Island Nations to Disappear & more – 19th Dec 2023

Ahoy from BA! This is Rorshok’s Ocean Update from the 19th of December twenty twenty-three A summary of what's going down in the 70% surface of the Earth covered in saltwater.

Sea level rise is a huge threat to low-lying Pacific islands. According to the UN and the Global Center for Climate Mobility, many low-lying island nations could disappear this century. On a previous show, we talked about the agreement between the Prime Ministers of Tuvalu and Australia, which allowed Tuvalu’s residents to emigrate to Australia. The Marshall Islands are also at risk of disappearing under the sea level. That’s why on Tuesday the 5th, the nation released a National Adaptation Plan at the COP28 that took place in Dubai. The plan foresees multiple phases: In the first one, the government will try to safeguard the islands that are most at risk as much as possible until twenty forty or twenty fifty. At that point, there will be a reassessment of the climate danger and the actions to take. Within twenty seventy, the government will decide which islands to protect long-term and start constructing infrastructures to relocate displaced communities from the islands that will disappear.

Because of the threat climate change poses to many Pacific islands, island nations are changing their tourism structure to balance the economy with environmental and cultural boundaries. The Pacific Tourism Organization created a sustainable tourism guideline to reduce the use of plastic and save energy. Some countries, like French Polynesia, are adopting the slow tourism model that encourages tourists to spend more time in a single place and to engage them in green activities such as cycling and hiking. On the other hand, Cook Islands propose regenerative tourism—that is, supporting local businesses, eating local food, and immersing in the local culture. Some others, like Palau, are focusing on sustainability pledges. Still, experts like Joseph Cheer, professor of sustainable tourism at Western Sydney University in Australia, and Stephen Pratt, the department chair of tourism at the University of Central Florida, remarked on challenges such as limited resources, weak governance, and the need for laws to support volunteering.

From the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. On Wednesday the 13th, the Brazilian National Petroleum Agency (or ANP) awarded forty-four oil concessions in the Pelotas basin in the South Atlantic Ocean. The Pelotas basin became attractive after the discovery of a large number of oil reserves off the coast of Namibia. Petrobras, Shell, Chevron, and China National Offshore Oil Corporation are the companies that won the award and formed a consortia for oil and gas exploration. The Consortia paid almost sixty million US dollars to obtain the license to explore a new territory, off Rio Grande do Sul. Environmental activists from Greenpeace protested before the awarding of the concessions, but the auction still proceeded. Rodolfo Saboia, ANP director, said these concessions align with the commitment of Brazil’s gradual energy transition.

Going North, on Tuesday the 5th, the Norwegian government reached an agreement with the two main opposition parties to allow seabed mineral exploration in the Arctic Ocean. Environmental groups and the risk of potential threats to biodiversity couldn’t stop the agreement. This decision will allow commercial deep-sea mining in part of the Norwegian continental shelf, enabling the country to diversify its economy. Greenpeace, the Norwegian Bellona and other environmental groups released statements of disagreement: the main concern is that deep-sea mining will endanger the Arctic’s vulnerable ecosystem. Terje Aasland, the Norwegian minister for petroleum and energy, said it will be a gradual commercial opening process, and the Parliament still has to approve it.

Still in the Arctic. On Tuesday the 12th, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released the twenty twenty-three Arctic Report Card, saying that the average temperature in the region last summer was the warmest ever on record. The report highlights differences based on the regions: in Alaska, spring was colder than usual and slowed the process of ice-sea melt, while in Canada the opposite happened, with the warmest spring ever recorded. In Greenland, the extent of sea ice kept declining. The extreme weather and effects of climate change are strongly impacting the marine ecosystem and human activity, and the report emphasizes the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

To know more about the Arctic Report Card, check out the Arctic Update. Link in the show notes!

In other news, on Thursday the 14th, a Bulgarian-owned bulk carrier with a Maltese flag was reportedly boarded after an incident in the Arabian Sea, off Yemen's Socotra Island. According to Ambrey, a British maritime security company, an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel navigating the area switched off its Automatic Identification System transponder six hours before the incident. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Agency also reported receiving a distress call from the boarded vessel. Both the agency and Ambrey are still investigating the matter.

Let’s have a look at what's happening in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. On Wednesday the 13th, two US officials reported Yemen’s Houthi rebels firing two missiles that missed a tanker loaded with Indian jet fuel. The USS Mason, a US warship, intercepted a suspected Houthi drone while the attack was taking place. The tanker, Ardmore Encounter, escaped unharmed, and officials didn’t report any injuries among the crew, declaring that the vessel was still operating. The Houthis have been escalating drone and missile attacks on ships in the region, targeting Israel and raising international concerns.

In one of our previous shows, we talked about ONE Orpheus, the vessel that collided with a bridge in the Suez Canal. Now, Ocean Network Express (or ONE) informed customers that the ship needs to be fixed before continuing its journey to Rotterdam. The containership is now anchored off Port Said, in Egypt. The ONE said that repairs started on Monday the 11th.

Moving on into the Antarctic Ocean. On Friday the 15h, some German researchers published a study in the journal Science Advances, on the krill abundance in the region. Krill is an important species for the ecosystem and the fisheries of the Antarctic Ocean. The researchers considered factors such as surface temperature, ice sea cover, chlorophyll levels, and climate. The results showed that chlorophyll levels have a huge influence on larval recruitment. Spring and summer, with milder ice and warmer temperatures, create a perfect environment for krill reproduction. Winter, on the other hand, brings heavier ice and colder temperatures that support larvae growth. The study highlights the importance of providing long-term intraspecific competition to ensure sustainability.

Researchers from Northumbria University and Bangor University published another Antarctic study on Wednesday the 13th in the journal The Conversation. The study shows that the Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica experienced a mass loss since the nineteen forties that is now irreversible. The glacier went through heightened melting under the ice shelf, causing detachment from a stable ridge. This phenomenon accelerated the retreat process from the nineteen forties until the nineteen seventies, so much so that even if the ocean conditions improved at this point, it would be impossible to return to stable conditions, and the loss of ice mass would continue. The study warns of elevated global sea levels because of ice loss.

Closing with watersports. Salty Science is the name of an all-women team of marine scientists that will cross the Atlantic in The World’s Toughest Row, a 4.800-kilometer or 3,000-mile race, which aims to raise awareness and funds for ocean science and conservation. The team sees in its ranks marine biologists from British Columbia and researchers from Alaska and Quebec. Salty Science will navigate in a twenty-eight feet (or 8.5 meters) long rowboat without stops or support with two-hour shifts. The team trained for eighteen months for this challenging journey, which will last six or seven weeks, and currently raised half of its 500,000 US dollar goal.

Aaand that's it for this week!

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