The iAtlantic Project & more – 4th Jan 2024

Ahoy from BA! This is Rorshok’s Ocean Update from the 4th of January twenty twenty four. A summary of what's going down in the 70% surface of the Earth covered in saltwater.

Murray Roberts, a marine-biology expert, is leading the iAtlantic, an EU-funded project that unites scientists from forty-four organizations from sixteen countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Its aim is to assess deep-sea and open-ocean ecosystems. The project will conclude in March twenty twenty four, and it will explore twelve significant areas such as the Sargasso Sea, the Romanche Fracture Zone, and sea mountains off Brazil, where researchers conducted experiments to study carbon storage potential, humpback whale recovery and generally the ocean’s safeguard. The project also engages local experts to bring into the research local knowledge, which was emphasized as crucial for the sake of the project.

Last week, enormous waves, reaching up to twenty feet (more than six meters), injured eight people in Ventura County, on the California coastline, and caused property damage and evacuations. The low-pressure storms in the area of the Eastern Pacific Ocean are responsible for the anomalously big waves. Ventura County closed all its beaches and campgrounds, and Stinson Beach, Santa Cruz County's Rio del Mar and Pajaro Dunes evacuated its residents. Experts warned the waves could be rougher next week, reaching up to twenty-one feet (almost six meters and a half) in the San Francisco Bay Area, and recommend everyone living in the coastal area to take distance from water, rocks and beaches.

Moving on, NASA plans to decommission the International Space Station (or ISS) in the Pacific Ocean after twenty thirty. Journalist Meghan Bartels explained that ISS is the symbol of international cooperation between US and Russia and a controlled deorbit is necessary as ISS had already overcome its original expected lifespan of fifteen years, doubling it. The controlled deorbit will have to take into account the process of lowering altitude and adjusting trajectory. As the ISS will burn up in the process of deorbit, NASA chose the southern Pacific Ocean as a safe destination, in an uninhabited area.

In other news, Andy Wong, an expert in Asia-Pacific history and international geopolitical issues, published an article on Friday the 29th of December about the geopolitical situation in the Indian Ocean. During last year, Japan sent a naval deployment to reinforce naval cooperation in the area. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force deployed the destroyer JS Samidare, which was first stopped for maintenance at Colombo Shipyard in Sri Lanka, marking a first time for Japan naval warships, and then visited India's Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. During the visit, Japan's International Cooperation Agency announced an investment of twenty-eight million US dollars in a new power supply project at Port Blair. These interactions increased cooperation in naval strategy and infrastructure development between India and Japan in the Indo-Pacific region.

Talking about the Indian Ocean, India is planning to reinforce its presence in the western area by deepening its defense collaboration with Tanzania. The plan involves enhancing cooperation in maritime activities and exploring potential sales of defense equipment, especially armored vehicles. With this collaboration, India will be one step closer to its final goal to boost its presence in the Indian Ocean and govern its trade routes.

Tanzania also expressed its satisfaction for the collaboration, highlighting its development in military capabilities. The joint military will cooperate on improving the security of the area, and on tackling piracy and unlawful fishing through surveillance exercises and hydrographic surveys. India is an appealing partner to Tanzania as it aims to achieve five billion US dollars in defense exports by twenty twenty five, in a moment in which Tanzania is seeking for diversified defense partnerships from the traditional China.

Moving on, the Meteorological Department in Sri Lanka issued a notice following an earthquake in the Indian Ocean on Saturday, the 30th of December. The note assured that there isn’t a tsunami threat to Sri Lanka and that the coastal areas are safe. However, all residents near the coast were advised to stay alert for future announcements, in case there are additional tremors next week.

Still in Sri Lanka, the country refused to give permission to dock to a Chinese vessel, the Xiang Yang Hong 3, announcing a one-year ban on foreign research vessels in its waters starting from Monday, the 1st of January twenty twenty four. The ban is a strategic win for India in diplomatic terms: in fact, India declared its concerns over Chinese vessels conducting surveillance activities in the Indian Ocean Region disguised as scientific studies. The concern was that the Chinese oceanographic studies were collecting data, including intelligence gathering and naval reconnaissance, for both civilian and military purposes. The one-year moratorium is an opportunity to develop research activities and enhance equal participation, according to the Sri Lankan government. The ban also helps to strengthen India's strategy to expand its presence in the Indian Ocean Region.

Moving on, the port city of Bari, in Italy, put in administrative detention the Ocean Viking, a migrant rescue ship privately operated by SOS Mediterranee, a humanitarian organization, on Monday the 1st. Italian authorities declared that the vessel deviated its direct route to Bari after having already conducted a rescue operation in the Libyan rescue-zone, in the attempt to carry out a second rescue operation that was not concluded at the end. From last year, the Italian legislation states that each migrant rescue vessel can carry out one rescue operation at the time, thus the authorities put the Ocean Viking in detention for two months. Anita, a coordinator of search and rescue on board the Ocean Viking, declared: "If following maritime law is a crime, then we are guilty," remarking the vessel’s obligation to follow international conventions to always rescue people at sea.

In other news, on Tuesday the 2nd, the shipping companies Maersk from Denmark and Hapag-Lloyd from Germany advised to keep avoiding the Red Sea route that gives entrance to the Suez Canal, after a Houthis attack on a Maersk vessel over the weekend. US military helicopters repelled the attack and killed ten attackers. The companies are re-routing, sailing through Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. The Houthi militants are located in Yemen, in front of the Red Sea, and are making the transits difficult and dangerous. Hapag-Lloyd announced they won’t reroute via the Suez Canal until at least Tuesday the 9th, when they will decide again where to sail to. The new route will increase delivery costs and it’s raising concerns about global inflation. The oil prices have already increased.

Moving on into the Arctic Ocean. Researchers from the University Center in Svalbard published a study in the journal Frontiers in Earth Science, on Wednesday the 13th of December, about the growing and migrating sea of methane beneath the permafrost in the Arctic Ocean's Svalbard islands they have identified. The permafrost currently functions as a seal, preventing methane release, but climate change’s factors such as glacial retreat and permafrost thawing could increase a leak of methane in the future. Methane is a greenhouse gas which is now released in small quantities, but if the leak gets more significant, it can accelerate melting and warming. Researchers said Svalbard’s permafrost is one of the fastest warming places worldwide.

From the Arctic to the Antarctic Ocean. Doctor Susanne Lockhart, a marine biologist, has shared her passion for the seafloor in Antarctica and its marine species with the newspaper The Guardian on Thursday the 28th of December. She has studied marine life in the region for more than three decades, and now takes the opportunity to highlight the fragility of the local species and the need to protect them. During her studies, Doctor Lockhart discovered more than twelve new species and identified forty-seven vulnerable marine ecosystems that are now protected from commercial fishing. She still advocates for the safeguard of the area and works on raising public awareness on biodiversity in Antarctica.

Closing with watersports. Arizona Adaptive Watersports is providing water activities such as wakeboarding and waterskiing for people with disabilities at Bartlett Lake, Arizona. The organization hosts inclusive events throughout the year for people with visual impairments or physical limitations, aiming to break barriers and enhance the overall well-being.

Aaand that's it for this week!

Happy New Year from the Rorshok family! These are our wishes for twenty twenty four: 1) that you tell your friends about us. 2)... Noup, that’s about it.

Remember you can help us financially with the link in the show notes.

See you next week!