U.S. Autumn and November Both Warmer Than Average – Nation Sets Record with Dozen Billion-Dollar Weather Disasters in One Year

November and the September-November autumn season were warmer than average across the contiguous U.S., according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, N.C. Precipitation totals across the country were also above average during November, but near the long-term average for the autumn season.

Read the NOAA News Release.

Note: Newswire stories are provided as a courtesy of OceanDoctor.org. Content of these articles is provided by external sources.

New Pacific Trade Deal Could Help Save Marine Species (Reuters)

New Pacific trade deal could help save marine species. (Reuters)

Ocean Today

Note: Newswire stories are provided as a courtesy of OceanDoctor.org. Content of these articles is provided by external sources.

Video: 49 Penguins Freed After Oil Spill Cleanup in New Zealand

Nearly 100 happy feet waddle to the shoreline of a beach near Tauranga, New Zealand. The 49 little blue penguins were released back into the wild after being rescued and cleaned up following the oil spill from the cargo ship, Rena, grounded off the coast.

Full story and video at MSNBC

Note: Newswire stories are provided as a courtesy of OceanDoctor.org. Content of these articles is provided by external sources.

 

Manta Ray Added to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCNRedList.org)

Manta ray added to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. (IUCNRedList.org)
Full story from SouthernFriedScience.com

Note: Newswire stories are provided as a courtesy of OceanDoctor.org. Content of these articles is provided by external sources.

NOAA Awards a Total of $10.8 Million to Four Minority Serving Institutions to Train Next Generation of Scientists

NOAA’s Office of Education announced that it has awarded grants totaling $ 10.8 million to four lead minority-serving institutions across the country to train and graduate students who pursue applied research in NOAA-related scientific fields.

Read the NOAA news release.

Note: Newswire stories are provided as a courtesy of OceanDoctor.org. Content of these articles is provided by external sources.

France Building World’s Largest Tidal Energy Farm (News.Discovery.com)

France building world’s largest Tidal Energy Farm. (news.discovery.com)

Ocean Today

Note: Newswire stories are provided as a courtesy of OceanDoctor.org. Content of these articles is provided by external sources.

Wave Glider, a Floating Robot, Seeks to Network the Oceans

A California company is working to network a fleet of oceangoing robots to measure the data of the sea.

Read the full article in the New York Times…

Note: Newswire stories are provided as a courtesy of OceanDoctor.org. Content of these articles is provided by external sources.

Connecting Children to the Outdoors – Ocean Education Programs Rekindle Our Bond with Nature

The gust of wind carried the grand arch of balloons away from the confines of the city garbage bin. The students of Pacific Grove Middle School in Pacific Grove, Calif., did not delight in their flight. Not cheers, but gasps, escaped from the children’s mouths as they watched the balloons drift away beyond their reach.

Read the full story at NOAA National Marine Sanctuary News.

Note: Newswire stories are provided as a courtesy of OceanDoctor.org. Content of these articles is provided by external sources.

World’s Oceans in ‘Shocking’ Decline

The oceans are in a worse state than previously suspected, according to an expert panel of scientists.

In a new report, they warn that ocean life is “at high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history”.

They conclude that issues such as over-fishing, pollution and climate change are acting together in ways that have not previously been recognised.

The impacts, they say, are already affecting humanity.

Full story from BBC News

Note: Newswire stories are provided as a courtesy of OceanDoctor.org. Content of these articles is provided by external sources.

Big Day in European Shark Conservation

Silky Shark (c) 2011 David E GuggenheimBig news in shark conservation from our sister organization, Shark Advocates International: EU Officials Sign UN Migratory Shark Initiative, Propose Stronger Finning Ban

Bergen, Norway. November 21, 2011. The European Union (EU) today became a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Sharks, just as the European Commission announced a proposal to strengthen the EU ban on shark “finning” (slicing off a shark’s fins and discarding the body at sea). An EU representative signed the Shark MoU at a ceremony at the 10th Conference of the CMS Parties which opened today in Bergen while the announcement on the finning proposal came from Commission headquarters in Brussels. Read more