Canada CHS update in the Marine GeoGarage

4307 Canso Harbour

39 charts have been updated (July 11) :

• 1429 CANAL DE LA RIVE SUD
• 1430 LAC SAINT-LOUIS
• 1431 CANAL DE BEAUHARNOIS - LAC SAINT-LOUIS TO SAINT FRANCOIS
• 3002 QUEEN CHARLOTTE SOUND TO / DIXON ENTRANCE
• 3410 SOOKE INLET TO PARRY BAY
• 3440 RACE ROCKS TO D'ARCY ISLAND
• 3447 NANAIMO HARBOUR AND DEPARTURE BAY
• 3538 DESOLATION SOUND AND SUTIL CHANNEL
• 3726 LAREDO SOUND AND APPROACHES
• 3737 LAREDO CHANNEL - INCLUDING LAREDO INLET AND SURF INLET
• 3910 PLANS - MILBANKE SOUND AND BEAUCHEMIN CHANNEL
• 3911 PLANS - VICINITY OF PROXIMITE DE PRINCESS ROYAL ISLAND
• 4001 GULF OF MAINE TO STRAIT OF BELLE ISLE
• 4003 CAPE BRETON TO CAPE COD
• 4010 BAY OF FUNDY INNER PORTION
• 4011 APPROACHES TO BAY OF FUNDY
• 4020 STRAIT OF BELLE ISLE
• 4277 GREAT BRAS D'OR / ST. ANDREWS AND ST. ANNS BAY
• 4278 GREAT BRAS D'OR AND ST PATRICKS CHANNEL
• 4307 CANSO HARBOUR TO STRAIT OF CANSO
• 4308 ST. PETERS BAY TO STRAIT OF CANSO
• 4320 EGG ISLAND TO WEST IRONBOUND ISLAND
• 4381 MAHONE BAY
• 4386 ST MARGARET'S BAY
• 4422 CARDIGAN BAY
• 4485 CAP DES ROSIERS TO CHANDLER
• 4486 CHALEUR BAY
• 4652 HUMBER ARM - MEADOWS POINT TO HUMBER RIVER
• 4852 SMITH SOUND AND RANDOM SOUND
• 4853 TRINITY BAY - NORTHERN PORTION
• 4857 INDIAN BAY TO WADHAM ISLANDS
• 4905 CAPE TORMENTINE TO WEST POINT
• 4906 WEST POINT TO BAIE DE TRACADIE
• 4909 BUCTOUCHE HARBOUR
• 4913 CARAQUET HARBOUR BAIE DE SHIPPEGAN AND MISCOU HARBOUR
• 4921 HAVRE DE BEAUBASSIN
• 4956 CAP-AUX-MEULES
• 6287A MINAKI TO KENORA - 1
• 6287B MINAKI TO KENORA - 2

14 charts have been withdrawn or replaced :

• 1409 replaced by 1429
• 1410 replaced by 1430
• 3710 replaced by 3910,3911 (new)
• 3711 replaced by 3910,3911 (new)
• 3717 withdrawn
• 3719 replaced by 3910,3911 (new)
• 3722 replaced by 3945,3946
• 3723 replaced by 3910,3911 (new)
• 3740 withdrawn
• 3746 replaced by 3984
• 3747 replaced by 3985,3986
• 3753 withdrawn
• 3761 replaced by 3987
• 3773 withdrawn

So 774 charts (1643 including sub-charts) are available in the Canada CHS layer. (see coverage)

Note : don't forget to visit 'Notices to Mariners' published monthly and available from the Canadian Coast Guard both online or through a free hardcopy subscription service.
This essential publication provides the latest information on changes to the aids to navigation system, as well as updates from CHS regarding CHS charts and publications.
See also written Notices to Shipping and Navarea warnings : NOTSHIP

Cross-species gadget tests reveal reason for dolphin tools

Shark Bay : >>> geolocalization with the Marine GeoGarage <<<

From Wired

The dolphins of Australia’s Shark Bay, famed as Earth’s first marine tool users, likely turned to gadgetry because echolocation couldn’t find the best fish, especially for hurried moms without time to hunt.

It was in 1984 that researchers first observed the dolphins fitting basket sponges over their beaks, then scraping through seafloor mud to disturb hidden fish.
Research subsequently showed this behavior to be full-blown tool use, taught by mothers to their daughters and representing a profound difference in lifestyle between them and Shark Bay’s other bottlenoses.

A basic question remained unanswered, however: Though sponges clearly protected sensitive dolphin snouts from jagged pieces of rock and coral, why scrape seafloor at all?
Why not rely on echolocation to pinpoint target prey?

Sponging in Shark Bay.
(A) marine basket sponge (Echinodyctium mesenterinum),
(B) dolphin wearing a sponge on its rostrum,
(C) substrate littered with rock, shell, and debris,
(D) hiding prey, barred sandperch (Parapercis nebulosa).
All photographs taken by Eric M. Patterson.

In a study published July 20 in Public Library of Science ONE, biologists Eric Patterson and Janet Mann of Georgetown University set out to answer this question by mounting basket sponges on sticks and pushing them through Shark Bay seafloors, just as dolphins do.

Most fish scared from the muck were bottom-dwellers lacking swim bladders, the air-filled organs that help fish control their buoyancy.
Compared to fish flesh, which interferes with acoustic signals just slightly more than water, air bladders stand out on sonar.
Without them, bottom-dwelling fish are nearly invisible to echolocation.
Hence the value of scraping through seafloors manually, and thus the need for a device that protects dolphin noses from scraping.

Hunting with sponges has allowed Shark Bay’s bottlenoses to fill an empty ecological niche, eating fish that other dolphins ignore, wrote Patterson and Mann.
The findings also suggest why sponge foraging likely arose among Shark Bay’s females and has remained their province, taught by dolphin mothers to daughters rather than sons.

Whereas dolphin fathers are mostly absent, free to roam and chase prey in the open ocean, dolphin moms spend years with their calves.
They need to put food on the figurative table but have little time to do it.
Sponge-fishing is convenient and nutritious, a family recipe for quick-but-delicious dinners passed on to daughters who will someday need it.

Links :

• The Shark Bay dolphin Project
  

BP spill stopped one year ago : 5,000 spills since then

NRC oil and hazardous materials spill reports, July 15, 2010 - July 15, 2011 :
about 3,000 reports that have enough usable location informationo pinpoint them on a map

From SkyTruth

July 15, 2010 was a day of relief for many - even for folks up here in West Virginia - after 2-1/2 months watching helplessly as oil and gas billowed relentlessly into the Gulf of Mexico from BP's runaway Macondo well.
On that day one year ago, the final valve was carefully closed on an improvised "capping stack" that did the job after a string of heartbreaking failures.
By that time an estimated 172 million gallons of oil had spewed directly into the Gulf, vastly exceeding the Exxon Valdez tanker spill of 1989 -- making it the nation's worst oil spill, and the world's worst accidental spill.

After cumulatively covering an area the size of Oklahoma, the massive oil slicks on the Gulf's surface began to dissipate almost immediately under the steady assault of evaporation, wind and wave action, biodegradation, photolysis, and cleanup efforts.
We last observed significant oil slicks on satellite images taken July 28.

Aerial photograph taken May 7, 2011 showing apparent oil leak originating from an oil and gas production platform in state waters 1.1 miles off the Louisiana coast, 37 miles east of Grand Chenier.
Unknown if this was a one-time release or a chronic leak. Photograph by Jamie Ward, courtesy of SouthWings and pilot Dan Luke.

But unknown amounts of oil and chemical dispersant lingered beneath the ocean's surface, out of sight, with an uncertain fate and as-yet untallied environmental consequences.
What is clear is that this spill caused significant economic damage to the Gulf seafood and tourism industries, upsetting the lives and livelihoods of people as far away as Virginia.
And oil from the spill continues to wash ashore along the Gulf coast.

Meanwhile, Congress has yet to pass any new laws governing offshore drilling safety.
In fact, they are going backwards by reducing funding for government inspections and oversight -- despite the fact that the oil industry itself requested more funding for BOEMRE, the agency that manages offshore drilling.

Other frustrations?

• the lack of progress in creating a national oil spill cleanup capability that has a fighting chance against the next major spill;
• the continued reliance on chemical dispersants as an effective cleanup tool, despite evidence suggesting they may do more harm than good;
• our serendipitous discovery of a chronic, 7-years-and-counting leak that is continually polluting the Gulf;
• the regular occurrence of "mystery spills" that never get resolved;
• the laughable results of a system that naively hopes polluters will accurately report their spills;
• the lack of consistent fines for polluters, a moral hazard that encourages sloppy operations and risk taking, all but ensuring another major disaster.

Oh yeah, and the 5,100 new oil and other hazardous materials spills in the Gulf region reported to the National Response Center since July 15, 2010.

Links :

• SkyTruth : real-time updates about environmental incidents in your back yard (or whatever part of the world you know and love)
• TheGuardian : Oil and gas spills in North Sea every week, papers reveal
  

The underwater project : documenting life below surface

The Underwater Project from Mark Tipple

"I've always been intrigued by what happens below the surface, like what's happening where we can't see."
While watching the slide-show on Mark's laptop I'm amazed at the detail of this 'other world' that's portrayed with his selection.

As an accomplished documentary photographer, in the past Mark has used the ocean as an escape for some solace away from his projects.
Lately, while between projects he's been "hanging out" below the surface trying to capture what happens while swimming on a slow summer's day.

"Coming from a surfing background I used to wonder what happens when we're duck-diving, like, what it looks like from a different angle than what we can see. Kinda hard to explain but it has always been on my mind. I used to surf with a small video camera and housing attached to my helmet, (pauses) it worked surprisingly well but my neck couldn't take the impact and stress while trying to duck-dive and capture the right angle. Even tried to turn it back on myself to see what happens clearer but that, uh, sucked (laughs). I looked for a new approach to capture what I was seeking, which basically meant getting off the surfboard."

Links :

• The Underwater project / Facebook
• Vimeo : Shooting The Underwater Project
  

The Power of the SEA: tsunamis, storm surges, rogue waves, and our quest to predict disasters

The new book "The Power of the Sea" by Bruce Parker tells the story of our struggle to predict when the sea will unleash its power against us. It interweaves thrilling stories of unpredicted natural disasters with stories of scientific discoveries.

"The Power of the SEA: Tsunamis, Storm Surges, Rogue Waves, and Our Quest to Predict Disasters" a fascinating and compelling new popular ocean science/history book from Palgrave Macmillan written by Bruce Parker, former Chief Scientist of the NOAA's National Ocean Service.

When the sea turns its enormous power against us, our best defense is to get out of its way.
But to do that we must first be able to predict when and where the sea will strike.
If the Indian Ocean tsunami on December 26, 2004 could have been predicted, 300,000 lives would not have been lost.
If the 30-foot storm surges that have ravaged the coasts of Bangladesh and India over the centuries could have been predicted, millions would not have perished.
If we could have predicted when and where 100-foot rogue waves would suddenly appear, thousands of ships would not have been lost at sea.
If the two strong El Niños at the end of the nineteenth century could have been predicted, millions would not have died in Asia from the resulting droughts and famines.

"Mixes hair-raising descriptions of disasters with efforts to understand them... a lucid, original contribution to popular science writing."- Kirkus Reviews

"Riveting readers with analyses of catastrophes such the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Parker delivers science in dramatic and digestible form." - Booklist

"Whether you love history, science, or just want to know how the world shapes our lives, this is both an informative and enjoyable read." -- Margaret Davidson, Director, Coastal Services Center

"Compelling personal stories ... make the book immensely readable ... Be warned, you may never look at the ocean the same way again." - John Kretschmer, Sailing magazine

"An engaging and essential history of science. It's also a terrific account of survival on our wild blue planet." - David Helvarg, author of Saved by the Sea: A Love Story with Fish

"Rarely does a book written by a practicing scientist grab you like this one. Intelligent, accurate, and accessible ... read Bruce Parker's wonderful book." - Richard Ellis, author of The Empty Ocean

"The Power of the Sea is the best book I have ever read about tsunamis, storm surges, or rogue waves." - Jerry Schubel, President, The Aquarium of the Pacific

"You will come away with a better understanding of why the sea will leave us in awe till the end of time." - Jim Cantore, The Weather Channel

The Power of the Sea tells the story of our long struggle to understand the physics of the sea so we can use that knowledge to predict when the sea will unleash its power against us (so we can get out of its way and survive).
It interweaves compelling stories of unpredicted marine disasters with fascinating stories of scientific discoveries, beginning with ancient mankind's strange ideas about the sea and working up to our latest technological advances in predicting the sea's moments of destruction.
Besides the three phenomena highlighted in the book's subtitle, the book also vividly describes how we learned to predict the tides, El Nino, and certain aspects of climate change.

In addition to helping us escape natural catastrophes, marine prediction has also been critical for other purposes, as is dramatically illustrated by several World War II stories, including the (first-ever-told) story of the tide predictions for D-Day, and the story behind the surf forecasting used by the Allies in amphibious landings on the beaches of North Africa and Normandy.
And there are also some lighter stories.
How did Benjamin Franklin "magically" make ocean waves disappear (and how did this help him understand how wind waves were generated - 200 years ahead of his time)?
How did a perigean spring tide almost ruin the Boston Tea Party?
How do elephants "hear" a tsunami coming?
Did the parting of the Red Sea begin with a tide prediction by Moses?
How did a rogue wave begin the myth of the Bermuda triangle?
Could the story of Noah's flood have been inspired by a huge storm surge from a very rare tropical cyclone in the Persian Gulf?

Written for a general audience, The Power of the Sea is a history of marine prediction that dramatically shows how the oceans (and marine science) impact all our lives.
It is entertaining while also clearly explaining the science behind the ocean's most powerful phenomena.

For more information and pictures from the book see the the book's Facebook page, where many stories are posted, or go to the book's page on Amazon.

Links :

• Stevens Institute of Technology : Marine Forecasting Expert Dr. Bruce Parker Discusses Tsunami Prediction