China is planning a massive sea lab 10,000 feet underwater

A Google Earth animation of the artificial island being built on Fiery Cross Reef.

courtesy of Timothy Whitehead, GEblog

From Bloomberg

China is speeding up efforts to design and build a manned deep-sea platform to help it hunt for minerals in the South China Sea, one that may also serve a military purpose in the disputed waters.

Photographer: DigitalGlobe/ScapeWare3d/DigitalGlobe/Getty Images

Such an oceanic “space station” would be located as much as 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) below the surface, according to a recent Science Ministry presentation viewed by Bloomberg.
The project was mentioned in China’s current five-year economic plan released in March and ranked number two on a list of the top 100 science and technology priorities.

 China considers more than 80% of the South China Sea its sovereign territory.

Its construction of seven artificial islands in the Sea has raised tensions in a region with overlapping territorial and economic interests.

Authorities recently examined the implementation of the project and decided to accelerate the process, according to the presentation.
"Having this kind of long-term inhabited station has not been attempted this deep, but it is certainly possible," said Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.
"Manned submersibles have gone to those depths for almost 50 years. The challenge is operating it for months at a time."

So far there are few public details, including a specific time line, any blueprints or a cost estimate -- or where in the waterway it might be located.
Still, China under President Xi Jinping has asserted itself more strenuously in the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.
Its claims to more than 80 percent of the waters and the creation of artificial islands covering 3,200 acres have inflamed tensions with nations including Vietnam and the Philippines.

 Vietnam disputes China’s claim to the Paracel Islands, which China has occupied since 1974. Sixty-four Vietnamese sailors died in a 1988 naval clash between Vietnam and China near Johnson South Reef.

Shipping Lane

It has also led the U.S. to send ships from its Seventh Fleet to ensure freedom of passage through an area that carries $5.3 trillion of global trade a year.
"The deep sea contains treasures that remain undiscovered and undeveloped, and in order to obtain these treasures we have to control key technologies in getting into the deep sea, discovering the deep sea, and developing the deep sea," Xi said last month at a national science conference.

While China’s appetite for natural resources remains the driving force behind the project, the recent ministry presentation noted the platform would be movable, and used for military purposes.
China has proposed a network of sensors called the "Underwater Great Wall Project” to help detect U.S. and Russian submarines, say analysts at IHS Jane’s.

 Tensions between the Philippines and China escalated in 2012 after the Philippine navy detained eight Chinese fishing vessels near the Scarborough Shoal.

China has since taken possession of the Shoal.

‘Important Strategy’

"To develop the ocean is an important strategy for the Chinese government, but the deep sea space station is not designed against any country or region," said Xu Liping, a senior researcher for Southeast Asian affairs at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a government-run institute.
"China’s project will be mainly for civil use, but we can’t rule out it will carry some military functions,” Xu said.
“Many countries in the world have been researching these kind of deep water projects and China is just one of those nations."

When analysts look at the South China Sea, they tend to focus on the potential for oil and gas reserves as estimates for mineral deposits are sketchy.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration says the area has proved and probable reserves of about 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

China’s estimates dwarf those. In 2012, Cnooc Ltd.’s then-chairman estimated the area holds around 125 billion barrels of oil and 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

 Taiwan and China's overlapping claim to the South China Sea is based on an imprecise "nine-dash line" drawn on a map sometime in the 1940s, before China split in 1949.

Taiwan operates one outpost in the Spratlys.

Typhoon Challenge

While most of the undiscovered oil lies in coastal regions that aren’t disputed, the contested areas face geological and technological challenges, not least the depth of the waters and frequency of typhoons.

Spearheading the planning for the deep-sea station is the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, according to a statement on the website of the science ministry.
Once operational, it would host dozens of crew members who could remain underwater for up to a month, the ministry’s presentation separately said.

China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation and the ministry did not reply to faxes seeking comment.

 Brunei and Malaysia also claim maritime boundaries in the Sea. Malaysia operates several military outposts in the Spratlys.

Brunei has claims to several reefs, but occupies no territory.

Price Tag

Planning has been under way for a decade and is central to China’s push to become a global technology superpower by 2030, according to the presentation.
Completing it would help China close a deep sea exploration gap with the U.S., Japan, France and Russia on underwater technology.
China has already logged successes, with its Jiaolong submersible setting a world record by descending 7 kilometers in 2012.

The ministry presentation didn’t give any estimated price tag but Bryan Clark, who formerly served as special assistant to the chief of U.S. naval operations, said the cost could be daunting and its vulnerability to detection would make it less attractive militarily than using a submarine or an unmanned vehicle.

China spent 1.42 trillion yuan ($216 billion) on state and privately-funded research and development in 2015, according to the National Statistics Bureau, while total defense spending this year is projected by the government to increase 7.6 percent to 954.4 billion yuan ($145 billion).

"The kinds of systems that make sense for deep sea are sensor and communication systems," said Clark.
"In the Cold War, the U.S. and USSR spent much effort looking for each others’ communication cables and sensors to disrupt them in peacetime or attack them in war. We can assume those efforts would continue today and into the future."

 The South China Sea is a vital thoroughfare for the global economy.

Home to 10% of the world’s commercial ocean fish stock, the sea lies above an estimated 11 billion barrels in oil reserve

Links :

• Bloomberg : Diplomatic tussle over the South China Sea / QuickTake Territorial Disputes  
• Washington Post : China is planning a massive sea lab 10,000 feet underwater
• GeoGarage blog : What China has been building in the South China Sea 

World Oceans Day : What’s working? Inspiring ambitious coalitions for the Ocean and Climate

From Huffington Post by José Maria Figueres

Important global challenges can be overcome by strong global coalitions.
That is exactly what happened at COP21.
Countries, with business and civil society as relevant players in the build-up to the Paris Summit, finally broke through years of slow progress to hammer out a global Climate Agreement.

www.worldoceansday.org

But what about the Ocean?
What about our 8th continent where life begins, covering 70% of the Earth’s surface?
In spite of its present degradation there are reasons to celebrate this year’s Oceans Day with renewed optimism.
Here are two reasons why this is so.

Firstly, recent years have witnessed growing global understanding on the importance of the Ocean within our planetary climate system.
Indeed the persevering work of many, including the more recent report of the Global Ocean Commission, points to the importance of moving towards a rescue package to recover the Ocean’s health.
To this point, early in 2015 the world agreed to give the Ocean its own Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 14) to strengthen its resilience and to take action to restore the health of marine ecosystems.

Secondly, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change pledges to keep average temperature rise below 2oC, with the aspiration of not passing 1.5oC.
This is vital for the future health of the Ocean, which is already suffering the chronic impacts of warming and acidification as a direct result of absorbing our excess heat and emissions.

This last point was evident during the Paris Climate Summit.
I was there to participate in the launch of the Because the Ocean alliance of countries and organizations calling for an end to the divide between Climate and Ocean.
Heads of State and Ministers from 22 countries signed this declaration, requesting a special report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the ocean-climate interface, and a dedicated ocean action plan under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

 photo courtesy of Jeff Williams from ISS

In 2016 we are already seeing results.
The IPCC has established its work program for the 6th Assessment Cycle, with the Ocean as a major priority.
It also announced the preparation of a new special report dedicated to interactions between climate, ocean and the cryosphere.
Our recommendations in Paris are becoming a reality!
After all, it is about time the Ocean was fully integrated into the climate field.
It captures and stores over 2 billion tonnes of CO2 every year, an entirely free service valued at around US$148 billion a year.
We cannot afford to lose the precious marine biodiversity that, as well as providing food and livelihoods is saving us by fixing this carbon, avoiding even more acute, faster climate impacts.

Therefore, after many years of abject neglect and willing abuse of the Ocean, I am hopeful these international processes are now working towards Ocean restoration and protection.
We will achieve an ambitious global coalition for the Ocean.
But it will take time.
While we work towards this goal, action must not wait.
In our individual nations, regions, companies, communities and homes we should all be taking steps towards a healthy Ocean.

Science is leading the way.
It is inspiring to witness the way that marine experts are expanding our knowledge and understanding of the Ocean, and increasingly influencing the decisions of governments, industry and consumers.
With today’s rapid communications, the lag-time between discovery and action is getting shorter.
As people learn more about the Ocean and our devastating impact on it, the mobilization of citizen campaigns and consumer influence over the fishing and energy industries, is growing.
Coalitions for change are coming together in our streets and shops as well as at world summits.
After years of fighting for the Ocean, this year I am celebrating World Oceans Day with more hope than ever before.
We have a long way to go, but we are beginning to sail together in the right direction!

Links :

• National Geographic :  On World Oceans day, a view from the top
• Medium : NSF World Oceans day
• The Guardian : New ocean map reveals health of seas and value of protecting them – in pictures

D-Day: the largest seaborne invasion in History

D-Day overlord map

From Maritime Executive

The Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, (D-Day) were the largest seaborne invasion in history.

The operation, codenamed Operation Neptune, began the liberation of German-occupied northwestern Europe from Nazi control and contributed to the Allied victory on the Western Front.

The amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault.

The landing involved 24,000 American, British and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight.

Allied infantry and armored divisions began landing on the coast of France at 06:30. 

 A LCVP (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel) from the U.S. Coast Guard-manned USS Samuel Chase disembarks troops of Company E, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division (the Big Red One) wading onto the Fox Green section of Omaha Beach (Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France) on the morning of June 6, 1944.

American soldiers encountered the newly formed German 352nd Division when landing.

During the initial landing two-thirds of the Company E became casualties.

Twitter WW2Facts

The target 50-mile (80 kilometer) stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword Beach.

Strong winds blew the landing craft east of their intended positions, particularly at Utah and Omaha. While the weather on D-Day was far from ideal, postponing would have meant a delay of at least two weeks, as the invasion planners had requirements for the phase of the moon, the tides, and the time of day that meant only a few days in each month were deemed suitable.

Omaha Beach East map

The Army Map Service, an NGA predecessor, provided maps for the Normandy invasion

and throughout World War II. 

The Army Map Service, a DMA predecessor, met the challenge of providing maps for the Normandy invasion, as well as all of World War II.

During that time, the AMS operated 24 hours a day, six days a week and maintained a skeleton crew on the seventh.

It successfully met every mapping request worldwide.

During the four-year period, 1941–1945, the AMS prepared more than 40,000 different maps of all types. (example)

Many of these were maps of areas never mapped before, prepared and brought up to date by aerial photography obtained by Allied forces aircraft, flying bombing missions.

Normandy invasion required about 3,000 different maps with a total of 70 million sheets.

The total production of maps by the AMS during WWII was approximately 500 million sheets.

If stacked one on top of another, they would reach about 31 miles high, 134 times the height of the Empire State Building.

The men landed under heavy fire from gun emplacements overlooking the beaches, and the shore was mined and covered with obstacles such as wooden stakes, metal tripods and barbed wire, making the work of the beach-clearing teams difficult and dangerous.

Adolf Hitler placed German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in command of German forces and of developing fortifications along the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of the invasion.

The Allies failed to achieve any of their goals on the first day. Carentan, St. Lô, and Bayeux remained in German hands, and Caen, a major objective, was not captured until 21 July.

Only two of the beaches (Juno and Gold) were linked on the first day, and all five beachheads were not connected until 12 June.

However, the operation gained a foothold which the Allies gradually expanded over the coming months.

Losses to merchant ships during the invasion were much lower than had been anticipated.

Many ships plied back and forth between English ports and the beaches at Normandy.

Some ships made as many as three trips in June alone.

 'Mulberry' artificial harbour in Arromanches (SHOM map with the GeoGarage platform)

The U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command describes how a modern, artificial port was built at Omaha and Utah beaches.

Armed Guards on some 22 merchant ships which were scuttled to make a breakwater played a vital part in the operation.

For days they endured the early fury of the German counter-attack and helped give fire protection to the forces ashore from their partly submerged ships. 

Normandy landing : first assault

source : DDay Overlord website

Carrying out the time-honored task of saving lives, albeit under enemy fire on a shoreline thousands of miles from home, the U.S. Coast Guard’s cutters involved in the invasion of Normandy saved more than 1,400 souls, but the day was also one of the bloodiest days in Coast Guard history.
German casualties on D-Day were around 1,000 men.
Allied casualties were at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead.

Links :

• BBC : D-Day: How was the biggest ever seaborne invasion launched?
• CNN : D-Day: Debunking the myths of the Normandy landings
• Chron : D-Day: The Invasion of Normandy in color photographs 
• BBC : Animated Map: Operation Overlord
• Mashable : D-Day weather map is most important in History (Weather support of the Normandy invasion)

Sentinel's first map of sea-surface 'hills and valleys'

 Retrieving this type of data is one of the most basic objectives of a space altimeter

From BBC by Jonathan Amos 

The EU's Sentinel-3a satellite has given a sneak peek at what will be one of its most fundamental products - a map of sea surface height anomalies.

Launched in February, the spacecraft carries an altimeter to sense the oceans' "hills" and "valleys".
It is basic information that is needed to track currents and eddies, inform ocean forecasts and track variability in climate-driven sea-level rise.
This first Sentinel-3a global map contains just one month's data.
The acquisition was made between 3 March and 2 April 2016.
Red shows (positive) areas where the sea surface is higher than the reference sea level, and blue (negative) areas reveal where it is lower.
Positive anomalies are normally associated with warmer waters and a deeper thermocline, with negative anomalies associated with cooler waters and a shallower thermocline.
The thermocline is the transition layer between warmer mixed water at the ocean's surface and cooler deep water below.
The "reference" against which Sentinel-3a is looking is the historical dataset gathered by satellite altimeters since the early 1990s.

 MonteCristo island, Tyrrhenian Sea on open web map for Sentinel2

www.sentinelmap.eu

Montecristo island with the GeoGarage
(IIM/Navimap nautical map layer)

Montecristo island viewed from the sea

Six-satellite set

Some of the big features immediately recognisable in the map are the Gulf Stream moving up the US East Coast and across the North Atlantic, the Brazil-Falklands Confluence Zone in the southeast Atlantic, the Benguela and Agulhas currents that hug the southern tip of Africa, and the Kuroshio current that sweeps east of Japan into the central Pacific.
Sentinel-3a joins five other space altimeters already in orbit that are contributing this kind of data. This number of instruments is unprecedented.
"The main reason you want so many space altimeters is to provide good sampling of mesoscale details," explained Dr Craig Donlon, the European Space Agency's (Esa) mission scientist on Sentinel-3a.
"Given the very narrow field of view which is at nadir (straight down), you only get to see a few km in width, depending on the sea state.
"With a series of altimeters flying in a constellation, you can improve the sampling of the global ocean. But you have to make sure that at least one of those altimeters is working as a reference. This one must be an accurate, well-monitored system, and a consistent system throughout the historical altimeter constellation as well.
"That's been the Topex/Jason series, soon to become Sentinel-6/Jason-CS in a few years' time. The reference altimeter orbit is a 66 degree (relative to the equator) orbit, that was chosen very deliberately because you minimise tidal aliasing, because as you can imagine, if you have tides in your signal it's very confusing."

 Catching sun glitter reveals coastal waves

This image was taken by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite on 1 October 2015. It shows how reflection of solar radiation by the sea surface reveals the complex patterns of waves as they interact with the coastline and seafloor off the tip Dorre Island, Western Australia. 

Copyright contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2016), processed by OceanDataLab

But being in a 66-degree orbit means behaviour at the poles is lost.
That is where S-3a comes in.
It goes to much higher latitudes, enabling it for example to have a look at what is happening in the Arctic Ocean.
It is hard to overstate the importance of sea surface elevation to the study of the oceans.
Just as surface air pressure reveals what the atmosphere is doing above, so ocean height will betray details about the behaviour of water down below.
The data gives clues to temperature and salinity, and when combined with gravity information, it is possible to gauge not just current direction but speed as well.
The oceans store vast amounts of heat from the Sun, and how they move that energy around the globe and interact with the atmosphere are what drive our weather and climate systems.

 El Nino warmth suppresses the normally cold waters of the Humboldt current, boosting algal growth

(Copenicus/ESA) 

The sea surface anomalies map, processed by the French space Agency CNES, was released here in Prague at Esa's Living Planet Symposium - a conference dedicated to Earth observation.
Many of the talks are centred on data coming from the EU's new Sentinel satellites - the biggest EO project in the world.
Four spacecraft have now been launched, with many more to follow.
Esa's Earth observation director Prof Volker Liebig showed a recent image from the colour camera on Sentinel-2a.

This featured a giant algal bloom off the coast of Chile.
The bloom was powered by the warm waters brought to the eastern Pacific last year by the El Nino phenomenon.
"Twenty-four million salmon in fish farms died as a consequence of this event," he said.
"The El Nino led to warm water there; normally it is cold water. The industry was unprepared. Eight-hundred-million US dollars have been lost.
"We hope governments and industry will become more aware of these (Sentinel satellite) tools and use them in the future to be better prepared."

A multitude of services based on Sentinel and other satellite data is already available under the EU's Copernicus programme.

How Weather4D Pro does work from Copernicus Observer
Free and open access to Copernicus data: 
added value for smartphone applications : safer sailing with Weather 4D

Weather4D is one of the first smartphone and tablet applications to combine weather and ocean data.
The application is designed for marine navigation, and can calculate the optimal route (based on waves and wind, amongst other parameters) for a ship, sailing boat or fishing vessel using Copernicus products.

The success of the Weather4D app provides a credible testimony to the added value that Copernicus provides in the emerging e-navigation sector.

(see Copernicus observer)

The European-funded Sentinel series

• The Sentinels represent the world's most ambitious Earth observation project
• Sentinel-1: Radar satellite that can see the Earth's surface in all weathers
• Sentinel-2: Colour camera dedicated to study principally land changes
• Sentinel-3: Multi-wavelength detectors tuned to observe ocean behaviour
• Sentinel-4: High-orbiting sensor to measure atmospheric gases
• Sentinel-5: Low-orbiting atmospheric sensor to help monitor air quality
• Sentinel-6: Evolution of the long-running Jason sea-surface height series

What is the Copernicus programme?

• EU project that is being procured with European Space Agency help
• Pulls together all Earth-monitoring data, from space and the ground
• Will use a range of spacecraft - some already up there, others yet to fly
• Expected to be invaluable to scientists studying climate change
• Important for disaster response - earthquakes, floods, fires etc
• Data will also help design and enforce EU policies: fishing quotas etc

Links :

• GeoGarage blog : Sentinel-3 and the ocean carbon conundrum / SMOS satellite meets ocean monster / Satellites guide sailor from treacherous waters / Copernicus Sentinel-1 : making our seas safer / Earth observation enters next phase

Stress and effect on a vessel in severe weather conditions

Stress and effect on a vessel in severe weather conditions.

Recorded during passage from Suez Canal to Singapore, recorded in June 2008.