West Coast News

© Verlume

Verlume Appoints Valor Ocean Technology As First Canadian Business Development Agent

(formally known as ValorBPS) is a provider of advanced ocean technology systems, serving energy, defense, and scientific customers across North America. Headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with an additional office in Ontario, their team supports operations from the Atlantic Coast to the West Coast. Leveraging Canada’s capabilities in ocean science, robotics, and offshore energy, Valor Ocean Technologies will lead efforts to grow Verlume’s presence and customer base across key markets.Through this collaboration, Valor Ocean Technologies will promote Verlume’s technology

Aggregated results from model simulations showing dramatic differences in impacts based on the timing of a potential spill. In a July scenario (left panel), the spill is most likely to move south, towards the coast of Washington state. In a January scenario (right panel), the spill is most likely to flow north, potentially affecting the coast of Vancouver Island, Canada. © NOAA

NOAA: Operational Forecast System Informs Shipwreck Oil Spill Scenarios

potential impacts from the Coast Trader’s fuel in the event that corrosion leads to a release of oil. As part of this assessment, the team used NOAA’s GNOME trajectory model for modeling potential spill paths and impacts to the coastline, as well as NOAA Office of Coast Survey’s West Coast Operational Forecast System, which provides water level, current, temperature, and salinity nowcast and forecast guidance.  The team ran approximately 400 spill scenarios, at random dates and times, to model potential paths and the impacts on the coastline. Using these model results, NOAA

Phoenix International Holdings, Inc. announced that it has hired Michael T. Johnson as Area Manager for its San-Diego based operations. Credit: Phoenix

Phoenix Hires New Area Manager to Lead San Diego-Based Operations

outcomes on-time, safely, and within budget. He is a creative and highly respected professional with a strong record in team leadership and training, operational efficiency, and solutions-oriented project management.“We are thrilled to bring Mike on board to lead Phoenix International’s West Coast team and operations,” said Phoenix President Pat Keenan.  “Mike’s extensive background and advanced expertise in ocean engineering, salvage and marine and waterfront construction will provide our clients with the collaborative partnership, responsiveness and operational excellence

Annual global ocean heat content down to 2000 m depth for the period 1960–2024, in zettajoules (1021 J). The shaded area indicates the 2-sigma uncertainty range on each estimate.

WMO Documents Spiraling Climate Impacts

food crises in 18 countries globally by mid-2024.Tropical cyclones were responsible for many of the highest-impact events of 2024. These included Typhoon Yagi in Viet Nam, the Philippines and southern China.In the United States, Hurricanes Helene and Milton in October both made landfall on the west coast of Florida as major hurricanes, with economic losses of tens of billions of dollars. Over 200 deaths were associated with the exceptional rainfall and flooding from Helene, the most in a mainland United States hurricane since Katrina in 2005.Tropical Cyclone Chido caused casualties and economic

British sewage contaminates waterways and the oceans. Credit: Adobe Stock/cheekylorns

Sewage Contaminates British Waters

.Before Britain left the European Union, mussels and oysters could be shipped to the continent prior to purification. Post Brexit, the EU only accepts purified goods or those from the cleanest British waters, rated Class A.That change has all but destroyed mussel farming in north Wales on Britain's west coast. The region once produced the bulk of Britain's exports to Europe but now rarely sells to the continent due to poor water and a lack of bulk purification facilities in the country.The Shellfish Association of Great Britain (SAGB) says British exports would double if the seas were cleaner.James

© aquapix / Adobe Stock

The Future of Coral Reef Protection

help,” said Nicole Senn, head of engagement at Citizens of the Reef.Last month, observations from scientists and citizens in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions confirmed major coral bleaching is affecting Western Australian reefs. While there are not as many individual reefs off Australia’s west coast as the east coast, the coral reefs there are as extensive geographically and as diverse as those found in the Great Barrier Reef.And this week, scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) reported a new machine learning method, RapidBenthos, that has the capability to extract

Ocean bottom seismometers courtesy of Dr Megan Baker, Durham University.

Longest-Runout Undersea Sediment Flows Analyzed in Unprecedented Detail

able to analyse in detail the internal structure of these tens to hundreds of kilometres long turbidity currents - an oceanographic phenomenon that has been studied for almost a century, but never directly observed.The team deployed seismometers in October 2019 in the Congo Canyon and Channel off the west coast of Africa - one of the largest and deepest submarine canyons in the world. The instruments were placed several kilometres outside the canyon-channel axis, beyond the destructive reach of the currents, allowing them to record the seismic signals generated by flow turbulence and associated sediment

Copyright cristianstorto/AdobeStock

A Decade Later, Ocean Infinity Continues the Search for MH370

given for the contract. These are the details that we need to finalise before we sign," Loke added.Refinitiv ship tracking data shows one of Ocean Infinity's ships, Armada 78 06, began tracking on Sunday a part of the Southern Indian Ocean, about 2,000 km (1,200 miles) off Australia's west coast.Ocean Infinity's proposal to resume the search will see it expand the previous search area by 15,000 sq km (5,790 sq miles) in an effort lasting 18 months, with the period from January to April offering the best window, Malaysia said in December.No precise location of the new search area was

© dragancfm / Adobe Stock

Underwater Sabotage: A Baltic Sea Timeline

, after it was completely severed in November and December of 2024.The European Commission said it will spend almost a billion euros to boost surveillance of cables and establish a fleet of emergency repair vessels.JANUARY 2025: SWEDEN-LATVIA TELECOM CABLEAn undersea fiber optic cable connecting the west coast of Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland malfunctioned on January 26, triggering an investigation by NATO and local police.Sweden later seized and boarded the Maltese-flagged bulk vessel Vezhen on suspicion that it had caused the damage in an act of gross sabotage.Bulgarian shipping company

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