Tag: the oceans

The Greenland ice sheet is losing ice faster than forecast and now committed to at least 10 inches of sea level rise

Alun Hubbard I’m standing at the edge of the Greenland ice sheet, mesmerized by a mind-blowing scene of natural destruction. A milewide section of glacier front has fractured and is collapsing into the ocean, calving an immense iceberg. Seracs, giant columns of ice the height of three-story houses, are being tossed around like dice. And… Read More The Greenland ice sheet is losing ice faster than forecast and now committed to at least 10 inches of sea level rise

Dilip

How we can overcome the growing plastic crisis / Tobacco industry severely damages environment: WHO

Plastic has long had the planet in its grip. All too often it is found piled up on beaches and floating as “plastic islands” in the ocean. But it also clogs the stomachs of birds and other animals, and has even made it into the human bloodstream. To date, just 9% of the world’s plastic has… Read More How we can overcome the growing plastic crisis / Tobacco industry severely damages environment: WHO

Dilip

Global warming risks most cataclysmic extinction of marine life in 250 million years

Global heating is causing such a drastic change to the world’s oceans that it risks a mass extinction event of marine species that rivals anything that’s happened in the Earth’s history over tens of millions of years, new research has warned. Accelerating climate change is causing a “profound” impact upon ocean ecosystems that is “driving… Read More Global warming risks most cataclysmic extinction of marine life in 250 million years

Dilip

Thawing permafrost is roiling the Arctic landscape, driven by a hidden world of changes / Researchers identified over 5,500 new viruses in the ocean

Across the Arctic, strange things are happening to the landscape. Massive lakes, several square miles in size, have disappeared in the span of a few days. Hillsides slump. Ice-rich ground collapses, leaving the landscape wavy where it once was flat, and in some locations creating vast fields of large, sunken polygons. It’s evidence that permafrost,… Read More Thawing permafrost is roiling the Arctic landscape, driven by a hidden world of changes / Researchers identified over 5,500 new viruses in the ocean

Dilip

Douglas McCauley: As the ocean industrial revolution gains pace the need for protection is urgent /Jeff Sparrow: Is battling back-to-back disasters distracting us from fighting the climate crisis?

The ocean is often seen as the last wild frontier: a vast and empty blue wilderness where waves, whales and albatrosses rule. This is no longer true. Unnoticed by many, a new industrial revolution is unfolding in our seas. The last several decades have seen exponential growth in new marine industries. This includes expansion of offshore oil… Read More Douglas McCauley: As the ocean industrial revolution gains pace the need for protection is urgent /Jeff Sparrow: Is battling back-to-back disasters distracting us from fighting the climate crisis?

Dilip

The wreck of Endurance is a bridge to a bygone age, and a reminder of Antarctica’s uncertain future

Superbly clear images of the shipwreck Endurance, 3,000 metres below the ocean’s surface in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea, were this week broadcast around the world. Found by the Endurance 22 Expedition using a state-of-the-art autonomous underwater vehicle, we now have images almost as iconic as those taken of the stricken ship by Australian photographer and expedition… Read More The wreck of Endurance is a bridge to a bygone age, and a reminder of Antarctica’s uncertain future

Dilip

An icefish colony discovered in Antarctica is world's largest fish breeding ground

A breeding colony of 60 million fish has been discovered in Antarctica’s ice-covered Weddell Sea — a unique and previously unknown ecosystem that covers an area the size of Malta. The fascinating find shows how little is known about the ocean depths. The vast colony, believed to be the world’s largest, is home to the… Read More An icefish colony discovered in Antarctica is world's largest fish breeding ground

Dilip

Last year the oceans absorbed heat equivalent to 7 Hiroshima atomic bombs detonating each second

I was fortunate to play a small part in a new study, just published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, which shows that the Earth broke yet another heat record last year. Twenty-three scientists from around the world teamed up to analyze thousands of temperature measurements taken throughout the world’s oceans. The measurements, taken… Read More Last year the oceans absorbed heat equivalent to 7 Hiroshima atomic bombs detonating each second

Dilip

US is world’s biggest plastic polluter // Nurdles: the worst toxic waste you’ve probably never heard of

The advent of cheap, versatile plastics has created “a global scale deluge of plastic waste seemingly everywhere we look”, the report states, with the US a leading contributor of disposable plastics that ends up entangling and choking marine life, harming ecosystems and bringing harmful pollution up through the food chain. Plastic waste has increased sharply… Read More US is world’s biggest plastic polluter // Nurdles: the worst toxic waste you’ve probably never heard of

Dilip