Though they may be small, microorganisms are the most abundant form of life in the ocean. Marine microbes are responsible for making roughly half of the organic carbon that's usable by life. Many marine microbes live near the surface, depending on energy from the sun for photosynthesis. Yet between the low supply of and high competition for some key nutrients, like nitrogen, in the open ocean, scientists have puzzled over the vast diversity of microbial species found there. Researchers from the University of Washington, in collaboration with researchers from 12 other institutions, show that time of day is key, according to a study published Jan. 20 in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
HAB science today is founded on studies dealing with a great diversity of topics and harmful organisms, using a variety of continuously evolving experimental methods and approaches.
The major aim of these GlobalHAB guidelines cosponsored by SCOR, IOC UNESCO, PICES and ICES, is to communicate standardized strategies, tools, and protocols to assist researchers studying how climate change drivers may increase or decrease future HAB prevalence in aquatic ecosystems.
These guidelines represent a first step that will help inform HAB scientists, students, and researchers entering the field, as well as scientists seeking to incorporate HAB studies into existing and developing ocean and freshwater observing systems.
http://dx.doi.org/10.25607/OBP-1692 and https://oceanexpert.org/document/29762
152 billion tons of fresh water—equivalent to 20 times the volume of Loch Ness or 61 million Olympic-sized swimming pools, entered the seas around the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia when the megaberg A68A melted over three months in 2020/2021, according to a new study.
In July 2017, the A68A iceberg snapped off the Larsen-C Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula and began its epic 3.5-year, 4,000-km journey across the Southern Ocean. At 5719 square kilometers in extent—one-quarter the size of Wales—it was the biggest iceberg on Earth when it formed and the sixth largest on record. Around Christmas 2020, the berg received widespread attention as it drifted worryingly close to South Georgia, raising concerns it could harm the island's fragile ecosystem.
The inclusion of the Comoros Islands on the itinerary of Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s latest Africa visit highlights the heightened importance that Beijing places on the Indian Ocean states of the continent, which have often sought India’s assistance as the net security provider in the region.
Last year, Wang went to the Seychelles and after Comoros, he will head to the Maldives and Sri Lanka — in India’s neighbourhood in the Southern Indian Ocean Region.
China increasing ..
Read more at:https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
Coral on the Great Barrier Reef is showing early signs of bleaching, which has experts concerned as the Sunshine State is staring down the barrel of a long, hot summer.
A team of research scientists have documented pale and fully-bleached coral — which occurs when symbiotic algae inside hard coral is expelled — off the coast of Magnetic Island in Far North Queensland on Sunday.
They're concerned, as this could be the first signs of a "widespread" die-off at the World Heritage site.
If it proves true it would be the sixth mass bleaching event on the reef since 1998.
A massive underwater volcano that erupted just before sundown Friday sent waves several feet high smashing into the shores of the island nation of Tonga and thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean from Australia to Canada, including the U.S. West Coast.
Plumes from the explosion reached more than 12 miles above sea level, according to the Tonga Geological Services. At its widest, the cloud caused by the ash and steam reached about 150 miles across, making it easily seen from satellites. The eruption was so massive that its shockwaves were felt as far away as Mount Hood in Oregon.
In Tonga, home to 105,000 people, the extent of the injuries and damage caused were still largely unknown. The eruption, which filled the sky with so much ash that darkness seemed to fall on Tonga two hours before sunset, has knocked out communications, according to The Associated Press.
- New deep-sea coral species discovered in Scotland
- NOAA Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute Webinar Series Available for Viewing
- Tech Startups Invited to Join Yara Marine X Accelerator Program
- Accumulated heat in the upper ocean is at record levels again
- URCHINOMICS: ONE OF THREE COMMERCIAL VENTURES IN THE WORLD ENDORSED BY THE UNITED NATIONS (UN) OCEAN DECADE