A study led by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) has revealed the existence of a biogeographical boundary at the bottom of the North Pacific Ocean, resembling the ‘Wallace Line’ discovered in 1859 that divides the life of Asia and Oceania, on the seabed. This limit separates two distinct biological areas across the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a vast abyssal plain region extending across 5,000 km between Mexico and Kiribati, at depths between 3,500 to 6,000 m, and which is currently targeted for deep-sea mining. The study also revealed that there is a surprising increase in diversity with depth in this region, challenging the long-held paradigm in deep-sea ecology that biodiversity is limited by the harsher living conditions in deeper areas of the ocean. Dr. Erik Simon-Lledó, deep-sea ecologist at NOC and lead author on the paper, said: “We were surprised to find a deep province so clearly dominated by soft anemones...

Wageningen, 12 July 2023 - The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded €5.3 million to the Floating Future research programme. This programme investigates from governance, technology and ecology how the Netherlands can build floating structures on a large scale and how this can be done in a socially acceptable way. Specifically, it involves floating, climate-adaptive perspectives for inland waterways, port cities and the North Sea. Olaf Waals, manager Offshore at MARIN and principal investigator of Floating Future, about the relevance of this project: 'The underlying question is how we can keep our densely populated country livable. There is an increasing demand for space for housing, industry, energy transition and food production. About 60% of our country is already vulnerable to flooding, and climate change means rising sea levels and river discharges are an increasing threat. But apart from risks, the water also offers opportunities for new forms of safe use...

In the Science News story “Cleaning up ocean ‘garbage patches’ could destroy delicate ecosystems”, A. B. Vigil describes research showing that cleaning up garbage patches in the ocean could harm some marine species , but she neglects to weigh these risks against the harm caused by failing to clean up the garbage. Although cleaning up ocean dumps could have local effects on some species, cleanup efforts should proceed without delay. The three species found in the research Vigil cites—blue button jellies, by-the-wind sailors, and violet snails—play distinct roles in maintaining the balance and stability of the marine ecosystem, as the News story explains. However, potential harm to these species should not serve as a justification to postpone cleanup. These jellies, sailors, and snails have wide geographical distributions, and none of their populations is endangered or at risk of substantial decline . Removing the garbage would likely not reduce their populations to the point that...

Today, the Department of Commerce and NOAA are launching the Ocean-Based Climate Resilience Accelerators program,a $60 million investment in coastal resilience and American small businesses through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The program, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act,will foster public-private partnerships to help support small businesses that are developing sustainable technologies geared toward climate resilience to attract capital, mature their technologies and scale their business models for climate impact. “To tackle the urgent threat that climate change poses, we need all hands on deck — that means the public and private sectors — to develop next generation technologies and innovations that will bolster climate resilience and protect our future,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “Thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, we are ensuring that America’s small businesses — the backbone of our economy — are part of developing climate solutions that make our communities healthier and...

Fishing nets, packaging and other debris threaten wildlife in some of the ocean’s deepest reef ecosystems. A survey of 84 coral ecosystems at 25 locations across the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian ocean basins found plastic debris from human activities in almost all of them, both shallow and deep. The study team, led by marine biologist Hudson Pinheiro at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, set out to survey biodiversity on remote reefs, which the researchers expected to be pristine. But during their sampling, they noticed that “these places are not as pristine as we were thinking”, Pinheiro says. It turned out that 77 of the 84 ecosystems contained macroplastics — plastic items measuring 5 centimetres or more across. The researchers found that this type of plastic waste made up 88% of all human-generated rubbish on the reefs1. Much of the debris found in the more remote locations was discarded fishing...

Upgrade will enhance forecasts of storm surge during tropical cyclones Today, NOAA upgraded its Probabilistic Storm Surge (P-Surge) model — the primary model for predicting storm surge associated with high-impact weather like hurricanes and tropical storms —  to version 3.0. This upgrade advances storm surge modeling and forecasting for the contiguous U.S. (CONUS), Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and comes just in time for the 2023 hurricane season beginning on June 1 and running through November 30. The upgrade includes a number of new capabilities that will help forecasters better understand the risk of storm surge, such as: “We are seeing a sharp increase in catastrophic storm surge impacts in our coastal communities,” said Ken Graham, director of NOAA's National Weather Service. “Our new capabilities to effectively and accurately model and forecast storm surge is critical to upholding the NWS mission of protection of life and property.” Storm surge...

Scientists have started work on a new underwater artificial intelligence bot which can detect activities that harm the ocean environment. Aqua, will be used to spot illegal fishing and protect marine mammals during offshore wind farm construction. More than £700,000 was awarded by Innovate UK for the AI system, codenamed MARLIN, which uses underwater sensors to remotely monitor animal, human and environmental activity anywhere in the ocean beforetransmitting data back in real time. Professor of Statistical Signal Processing Paul White,from the University of Southampton, said: "Using the power of artificial intelligence to monitor sound in the underwater world, combined with the ability to rapidly relay information ashore, will enable us to provide tools to protect fragile marine ecosystems and detect a range of illegal activities." Large vessels are typically used for ocean monitoring missions – but the new MARLIN system could reduce the time ships are at sea, potentially cutting...

Study finds that turtles are among animals vulnerable to hearing loss Woods Hole, MA  – New research shows turtles can experience temporary hearing loss from an excess of underwater noise. This phenomenon, previously noted in other marine animals such as dolphins and fish, was not widely understood for reptiles and underscores another potential risk for aquatic turtles. This high volume of sound, referred to as underwater noise pollution, can be caused by passing ships and offshore construction. These preliminary findings were part of a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution-led study that is being presented at the 2022 Ocean Sciences Meeting, held online from February 24, 2022, through March 4, 2022. “Our study is the first to support that these animals are vulnerable to underwater hearing loss after exposure to intense noise,” said Andria Salas, WHOI postdoctoral investigator and study co-author. “We have assumed that turtles experience hearing loss when exposed to sufficiently...

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Project is Part of the Broader Carbon to Sea Initiative Woods Hole, Mass. – With human-induced greenhouse gases fueling global climate change, there is an urgent need to bolster emissions reductions with large-scale carbon dioxide removal. Scientists are looking at a technique known as ocean alkalinity enhancement, or OAE, as a potential way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. As part of this effort, Adam Subhas, an assistant scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts, is the principal investigator leading the LOC-NESS project—short for “Locking away Ocean Carbon in the Northeast Shelf and Slope”—which will carry out its first field experiment in August. LOC-NESS is one of nine research and engineering projects funded to date by the Carbon to Sea Initiative, which officially launches today as an effort to accelerate the understanding of OAE as a potential method for large-scale carbon dioxide removal. ICONIQ Impact,...

1.First comprehensive checklist of life in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone compiled 2.Over 90% of species in one of the most likely future mining sites are undescribed by science 3.The paper How many metazoan species live in the world’s largest mineral exploration region? is published in Current Biology In a new paper led by the Natural History Museum (NHM), researchers report on the life of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ). A rapid growth in taxonomic surveys for the area which began in the early 1970’s has allowed them to conduct the first comprehensive synthesis of CCZ biodiversity and create an inventory vital to future assessments of environmental impacts from any mining activity. The CCZ is an area of the deep sea spanning up to six million km2 roughly the width of the continental United States between Hawaii and Mexico and it alone currently has 17 contracts for mineral exploration covering 1.2 million km2. However, despite initial mineral exploration beginning...