East Coast. The facility was launched in 2015 and is one of only a handful of facilities nationwide – and one of only two in North Carolina – that has earned an exemption from the Federal Aviation Authority to use drones for research. Beginning this summer, the facility
Martzial Joins EdgeTech as Product Line Sales Engineer
brings to the company a background in cartography and geographic information systems (GIS), having spent time as a project manager, survey manager and most recently as a product specialist for a hydrographic data acquisition, navigation and processing software company. Based on the U.S. East Coast and working with the West Wareham, Mass. office, Martzial be focused on growing EdgeTech’s bathymetric product line in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. Products and solutions in the bathymetric line include the pole-mounted shallow water 6205 system as well as deep towed systems and
New Study Examines Hurricane Intensity; Pollution Transport
Gulf of Mexico, it may interact with an upwelling of cooler waters from the deeper ocean or, in the case of Isaac, a downwelling inside rings of warm water that separated from a warm-water current, called the Loop Current, that moves through the Gulf of Mexico to join with the Gulf Stream along the U.S. East Coast. As the storm moves forward, ocean temperatures are fueling the storm’s intensity. UM Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science researchers, in collaboration with NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, deployed a total of 376 airborne sensors during
Webinar to Exhibit R/V Langseth
and has successfully carried out more than 27 marine seismic projects around the globe. This has included work in the Arctic Ocean (Chukchi Sea), Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Aleutians, offshore northwestern U.S., Marianas, Taiwan, Azores, Spain, Northwest and Central Pacific, Costa Rica, N. Atlantic, US East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. Altogether, our science missions since 2008 encompass almost 1500 operational days. These cruises have science parties made up of scientists and students from the US and around the world. The Langseth is equipped with flexible lab space and room for multiple lab vans
Military, Government Agencies Utilize Side Scan Sonars
. Director George Giles says the agency coordinates the efforts of all city departments to ensure a fast response in the event of an emergency. The agency’s first responders include members of both fire and police departments. They were put to the test in 2012 when Superstorm Sandy battered the U.S. east coast causing more than $68 billion in damage and claiming the lives of 268 people. Having JW Fishers SSS-100K/600K side scan allowed the team to search for missing persons, survey canals and waterways choked with debris, and inspect support structures of the many bridges crossing over waterways. Anothe
Oregon State University Seeks New Research Vessels
submit an in-depth cost proposal due in early February. Final selection of a shipyard is anticipated to take place in April 2017. Delivery of the first ship, which will be operated by Oregon State University, is expected in fall of 2020. Additional ships would likely be designated for the U.S. East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico, if funded by NSF with congressional appropriations and approval by the president. NSF would competitively select operators for those vessels, possibly in 2018. Although similar in size, the new ships will differ greatly from R/V Oceanus, built in 1975 and operated
Rising Seas to Displace Millions if Warming Unchecked
Antarctica and other regions will melt as global temperatures increase, leading to major rises in sea levels. "I would avoid buying property in South Florida in particular," Strauss told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Coastal California, New York and other cities on the U.S. east coast would also be hit hard by rising seas if carbon emissions are not cut drastically, he said. To substantially blunt the threat, emissions reductions would have to be bigger than those pledged by the United States and more than 145 other countries as part of a new U.N. deal to tackle
Predator II ROV Put through its Paces @ FAU
(<1m) with no apparent current. A second demonstration site was utilized on the campus in the ICW later in the week in a 2 to 3 knot current. The ROV performed a hull inspection and bridge support structures in low visibility conditions. The demonstration was coordinated by Great Eastern Group’s (GEG) Director of Operations - Bruce Morris at the FAU Dania Beach Campus. Great Eastern Group had performed the research and design developmental testing in the U.S. market for the initial Predator I ROV system. GEG is the distributor for the Predator II ROV system on the U
Scientists Link Climate Change and Gray Snapper
Models Project Northward Distribution Shifts Using Temperature, Estuarine Habitats as Key Factors. NOAA scientists continue to develop and improve the approaches used to understand the effect of climate change on marine fisheries along the U.S. east coast. Their latest study projects that one common coastal species found in the southeast U.S., gray snapper, will shift northwards in response to warming coastal waters. In a study published online December 20 in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) and the University of North Florida developed
Atlantic Ocean Circulation at Weakest Point in 1,600 Years
years, as suggested by new research led by University College London (UCL) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). If the system continues to weaken, it could disrupt weather patterns from the United States and Europe to the African Sahel, and cause more rapid increase in sea level on the U.S. East Coast.When it comes to regulating global climate, the circulation of the Atlantic Ocean plays a key role. The constantly moving system of deep-water circulation, sometimes referred to as the Global Ocean Conveyor Belt, sends warm, salty Gulf Stream water to the North Atlantic where it releases heat
