Breath of the ocean

Have a look to this surface temperature animation from Mercator Ocean new hourly frequency model. This incredibly figures out two cycles : tide movement in the Atlantic Ocean and the diurnal cycle. This animation represents the sea surface temperature with a 2km grid ocean model during the two weeks (spring 2010).

From MercatorOcean (MyOcean project)

Gibraltar Strait is of major importance, oceanographically, strategically...
There colder Atlantic Ocean waters enter the warmer Mediterranean Sea. Sea Surface Temperature shows all the wealth of marine features that can be seen in this area.

The "entry" to the Mediterranean is the Gibraltar Strait.
There, cold water Atlantic waters enter the warmer Mediterranean Sea.
Depending on the season, in the Alboran Sea just East of Gibraltar, one or two gyre(s) (semi-permanent eddies) can be seen; in Summer, a warm (anticyclonic) one at the very beginning of the Alboran Sea, and another one just after, also anticyclonic but slightly less warm.
Further East, there is a zone of intense activity along the Algerian coast.
Eddies and meanders in the Algerian Current are among the most turbulent features of the Mediterranean-but some are more stable.

The Sea Surface Temperature is one of the important physical quantities proposed by MyOcean, from observations as well as from models.
It is sensitive to the difference between night and day (the Sun warming the upper layer of the ocean). With an hourly frequency, the pulse of those daily variations can be seen.

The Sea Surface Temperature is of foremost use in meteorology and climate forecasts (e.g. the Mediterranean Coast of France know every beginning of Autumn heavy rainfalls linked to the Sea temperature; seasonal forecasts won't be possible without ocean temperature...).
Life in the water is also driven by temperature, with phytoplankton more abundant where the temperature is low, etc.

Ever since ancient times, the Mediterranean Sea has occupied a vital place in the lives of the peoples on its shores.
It is also a sea of mystery.
According to the myths of Ulysses and Jason, the Greeks' voyages of adventure took them to the four corners of the Mediterranean, from the Pillars of Hercules in the west (Gibraltar) to Hellespont in the east (Dardanelles).
In later years the Mediterranean linked the various parts of the vast Roman Empire.
Indeed, such was the Romans' dominance on all sides of the Mediterranean basin that they called it "our sea" (Mare Nostrum).
And it was here that Orient met Occident as Islam and Christianity fought to wrest this strategic prize from each other's grasp.
Today, it is one of the world's main commercial routes.
Oceanography programs have been set up to study its movements and its fragile ecosystem.
These programs rely on satellite and in situ observations, and on ocean models, merging a wealth data to piece together the Mediterranean puzzle.

Michel Desjoyeaux’s new challenge

Get on board !

As soon as the boat was launched, Michel Desjoyeaux and Dassault Systèmes found a way

to invite the largest audience possible to visit their boat in 3D.

From Dassault Systems

Michel Desjoyeaux, France's most successful solo yachtsman, is impassioned not only by sailing and competition but also by technology and innovation.

At the beginning of 2010, Michel Desjoyeaux set a new challenge for himself: construct a new 60 ft monohull in order to vie for victory in the Route du Rhum (a transatlantic solo yacht race that begins next Sunday, October 31, 2010) and the Barcelona World Race (two-handed, non-stop, round the world race starting December 31, 2010).
Although it normally takes 10 months to design this type of boat, Michel Desjoyeaux has less than 6 months to construct his new monohull and develop the technical innovations that will permit him to distance himself from his competitors.
In other words, a never-before-seen in such a short time!

Trained by Dassault Systèmes engineers, the team at Michel Desjoyeaux's engineering and design studio, Mer Forte, was able to conceive and realize numerous innovations during the design phases and the construction of the sailboat.
This particularly allowed them to fine tune and perfect the kinematics of the keel/jack assembly.
The CATIA software feature that calculates the finished elements of complex composite parts made the quick optimization and validation of major parts such as the rudder housings, the tiller system and even the boom (saving a significant amount of weight) much easier.

His love for sailing is matched by his desire to conceive and develop the boats that he sails.

Sharing this passion with the general public is a part of the challenge he has set for himself.
Click here for a 3D tour of the boat in real time

Links :

Quite real the background animated image of the Rivages2012 website
(shipyard building the new IMOCA 60' for Bernard Stamm)

'Old charts may have grounded sub'

HMS Astute, the nuclear submarine
that ran aground in shallow waters off the Isle of Skye, has been towed free

From TheGuardian

A nuclear-powered submarine may have run aground on a shingle bank because the charts it was using were out of date, sources have said.

HMS Astute was on sea trials when the rudder of the vessel is thought to have become stuck on the bank on the west coast of Scotland at around 8am on Friday.

The Royal Navy has launched a service inquiry into why the 100m-long submarine ran aground in the channel between Skye and Kyle of Lochalsh.

Location on the Marine GeoGarage

One of the possibilities being explored is that out of date charts had not accurately mapped the shifting sea channels off the Isle of Skye.

The vessel is understood to have strayed several hundred yards outside the safe sea lane marked on Admiralty charts.

A Royal Navy source told the Mail on Sunday: "One of the things that is being looked at is if the charts were up to date with the recent seabed changes in the area. The seabed can change quickly."

The Ministry of Defence said the investigation into the incident would be "full and thorough".

The investigation will also consider if any crew were negligent and the submarine's skipper, Commander Andy Coles, could find himself in front of a court martial.
But a Ministry of Defence spokesman said it would be "inappropriate" to comment on the possibility of disciplinary action until the investigation is complete.

It is believed a crew transfer from the shore to the submarine was being carried out when the incident happened between the Isle of Skye and the mainland.
There were no reports of any injuries and the Ministry of Defence said it was not a "nuclear incident".

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TheHeraldScotland :
Dozens of people gathering on a nearby beach could clearly see that the Astute was sitting well outside normal shipping channels, and tilting slightly. Ross McKerlach, operational manager at Kyle of Lochalsh lifeboat station, said the submarine was a full six miles from where it would normally lie overnight, and had run aground in water too shallow even for his own small motor boat.
“Where he was is in between two rocks and on a sandbank,” he said.

The DailyExpress :
Independent nuclear expert John Large said the accident could lead to costly repairs, and was most likely caused by a “navigational error”.
Ross Mckerlich, 56, the operations manager of the local Kyle Lifeboat, said he was “amazed” that the submarine tried to do a crew transfer so close to shore. He said: “These subs normally lie six miles off Kyle. Last night I saw this one four miles off and now he’s less than half mile. Someone’s made an error.”

TheScotsman :
Mike Critchley, a former naval officer and the editor of Warship World magazine, said the accident was likely to have been caused by a navigation error or technical failure of the steering gear.
"She was a long way out of where she should have been to do this transfer. It was 800 yards away from where it should have been and grounded in shale and silt and not jagged rocks.

Other links :

• DailyRecord : HMS Astute heads back to base for checks as commander faces possible court martial over missed warning signs
• DailyMail : Royal Navy chiefs left red-faced after brand new £1.2bn nuclear submarine is left high and dry off the coast of Scotland
  
• TheGuardian : Royal Navy attempts to free grounded nuclear submarine
  
• TheTelegraph : HMS Astute, world's most advanced nuclear submarine runs aground
  
• BBC : Nuclear submarine HMS Astute runs aground off Skye
• BBC : Grounded nuclear sub HMS Astute moored for tests
  
• YouTube : video taken by Paul Yoxon of the International Otter Survival Fund, based in Broadford on the island

Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2010 exhibition

Photograph: Andrew Parkinson

Photograph : Jordi Chias Pujol

The world’s most prestigious wildlife photography competition, Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year, has revealed the commended images from this year’s competition.

We have selected the 2010 marine images here :

• Underwater world : 2010 (archives : 2009 / 2008 / 2007 / 2006 / 2005 )
  
• Storm rider
• Desecration in paradise
• Tears of blood
  
• Pickings from puffins
• Catch of the day
• March of the crabs
• Predatory steps
  
• Giant beachcomber
• Cold comfort
• Southern swell
• Celestial cathedral
• Back in, front out
  

They are among the selection that will join more than 100 other prize-winning photographs, including the overall winning images, when the exhibition debuts at the Natural History Museum, London on 22 October 2010.

It will then tour nationally and internationally after its launch in the English capital.
More than one million visitors are expected to have seen the exhibition once the tour is complete.

Sea ice melting as Arctic temperature rises

Tracking recent environmental changes, with 17 essays on different aspects
of the environment, by a team of 69 international authors,
based on 176 scientific references, and supported by the international Arctic Council

From APNews

The temperature is rising again in the Arctic, with the sea ice extent dropping to one of the lowest levels on record, climate scientists reported Thursday.

The new Arctic Report Card "tells a story of widespread, continued and even dramatic effects of a warming Arctic," said Jackie Richter-Menge of the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers facility in Hanover, N.H.

"This isn't just a climatological effect. It impacts the people that live there," she added.

Atmospheric scientists concerned about global warming focus on the Arctic because that is a region where the effects are expected to be felt first, and that has been the case in recent years.
There was a slowdown in Arctic warming in 2009, but in the first half of 2010 warming has been near a record pace, with monthly readings over 4 degrees Celsius (7.2 Fahrenheit) above normal in northern Canada, according to the report card released Thursday.

Highlighting the immediate consequences of the warming, researchers said last winter's massive snowstorms that struck the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states were tied to higher Arctic temperatures.

"Normally the cold air is bottled up in the Arctic," said Jim Overland of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle.
But last December and February, winds that normally blow west to east across the Arctic were instead bringing the colder air south to the Mid-Atlantic, he said.
"As we lose more sea ice it's a paradox that warming in the atmosphere can create more of these winter storms," Overland said at a news briefing.

There is a powerful connection between ice cover and air temperatures, Richter-Menge explained. When temperatures warm, ice melts.
When reflective ice melts it reveals darker surfaces underneath, which absorbs more heat.
That, in turn, causes more melting "and on the cycle goes," she said.

In September the Arctic sea ice extent was the third smallest in the last 30 years, added Don Perovich of the Army laboratory.
He said the three smallest ice covers have occurred in the last four years.

Other findings included:

• Winter snow accumulation on land in the Arctic was the lowest since records began in 1966.
• Glaciers and ice caps in Arctic Canada are continuing to lose mass at a rate that has been increasing since 1987, reflecting a trend toward warmer summer air temperatures and longer melt seasons.
• The temperature in the permafrost is rising in Alaska, northwest Canada, Siberia and Northern Europe.
• Greenland in 2010 is marked by record-setting high air temperatures, ice loss through melting, and marine-terminating glacier area loss. The largest recorded glacier area loss observed in Greenland occurred this summer at Petermann Glacier, where a piece of ice several times larger than Manhattan Island broke away.

The report card, prepared by 69 researchers in eight countries, is issued annually by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In addition to Richter-Menge, Overland and Perovich, lead researchers included Mary-Louise Timmermans at Yale University; Jason Box, Ohio State University; Mike Gill, Environment Canada; Martin Sharp, University of Alberta, Canada; Chris Derksen, Environment; and D.A. Walker, Vladimir Romanovsky and Uma Bhatt, University of Alaska-Fairbanks.