Winter is the prime season to see filaments of phytoplankton twist and curl amid the Arabian Sea.
On February 14, 2015, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this image of the region’s winter blooms.
Why winter?
It turns out that in this part of the world, seasonal
wind patterns have a large effect on blooms.
The winter monsoon brings a
reversal of wind direction—from southwesterly to northeasterly—which
stirs up nutrients that help phytoplankton thrive.
Phytoplankton Bloom in the Arabian Sea (NASA, acquired October 6, 2004)
Not all phytoplankton are the same, however, and research has shown
that the composition of the communities in the Arabian Sea has shifted.
A
study published in 2008 reported that an unusual abundance of Noctiluca scintillans (also called Nocticula miliaris)
has started showing up in winter blooms over the last decade.
The
newcomers have replaced the populations of diatoms that previously
prevailed.
Research published in 2014 confirmed that the outbreak of N. scintillans
in the Arabian Sea is due to an unprecedented amount of
oxygen-deficient water near the sea’s surface.
The exact reason for the
influx is still under investigation.
What is apparent, however, is that N. scintillans is better equipped to handle the low-oxygen environment.
The shift could have implications for the food web of the Arabian
Sea.
In the past, fish ate the copepods that fed on the plentiful
diatoms.
In contrast to the diatoms, N. scintillans appears to
be too large for consumption by copepods and instead feed creatures like
jellyfish and salps.
How this disruption to the traditional food chain
will impact regional fisheries remains to be seen.
Features on an historic photo of USS Independence CVL 22 are captured in
a three-dimensional (3D) low-resolution sonar image of the shipwreck in
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
The Coda Octopus Echoscope 3D
sonar, integrated on the Boeing Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Echo
Ranger, imaged the shipwreck during the first maritime archaeological
survey.
The sonar image with oranges color tones (lower) shows an
outline of a possible airplane in the forward aircraft elevator hatch
opening.
NOAA, working with private industry partners and the U.S. Navy, has confirmed the location and condition of the USS Independence,
the lead ship of its class of light aircraft carriers that were
critical during the American naval offensive in the Pacific during World
War II.
Resting in 2,600 feet of water off California's Farallon Islands, the
carrier is "amazingly intact," said NOAA scientists, with its hull and
flight deck clearly visible, and what appears to be a plane in the
carrier's hangar bay.
Aerial view of ex-USS Independence at anchor in San Francisco Bay, California, January 1951. There is visible damage from the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll. Credit: San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Independence (CVL 22) operated in the central and western
Pacific from November 1943 through August 1945 and later was one of more
than 90 vessels assembled as a target fleet for the Bikini Atoll atomic
bomb tests in 1946.
Damaged by shock waves, heat and radiation, Independence survived the Bikini Atoll tests and, like dozens of other Operation Crossroads ships, returned to the United States.
While moored at San Francisco's Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, Independence was
the primary focus of the Navy's studies on decontamination until age
and the possibility of its sinking led the Navy to tow the blast-damaged
carrier to sea for scuttling on Jan. 26, 1951.
"After 64 years on the seafloor, Independence sits on the bottom as if ready to launch its planes," said James Delgado, chief scientist on the Independence
mission and maritime heritage director for NOAA's Office of National
Marine Sanctuaries.
"This ship fought a long, hard war in the Pacific
and after the war was subjected to two atomic blasts that ripped through
the ship. It is a reminder of the industrial might and skill of the
"greatest generation' that sent not only this ship, but their loved ones
to war."
NOAA's interest in Independence is part of a mandated and
ongoing two-year mission to locate, map and study historic shipwrecks in
Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and nearby waters. The
carrier is one of an estimated 300 wrecks in the waters off San
Francisco, and the deepest known shipwreck in the sanctuary.
Boeing has developed an autonomous, unmanned, underwater vehicle -- Echo Ranger -- that can dive 10,000 feet below the ocean's surface to perform a variety of long-endurance, deep-dive missions.
Echo Ranger recently recorded its first autonomous surface exit as it dove 40 feet below the surface of the Pacific on a pre-programmed course.
It later maneuvered to a depth of 400 feet -- all the while sending telemetry to Boeing Marine Systems engineers on tracking boats on the surface above.
Echo Ranger is 18.5 feet long, weighs more than five tons and is capable of traveling up to eight knots and as far as 80 miles without resurfacing.
The mission was conducted last month using an 18.5-foot-long
autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), Echo Ranger, provided by The Boeing
Company through a cooperative research and development agreement with
NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.
Boeing also partnered
with technology company Coda Octopus to integrate its 3D-imaging sonar
system, Echoscope, into the AUV.
"Boeing is excited for the opportunity to partner with NOAA to
utilize this state of the art technology," said Fred Sheldon, Boeing
project manager for AUVs.
"The Echo Ranger is uniquely suited for this
type of mission and performed perfectly allowing us to conduct a
thorough survey of the USS Independence."
Scientists and technicians on the sanctuary vessel R/V Fulmar followed
the AUV as it glided 150 feet above the wreck and successfully surveyed
the carrier's nearly intact hull.
The survey determined that Independence
is upright, slightly listing to starboard, with much of its flight deck
intact, and with gaping holes leading to the hangar decks that once
housed the carrier's aircraft.
The shipwreck site of the former aircraft carrier, Independence, is located in the northern region of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
Half Moon Bay, California was the port of operations for the Independence survey mission.
The first multibeam sonar survey of the Independence site was conducted by the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer in 2009.
"By using technology to create three-dimensional maps of the seafloor and wrecks like Independence,
we can not only explore, but share what we've learned with the public
and other scientists," said Frank Cantelas, archaeologist with NOAA's
Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, who joined the mission along
with Robert Schwemmer, west coast regional maritime heritage coordinator
for NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.
Delgado, primary author of a 1990 scientific report on the history
and archaeology of the ships sunk at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall
Islands, said currently there are no plans to enter the vessel or survey
drums of hazardous and radioactive waste that were dumped in the
sanctuary between 1946 and 1970. No trace of the drums or radiation was
observed during the mission, Delgado said.
Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary encompasses nearly
3,300 square miles of ocean and coastal waters beyond California's
Golden Gate Bridge.
The sanctuary supports an abundance of species
including the largest breeding seabird rookery in the contiguous United
States, and other species such as whales and white sharks.
The EU needs to find better answers on immigration as ending the Mare
Nostrum search-and-rescue operation has not stopped desperate people
from attempting this perilous journey
Tragically, it’s Groundhog Day in the Mediterranean.
Around 400 migrants are feared dead after drowning between Libya and Italy.
And just two days ago, Italian coastguards rescued over 6,000 stricken migrants who had attempted to reach Europe from the north African coast.
Map of the routes taken by refugees on their way to Europe
Both scenarios are desperately familiar.
The former echoes disasters in February 2015 and September 2014. And, in fact, most of last summer, which saw record numbers die in the Mediterranean.
Coverage of the latter could have been almost entirely copied from reports published 12 months ago to the week, when a similar number were hauled from the sea during the equivalent weekend of 2014.
There were some who hoped that 2015 might be different.
Six months on, the facts suggest otherwise.
The number of people who attempted to cross the sea to Italy
in the first quarter of 2015 was only fractionally smaller than the
number who crossed in the same period last year.
In January and
February, when stormy seas usually act as a deterrent to all but the
bravest, there were even higher numbers than in 2014
Only a quiet March
brought the overall figure down, and as this week’s news suggests,
April constitutes a return to higher levels.
Perhaps more significantly, the number of drownings in the Mediterranean
during the first quarter of 2015 rose tenfold.
In fact, if the 2015
death toll continues at the current rate, it will easily pass last year’s record of more than 3,400.
A logical conclusion is that the decision to end Mare Nostrum has so
far neither acted as a deterrent, nor prevented more death.
I have spent the past few weeks interviewing migrants who intend to make the journey from the Egyptian coast (second only to Libya as a launchpad for those hoping to reach Italy), as well as the smugglers who they pay to take them.
The message from the smugglers is that business continues as usual.
The message from the migrants is that the dangers they are fleeing from
constitute a far greater threat than the risk of drowning at sea.
Many
display some awareness of the decision to end Mare Nostrum, but no one
says its closure would put them off.
“Even if there was a government decision to drown the migrant boats,
there will still be people going by boat because the individual
considers himself dead already,” says Abu Jana, who will make for Europe in the coming weeks.
“I don’t think that even if they decided to bomb migrant boats it would change peoples’ decision to go.”
The experience of someone like Abu Jana shows why.
A wanted man in
Syria, he cannot return home, and is referred to here by a pseudonym.
Nor can he get a new passport from the Syrian embassy in Cairo, which
means he cannot travel legally. Even if he could, most Arab countries
are now closed to Syrians.
photo : National Geographic
Lacking the right paperwork, Abu Jana cannot legally work in Egypt,
get a proper rent contract, or register the existence of his two toddler
daughters with any national body.
And even if he could, life would
hardly be brighter: those Syrians who do live a fuller life in Egypt often encounter xenophobia.
The EU appears to realise that its current policies are
unsustainable.
However much it would like migrants to simply disappear,
the boats are likely to keep coming as long as repression and conflict
in the Middle East and Africa
continue to drive the largest wave of mass migration since the second
world war.
A revamp of EU migration policies, scheduled for May, is an
implicit recognition of this fact.
But it remains to be seen whether the policy reset will lead to long-term solutions.
Leaked ideas include establishing offshore asylum centres in north Africa, and paying the Egyptian and Tunisian authorities to patrol their own maritime borders.
But how would this scheme differ to the patrols and arrests that Egypt
already makes?
And could over-burdened offshore centres process migrants
fast enough to deter them from the quicker option of the sea?
Without proper solutions, April 2016 will see the same headlines as this year and last.
The monumental sculpted heads of Chile's Easter Island have stood sentinel over this natural wonder, known as Rapa Nui in local Polynesian language, for centuries.
But the islanders' connection to their bountiful home waters stretches even farther back in history than the statues—as residents make clear in their own voices in this mini-documentary.
Today, Easter Island's surrounding seas—and the islanders themselves—are under threat from illegal fishing.
That's why The Pew Charitable Trusts is working with the Rapa Nui community and the Chilean government to create a large, fully protected marine reserve in these ecologically important waters
If designated, the reserve would be one of the largest of its kind in the world, safeguarding the island’s unique ocean environment and traditional fishing practices.
Last summer some bathers in Cork got quite a shock when a giant basking shark decided to pay a visit to Cape Clear bay.
Some documentary makers just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and managed to capture some amazing footage of the huge creature (which is harmless).
Producer Jason Gaffney said they were shooting footage for their new documentary titled Aonrú - which is about the island’s demise – and were fortunate enough to be shooting when the shark arrived near some kayakers.
The footage of that day plays just one small part in a film that hopes to capture the lifestyle of people living on Cape Clear Island, their fears about the future and their perspective on how and why the fishing industry fell into such rapid decline, said Gaffney.
We also wanted to shoot the island in a way that would bring it to a wider audience.
It’s a stunning part of the world and one that few people know about.
Aonrú presents a unique portrait of the island from the air, the ground, the sea and beneath the water.
A richly textured documentary essay on isolation, history, loss and change Aonrú offers a unique exploration of Cape Clear Island, West Cork and the extinction of its indigenous fishing industry.
Fussing archive footage and experimental camera techniques this portrait of an island facing uncertainty celebrates one of mankind's oldest endeavours and questions its place in modern day rural Ireland.
