Ocean currents can generate electricity – and our study shows Africa’s seas have some of the strongest: The world’s oceans cover more than 70% of Earth’s surface. They’re filled with currents, some much stronger than the fastest flowing large rivers. These currents can be harnessed as clean, marine renewable energy. Marine energy is much more …
Whale sharks on collision course as warming seas may force them into shipping lanes – new study: Global warming has the potential to reshuffle the spaces used by life on Earth, across all ecosystems. And our new research shows whale sharks – the world’s largest fish – could be at risk, as warming oceans may …
Dolphins vs fishers: both are the losers in the Mediterranean seas off Morocco: On the Moroccan Mediterranean coast, hundreds of boats equipped with large nets, called purse seines, go out six days a week to fish for small pelagic fish (coastal or oceanic fish). In the last two decades, seine fishing has become more difficult …
As seas get warmer, tropical species are moving further from the equator: As sea turtles move away from the tropics, they're overeating seagrass meadows. Laura Dts / shutterstock Climate change is causing tropical species in the ocean to move from the equator towards the poles, while temperate species recede. This mass movement of marine life, …
Five jellyfish species you may encounter more often in UK’s warming seas: While scuba diving off the south-west coast of England this summer, I was lucky to encounter several different species of jellyfish in just a matter of weeks. Many of these, including the compass jellyfish (Chrysaora hysoscella), are already common to UK waters. But …
An ‘extreme’ heatwave has hit the seas around the UK and Ireland – here’s what’s going on: Sea surface temperature anomaly around the UK and Ireland, June 18 2023. Areas in dark red are 5°C warmer than usual. NOAA / Google Maps, CC BY-SA One of the most severe marine heatwaves on the planet is …
Rising seas could flood nests of vulnerable sea turtles – new research: A nesting green sea turtle in the Chagos Archipelago. Nicole Esteban, Author provided Sea-level rises caused by global warming could flood sea turtle nesting beaches in Australia, several Caribbean islands, Costa Rica and the US. Our findings suggest that flooding could deprive five …
The high seas are supposed to belong to everyone – a new UN treaty aims to make it law: Kisova Elena/Shutterstock It may come as a surprise to fellow land-dwellers, but the ocean actually accounts for most of the habitable space on our planet. Yet a big chunk of it has been left largely unmanaged. …
Worms in the seas of southern Africa: we’re on a journey to setting the record straight: _Dipolydora capensis_ is an indigenous polychaete that is a found on farmed and wild abalone, but it is not a serious pest. Carol Simon Polychaetes are segmented worms that live in nearly all marine habitats, from the shallow seashore …
A nice Bikini Beach image: Queen of the Seas Image by Jagrap Image automatically curated and published by www.free-mail.co.za – CLICK HERE to learn more about WP Robot for WordPress. Have you tried: Sailing in Africa ?
Concrete fuels climate change – but there’s a nature-friendly way to defend coasts from rising seas: Maksym Medvinskyi/Shutterstock The T?hoku earthquake of 2011 remains the strongest in recorded Japanese history. It created a tsunami that towered over 40 metres and dismantled coastal flood defences in north-eastern Japan with ease, taking the lives of around 16,000 …
Whale migrations: how new UN treaty aims to protect species on the high seas: Humpback whales (_Megaptera novaeangliae_) frolicking at the ocean surface. Tony Wu/WWF, Author provided A humpback whale we tagged while it was feeding off the Western Antarctic Peninsula made a nearly 19,000 km-round trip in 265 days, travelling north from Antarctica to …
Wind turbines can breathe new life into our warming seas: Ian Dyball / shutterstock Offshore wind is set to move further and further from shore, as demand for renewable energy grows and new floating turbine technology makes deep-water expansion possible. However, for the first time, large areas of the UK continental shelf now open for …
Plesiosaurs, pliosaurs, hybodonts: looking back at three prehistoric predators of the Jurassic seas: The Liopleurodon was a pliosaur of the Jurassic period. SciePro/Shutterstock The fossilised remains of a gigantic ichthyosaur, colloquially known as a “sea dragon”, were recently uncovered at the Rutland Water Nature Reserve in the UK. Measuring at least ten metres in length …
Ireland has the wind and seas to become an offshore superpower: The Irish government signed up to the recent Glasgow Climate Pact and used the summit to announce a raft of ambitious goals, including the development of 5 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy up to 2030. That would more than double the country’s current …
Brexit fish wars: history explains why France and the UK get so angry about access to the seas: A scene from the First Anglo-Dutch War, from British Battles on Land and Sea, by James Grant. falkensteinfoto/Alamy A dispute between Britain and France about fishing territories has escalated rapidly. French authorities detained a British trawler on …
The Maldives is threatened by rising seas – but coastal development is causing even more pressing environmental issues: Coastal erosion and dwindling resources driven by tourism are some of the challenges facing the Maldives. Author provided As UN climate conference COP26 approaches, vulnerable nations are rightly highlighting how they are threatened by climate change. One …
A cool Paternoster image: Image from page 7 of “British conchology, or, An account of the Mollusca which now inhabit the British Isles and the surrounding seas” (1862) Image by Internet Archive Book Images Identifier: britishconcholog02jeffr Title: British conchology, or, An account of the Mollusca which now inhabit the British Isles and the surrounding seas …