Category: Ocean Awareness

Grubio--1, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

10 Seaweed Blobs That Will Blow Your Mind

Ocean Awareness

5/11/2023 - By atlasobscura.com Batten down the hatches. Stay out of the water, and beware, because it’s coming. It isn’t a shark or a sea monster. No, this marine menace is…seaweed. More specifically, it’s a massive blob of the stuff twice the width of the continental United States. And that 5,000-mile-wide gunk raft… SEE MORE

seaweed

kees torn, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

California, LA and Japan Sign Agreements for Green Shipping Initiative

Ocean Awareness

5/10/2023 - By maritime-executive.com Representatives from the state of California and the government of Japan signed agreements to collaborate on clean ports and shipping including establishing green shipping corridors during a trade mission to Japan. The initiative was followed with a second agreement between the ports of Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Yokohama… SEE MORE

Commercial Shipping

Derivative work: McSush CO2 pump via WikkiCommons

Scientists Want to Dump Iron Nanoparticles into the Oceans to save the Planet

5/9/2023 - By bigthink.com Ocean fertilization is extremely controversial, but if done correctly, it just might work. KEY TAKEAWAYS: Reducing carbon emissions may not be enough to reverse the worst effects of climate change. Capturing and burying carbon dioxide may be necessary. One idea is to "fertilize" the ocean with iron nanoparticles,… SEE MORE

Judgefloro, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Scientists turn to Coconuts to Save the New Jersey Coastline

4/30/2023 - By phys.org. Learn about the little-known but highly effective method of marsh restoration using coir logs. Made from the fibrous outer husk of coconut shellsCoir logs will be used in other area projects in the coming months, including one scheduled for Earth Day, according to Quinn Whitesall, habitat restoration coordinator… SEE MORE

Ocean Absorbing 89% of Climate Warming According to an International Team of Scientists Led by Mercator Ocean International

Ocean Awareness

4/28/2023 - By ecomagazine.com. A new study shows that 89% of the excess heat built up in the Earth system from 1960-2020 has been absorbed by the Ocean. An international team of 70 researchers from 15 countries led by Mercator Ocean International’s Karina von Schuckmann revealed their results today in a paper… SEE MORE

global warming

Suzuki Marine USA’s 800-Mile Sustainable Fuel Journey to Promote Eco-Friendly Boating

Ocean Awareness

4/18/2023 - Tampa, FLA. — Suzuki Marine USA will embark on an important journey beginning Tuesday, April 18, setting out from Jacksonville, Florida on a nearly 800-mile journey by water to Washington D.C., where the 259 Sea Pro center console will be highlighted in an on-the-water display during the 2023 American Boating… SEE MORE

Most of World’s Salt Marshes likely to be Underwater by 2100, Study concludes

Ocean Awareness

4/15/2023 - By Emily Greenhalgh. WOODS HOLE, MASS. -- Cape Cod’s salt marshes are as iconic as they are important. These beautiful, low-lying wetlands are some of the most biologically productive ecosystems on Earth. They play an outsized role in nitrogen cycling, act as carbon sinks, protect coastal development from storm surge,… SEE MORE

salt marshes

Inbreeding Contributes to Decline of Endangered Killer Whales

Ocean Awareness

4/10/2023 - By fisheries.noaa.gov. New genome sequencing shows Southern Residents are highly inbred. The small size and isolation of the endangered population of Southern Resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest have led to high levels of inbreeding. This inbreeding has contributed to their decline, which has continued as surrounding killer whale populations… SEE MORE

Is It a Seal or a Sea Lion?

Ocean Awareness

4/6/2023 - By fisheries.noaa.gov. Seals and sea lions are both pinnipeds, but there are distinct characteristics to tell them apart. Seals and sea lions, along with walruses, belong to a group of marine mammals called “pinnipeds.” Pinniped means fin or flipper-footed in Latin. These animals spend the majority of their time in… SEE MORE

brewbooks from near Seattle, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 , Flickr_-_brewbooks_-_Lichen_and_Plants_on_a_rock via Wikimedia Commons

Worried about Sea Level Rise? Look for the Lichens.

3/22/2023 - By Ian Rose. One of the great infrastructure challenges of the next few decades is to figure out which coastal sites should be abandoned and which can be saved. Lichens can help. [caption id="attachment_45020" align="alignnone" width="512"] Lichen on rock via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] The clock is ticking for many low-lying coastal areas.… SEE MORE