OCEAN: Corpses & more – 23rd Apr 2024

kilometers (or: 3000

Still in the Atlantic. On Monday the 15th, a thirty-five-year-old pregnant woman aboard the Disney Fantasy cruise ship required urgent medical assistance while traveling almost 300 kilometers (or 180 miles) northwest of Aguadilla, near Puerto Rico. In response, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew conducted a medical evacuation operation. The crew rescued the woman, together with an onboard doctor, hoisting them with a rescue basket and litter in a helicopter. They transported them to an airport in San Juan, where the emergency personnel took care of the woman and rushed her to a hospital.

On Wednesday the 17th, Greenpeace activists staged a protest outside the 12th annual Deep Sea Mining Summit in London, confronting industry representatives with a giant inflatable pink octopus. They demanded an end to deep sea mining, criticizing companies like Loke and Impossible Metals for their plans to exploit the Pacific and Arctic oceans. Activists held banners reading Stop Deep Sea Mining and confronted CEOs, highlighting the environmental risks and the industry’s absence of social licenses. According to Greenpeace, more than two million people worldwide urged governments to endorse a moratorium on deep sea mining at the July meeting of the International Seabed Authority Assembly, composed of 167 States and the European Union. In October twenty twenty-three, the UK government said it would back a moratorium.

Moving on, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or NOAA) asserts that the conditions of the climate pattern El Niño persist in the tropical Pacific Ocean, despite declarations from several climate organizations that the El Niño phenomenon from twenty nineteen has ended. El Niño conditions occur when sea-surface temperature anomalies exceed 0.5 degrees Celsius (almost thirty-three degrees Fahrenheit) above average in key areas of the eastern and central Pacific, bringing floods and droughts in the Americas and drier conditions in Australia. On Tuesday the 16th, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology stated that ocean conditions no longer meet the El Niño criteria. NOAA, on the other hand, predicts an 85% chance of El Niño ending this spring, transitioning to a neutral pattern (when the anomalies are between -0.5 and 0.5 degrees Celsius).

…and then? On Thursday the 11th, NOAA also stated there is a 60% chance of entering back to La Niña conditions, the opposite climate pattern, by the end of the summer. La Niña typically causes sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific to decrease by more than -0.5 degrees Celcius (thirty-one Fahrenheit), resulting in the accumulation of warm water in the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea, which is likely to cause hurricanes. In this phase, strong easterly winds usually bring cold water up from the depths along the South American coast.

On Tuesday the 16th, the journal Nature Communications published an article focusing on how changes in Indian Ocean Dipole patterns affect Antarctic sea ice in a warming climate. Researchers found that warm sea surface temperatures in the western tropical Indian Ocean trigger changes in Antarctic sea ice. This impact has weakened in the last twenty years due to reduced temperature variability in the region. Still, climate models suggest this trend will continue, leading to further decline in Antarctic sea ice.

In other news, the company Advanced Navigation deployed its Hydrus underwater to explore shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean, discovering a massive sixty-five-meter (or 210-feet) wreck off the coast of Western Australia. The Hydrus, equipped with pressure-tolerant technology, autonomously captured high-resolution imagery and video footage of the sunken vessel, necessary for reconstructing a detailed 3D digital twin of the wreck. This technology allows for cost-effective and efficient underwater exploration, offering insights into historical artifacts and facilitating coral reef monitoring efforts.

According to the Turkish Defense Ministry, on Tuesday the 16th, the Turkish warship TCG Kınalıada, the fourth ship produced in the country, reached the Suez Canal on its journey to Japan to celebrate the centenary of bilateral relations between the two countries. The vessel is an Ada-class corvette and departed from the Izmir province of Turkey on Monday the 8th, to show the importance of the Turkish Navy and strengthen relations with Japan. The journey will last over 130 days, covering 27,000 nautical miles or 50,000 kilometers. The vessel will visit twenty-four ports across twenty countries, including Saudi Arabia, China, India, and the United Arab Emirates.

Speaking of Japan, the country is increasing its involvement in the Arctic through its Fourth Basic Plan on Ocean Policy. The updated policy focuses on supporting Arctic research, enhancing international cooperation, and encouraging scientists to tackle Arctic issues. The new measure also aims to promote a sustainable use of the Arctic Sea Route by developing new technologies and vessels, and adhering to international law principles. Japan’s goal is to be an active participant in Arctic development, balancing economic opportunities with environmental conservation amidst climate change.

In other news, Denmark has banned the discharge of scrubber water from ships near its coasts to prevent marine pollution. The ban will come into effect in July twenty twenty-five for open scrubber operations and in twenty twenty-nine for closed operations. The aim is to reduce the amount of harmful substances entering the marine environment. This ban follows a political agreement in which ships need to swift to zero emissions. The Danish Shipping Organization stated that it would support the ban and encouraged it to reinforce it. The Clean Arctic Alliance, composed of twenty non-for-profit organizations, applauded Denmark's move and urged other Arctic states to follow suit.

From the Arctic to the Antarctic Ocean. A University of Melbourne expedition has discovered that wind plays a crucial role in generating massive rogue waves, which happen more frequently than previously known. Led by Professor Alessandro Toffoli, the team found that rogue waves, twice taller than other waves in the surroundings, emerge suddenly due to strong winds and irregular wave patterns. The crew captured new insights into ocean wave behavior, revealing that rogue waves often arise when waves are young and easily affected by wind. These findings, published in the journal Physical Review Letters on Friday the 12th, highlighted the importance of the wind to predict rogue waves.

And to close this edition, in previous shows, we talked about the leak in the Balticonnector gas pipeline linking Finland and Estonia through the Baltic Sea, which caused a shutdown in October twenty twenty-three. The pipeline was closed and isolated upon discovering the leak, caused by external damage in Finland's economic zone. After being shut down for six months for repair work, the pipeline is ready to resume operations. After testing integrity and strength, the pipeline was re-opened on Monday the 22nd.

The Balticonnector was the first pipeline to connect Finland and Estonia. It first opened in twenty twenty, with a length of over 150 kilometers (ninety miles) through the Baltic Sea. It gives Finland access to the gas market of the European Union, enhancing energy security in the country.

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