Archive for category: Ocean Newswire

Fertilizing Oceans Seen Fruitless in Climate Fight

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By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent
OSLO | Mon Jan 31, 2011 12:39pm EST

OSLO (Reuters) – Fertilizing the oceans to boost the growth of tiny plants that soak up greenhouse gases is unlikely to work as a way to slow climate change, a U.N.-backed study showed on Monday.

Such “geo-engineering” schemes would be hard to monitor and were likely to store away only small amounts of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, according to a report by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.

“Geo-engineering schemes involving ocean fertilization to affect climate have a low chance of success,” according to the 20-page study by the Commission, part of the U.N. Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The review, by scientists in seven countries, said 13 experiments in recent years showed faded optimism that iron dust or other nutrients could spur growth of microscopic marine plants and permanently suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Read the rest…

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

NOAA Offers ‘How Do We Explore’ – A Free Online Ocean Exploration Course for Teachers and the Public

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A free online educational workshop for formal and informal educators, ocean explorers, scientists and other interested members of the public will be available from NOAA later this month.
NOAA News Releases

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

Sharp rise reported in Scots fish lice chemical (BBC)

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The level of chemicals used by fish farmers to treat sea lice infestations has risen dramatically, a BBC Scotland investigation has learned.

Scottish government figures showed that over the past five years, the industry used a broader range of chemicals and more of them.

Campaigners claim the figures are evidence the natural parasite is becoming resistant to the treatments.

Fish lice have been blamed for damaging salmon and sea trout stocks. Read more

Chemical in Dispersants Endured Long After Gulf Oil Spill, Study Finds

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The ingredient was found nearly 200 miles from the wellhead two months after BP stopped applying dispersants. Tests indicate the amount found wasn’t toxic, but ‘we don’t really know what effect it had on the environment,’ the lead researcher says.

By Bettina Boxall, Los Angeles Times

January 26, 2011, 5:33 p.m.

A key ingredient of the chemical dispersants released last summer at BP’s spewing wellhead persisted in the Gulf of Mexico’s deep waters for two months and was carried by currents nearly 200 miles, according to a study released Wednesday.

The research, conducted by scientists from California universities and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, sheds light on the fate of the 771,000 gallons of dispersants – which had never before been released at such depths – but does not address their effect on deep-sea life, or whether they worked as intended.

BP applied about 2 million gallons of dispersants to break down the oil during the four months it gushed into the gulf and to keep it from reaching sensitive shore environments. More than half that amount was sprayed on the water’s surface, but 771,000 gallons were pumped into the clouds of oil and gas that billowed from the seabed, nearly a mile below.

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

Less Than Half of Students Proficient in Science

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By CHRISTINE ARMARIO
Associated Press

The nation’s students are still struggling in science, with less than half considered proficient and just a tiny fraction showing the advanced skills that could lead to careers in science and technology, according to results from an exam released Tuesday.

Only 1 percent of fourth-grade and 12th-grade students, and 2 percent of eighth-graders scored in the highest group on the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress, a federal test known as the Nation’s Report Card.

“Our ability to create the next generation of U.S. leaders in science and technology is seriously in danger,” said Alan Friedman, former director of the New York Hall of Science, and a member of the board that oversees the test.

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

BP’s Disaster Down Under

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Australians continue to raise their barbie sticks to say “no” to the proposed liquified natural gas (LNG) plant in the country’s pristine, untouched Kimberley region, off its west coast.

Currently, the massive area’s sprinkling of residents enjoy the company of endangered marine life, including snubfin dolphins, sawfish, turtles, dugongs and lots of fish. They are also fortunate to host the world’s largest population of humpback whales. One of the endangered species endemic to this region is flatback turtles, with approximately 1,000 of them nesting annually at an island off the coast.

However, the unspoiled, delicate environment could soon be over-run with visitors from unsavory entities such as Woodside Petroleum, Chevron, Shell, BP and BHP Billiton. If one remembers our Gulf of Mexico disaster last summer, it’s obvious that these companies aren’t exactly ocean-friendly neighbors.

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President Obama Signs Shark Conservation Act

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President Obama has signed into force the Shark Conservation Act, which prohibits almost all shark finning by U.S. vessels and in U.S. waters. The president signed the act on January 4, two weeks after the House and Senate passed the bill.

The act requires any U.S. vessel to land sharks with their fins attached and prevents non-fishing vessels from transporting fins without their carcasses. The new law also allows the United States to block seafood imports from countries that permit shark finning.

Read the rest at SeaWeb…

Extreme Heat Bleaches Coral, and Threat Is Seen

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From Thailand to Texas, many corals are reacting to heat stress by shedding their color and going into survival mode, putting the oceans’ richest ecosystems and fisheries at risk.

Read the full New York Times article…

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

New Orleans Fish Market Struggles After Gulf Spill

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Ruth Graves makes a point of thanking all her customers for supporting what she calls “seafood people”.

She has been selling shrimp, crabs and fish at the Westwego market just outside New Orleans for three decades, but her family is now in a desperate situation.

“This is my only livelihood,” says Ms Graves, 51. “My husband is diabetic so he can’t work, so it’s just me supporting the whole family.”

Read more at BBC

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

Thriving ‘Middle Light’ Reefs Found in Puerto Rico

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NOAA-funded scientists have found extensive and biologically diverse coral ecosystems occurring at depths between 100-500 feet within a 12 mile span off the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico. With the overall health of shallow coral reefs and the abundance of reef fish in Puerto Rico in decline, this finding brings hope that deeper fish stocks may help to replenish stocks on shallower reefs.

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.