Ocean Sentry
From the tops of trees to the depths of the oceans, humanity’s destruction of wildlife is continuing to drive many species towards extinction, with the latest “red list” showing that a third of all species assessed are under threat.
July, 2019
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16 July
‘Fishyleaks’ website hopes to land those guilty of overfishing
A website for whistleblowers “Fishyleaks” to expose illegal or unethical practices in the fishing industry has been launched by a charity campaigning to end overfishing in European Union waters.
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15 July
Scientists discover the world’s biggest seaweed patch. They say it could be the ‘new normal.’
With help from a pair of NASA satellites, scientists have identified what’s being called the biggest patch of seaweed ever seen. Researchers say the so-called bloom may represent the “new normal” for parts of the Atlantic.
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15 July
Arctic wildfires emitted as much CO2 in June as Sweden does in a year
Arctic wildfires, some the size of 100,000 football pitches, emitted as much carbon dioxide (CO2) last month as the country of Sweden does in a whole year, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Friday.
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11 July
Coral reefs shifting away from equator
The researchers found that the number of young corals on tropical reefs has declined by 85 percent—and doubled on subtropical reefs—during the last four decades. “Climate change seems to be redistributing coral reefs, the same way it is shifting many other marine species”.
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10 July
Clownfish reproduction threatened by artificial light in coral reefs
The popular story about a clownfish that got lost at sea in the movie Finding Nemo could have a much darker sequel—as artificial light in coral reefs leaves the famous fish unable to reproduce offspring, according to a new study.
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10 July
Study warns carbon-saturated oceans are headed toward tipping point — and could unleash mass extinction event
The continuous accumulation of carbon dioxide in the planet’s oceans—which shows no sign of stopping due to humanity’s relentless consumption of fossil fuels—is likely to trigger a chemical reaction in Earth’s carbon cycle similar to those which happened just before mass extinction events, according to a new study.
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9 July
Noise from ships induces stress-related changes in mussels
A new study has found that mussels are impacted on a molecular level by the sounds of ship motors. Researchers discovered that fluctuating noise levels in their environment cause mussels to experience stress, which was detected through changes in their DNA integrity.
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8 July
90% of Sri Lanka’s coral reefs dead: Officials
Sri Lanka, rich in coral reefs, had lost 90 percent of its corals in recent years mainly due to illegal fishing methods such as bottom trawling and dynamite blasting, excessive climate change and high levels of pollution dumped into the seas.
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5 July
Anchorage hits 90 degrees for first time in recorded history
With Alaska in the midst of an unprecedented heat wave that experts say is driven by the climate crisis, Anchorage—the state’s largest city—reached an all-time high temperature of 90 degrees on Thursday.
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3 July
Deep-sea mining to turn oceans into ‘new industrial frontier’
The world’s oceans are facing a “new industrial frontier” from a fledgling deep-sea mining industry as companies line up to extract metals and minerals from some of the most important ecosystems on the planet, a report has found.
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2 July
Antarctic sea ice is declining dramatically and we don’t know why
Decades of expanding sea ice in Antarctica have been wiped out by three years of sudden and dramatic declines, leaving scientist puzzled as to why the region has flipped so abruptly.