OCEAN: Tsunami Alert & more – 11th Feb 2025

Ahoy from BA! This is the Rorshok Ocean Update from the 11th of February twenty twenty-five. A summary of what's going down in the 70% surface of the Earth covered in saltwater.

A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck the Caribbean on Saturday the 8th, triggering a tsunami alert, later lifted by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The US Geological Survey located the epicenter 200 km (or 125 miles) southwest of George Town, the capital of the Cayman Islands, at a depth of thirty-three km (around twenty miles). A smaller 4.3-magnitude aftershock followed at a depth of ten km (or six miles).

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially issued an alert for several countries, including Cuba, Jamaica, Mexico, and Central American nations, but no damage or casualties followed. The region's complex tectonic activity involves interactions between the Caribbean, North American, South American, Nazca, and Cocos plates. These tectonic areas have frequent seismic activity, with the Cayman Ridge and Trench playing a major role in the area’s geological shifts.

Speaking of earthquakes, according to the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the Santorini-Amorgos region has experienced over 12,800 earthquakes in just ten days. Only on Sunday the 9th, 102 tremors occurred, with the strongest reaching a magnitude of 5.0.

The earthquakes have triggered landslides, particularly in southern Santorini, the central-eastern caldera slopes, and northern areas. Red Beach and Vlychada Beach have seen significant changes. Authorities have restricted access to dangerous zones, and experts continue monitoring the situation to protect residents and the island’s landscape.

In previous shows, we talked about the biggest iceberg in the world drifting toward South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic. Now, this is causing concerns about the safety of the local wildlife. Oceanographer Andrew Meijers warns that if the iceberg grounds on South Georgia’s continental shelf, it could block feeding routes for penguins and seals, potentially leading to deaths. However, scientist Raul Cordero believes that the iceberg might not ground, as currents may steer it away. But if it grounds, the iceberg’s fragments might impact the island.

Right now, penguins and seals are searching for food for their young, and navigating around the iceberg could drain their energy. The region is already struggling with a tough season, including bird flu outbreaks.

Going a little further South, Snigdha Bhaumik and Soumya Subhra Baishnab, Presidency University researchers, will join the 12th Indian Scientific Expedition to the Antarctic Ocean this month. They will explore life on the ocean floor, focusing on the impact of climate change and melting sea ice. Bhaumik will make history as the first female researcher from a West Bengal academic institution to participate in such an expedition.

The National Center for Polar and Ocean Research organized and funded the forty-two-day journey under the Ministry of Earth Sciences. While Bhaumik will study large sea creatures to understand how they evolve and adapt to environmental changes using DNA testing, Baishnab will focus on tiny organisms that help break down matter and recycle nutrients, which can also be used to track environmental health.

From one Pole to the other. The Seabed twenty thirty project has recently made a major breakthrough by mapping 1.4 million square kilometers (or 540,000 square miles) of the Arctic Ocean, the equivalent of three times the size of Sweden. Only 25% of the world’s seafloor is mapped so far, but this progress significantly improves the attempts to map the entire ocean floor by twenty thirty.

Arctic mapping has always been difficult due to sea ice and extreme weather conditions, but advancements in technology and international collaboration have helped overcome these obstacles to some extent. The new International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean offers a high level of detail, improving navigation safety, marine research, and climate monitoring.

Next up, Greenland’s representatives recently met with Pacific Island diplomats to learn about the US Compacts of Free Association, an agreement where the US provides aid in exchange for military access. Greenland is exploring independence from Denmark, but has concerns about Russian and Chinese influence in the Arctic.

Alexander Gray, a former US official during Trump's first administration, believes a similar deal for Greenland would protect its sovereignty while strengthening US security, despite the US already having military agreements with Greenland. This follows Trump expressing interest in buying Greenland. Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s Prime Minister, firmly stated that Greenland is not for sale, but she welcomes increased US military cooperation.

In other news, the US Coast Guard is looking for a missing crew member from the vessel Waesche, who disappeared while the ship was near Mexico’s Pacific coast, close to Guatemala. The Coast Guard has deployed multiple assets to assist in the search, including Waesche’s onboard helicopter, its drone, and different aircraft.

The Mexican Navy is also providing support with an offshore patrol vessel and a maritime patrol aircraft. The crew member has been missing since Tuesday the 4th, but authorities have not released the missing crew member’s identity or the exact time when they went missing.

More on the Pacific Ocean. On Thursday the 6th, ABC News reported that, according to NASA, the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Southern California is slowly moving toward the Pacific Ocean at a rate of about four inches per week. The area is well known for its landslides, but recent radar imagery has shown that the movement has accelerated.

This poses risks to both human life and infrastructure, affecting hundreds of buildings, as scientists have discovered through extensive research on the region, including NASA's Landslide Climate Change Experiment, which monitors how extreme weather patterns influence landslides. State officials are using satellite data and an airborne radar to monitor the situation.

Let’s sail to the Indian Ocean. The Indian Navy is conducting its biennial combat exercise, the Theatre Level Operational Exercise 25 (or TROPEX 25), in the Indian Ocean region to improve its combat skills and reinforce maritime security. The exercise, running from January to March twenty twenty-five, involves around sixty-five naval ships, nine submarines, and over eighty aircraft. The goal is to test the Navy's readiness to respond to conventional and non-conventional threats.

The Indian Army, Coast Guard, and Air Force are also participating in the exercise, which is carried out in multiple phases, including both harbor and at-sea operations. The exercise aims to improve coordination, accuracy in targeting, and joint combat effectiveness to safeguard India's national maritime interests.

Let’s have a look at the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal Authority (or SCA) is considering a food security collaboration with China’s FAMSUN, a leading company specializing in agricultural technology. Osama Rabie, the SCA Chairperson, recently discussed this possibility with the FAMSUN President. He emphasized Egypt’s commitment to international partnerships that attract investment and diversify the Suez Canal’s economic activities.

If the two parties reach a deal, FAMSUN will deploy specialists to oversee project planning, design, and execution. Both sides agreed to draft a cooperation framework and carry out feasibility studies.

As Reuters reported on Monday the 10th, the US is pressuring Panama to terminate CK Hutchison’s port contracts near the Panama Canal, fearing China could use them to disrupt American trade and defense shipments. The Hong Kong-based company has run these ports since nineteen ninety-seven, but growing US concerns are putting pressure on its operations.

President Trump also threatened tariffs on Mexico and Canada, which could hurt CK Hutchison’s business. If Panama cancels the contract, a legal fight may follow. The company has already lost over 40% of its market value in five years. Selling the ports could be an option, but Reuters highlights that finding a buyer that satisfies the US might be difficult.

And to wrap up this edition, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Romania, and Hungary have formed the Green Energy Corridor Power Company to oversee a major energy project about a power cable under the Black Sea connecting the EU with the South Caucasus. The cable, linking Georgia and Romania, aims to improve energy security, reduce reliance on Russian supplies, and boost renewable energy use.

EU leaders strongly support the project, calling it a promising new energy route. However, high costs and the need for major infrastructure investment in Georgia and Azerbaijan could be challenging. The project should be finished by twenty thirty.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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See you next week!