In this article, we learn that because of the acidification of the water, large amounts of melting ice in the arctic and an increase of upwelling from the bottom, the Arctic Ocean is quickly becoming dangerously corrosive. To start with, ocean water takes in CO2 from the atmosphere. However, Fiona McLaughlin, a research scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada says that “in the Arctic, this acidification process is happening faster than in southern regions because cold water absorbs more CO2 than warm water.” The second problem is the large amounts of ice melt caused by the warming at the poles. Because ice has very low levels of calcium carbonate, the melting is causing “diluting and reducing the concentration of the shell-building compound in the top 50 metres of water.” Then, because of less water being covered by ice, the winter storms are now reaching the surface and causing upwellings from the deep. These waters are also low in calcium carbonate.
All these things layered on top of one another are causing the waters in the Arctic to become corrosive. The lack of calcium carbonate is not just making it difficult for shelled creatures to build their shells, but is literally starting to dissolve the shells that are already there. These creatures, plankton in particular, are the basis of the ocean food chains. Without them, life in the ocean will soon become hard, if not impossible. Scientists are worried that because of water circulation, corrosive waters will soon begin to affect waters in other parts of the world as well.
Do you think that this lack of calcium carbonate in the Arctic will seriously affect life in the ocean?
Scientists think the Arctic ice will be melted before 2030. How long do you think it will take?
In the article “The Perils of the Pearly Nautilus” by Dr. Neale Monks we learn of the severe and potentially species endangering market for Nautilus shells. These beautiful shells are found for sale all over the world. Unfortunately, the Nautilus itself lives only in deep waters (more than 150 m) in the small area known as the Indo West Pacific. In a few specific areas, such as the waters off of the coast of Indonesia, the exportation of Nautilus’ is illegal. However, in most places it is both legal as well as highly unregulated.
Because of this lack of fishery regulation, it is hard to know how the Nautilus populations are doing, or whether or not they are being over-fished. Also, because they reproduce and mature at a slow rate, it would be very difficult for the Nautilus to come back from a period of over-fishing. This is the same type of situation that we have faced repeatedly with many different animals such as whales and elephants. The Nautilus however has been around far longer than these creatures.
I find it amazing that not only were these animals swimming in the oceans while dinosaurs walked the Earth, but that they were around far before that as well. They have been a part of this world for over 500 million years! I also wonder why we, as humans, have not been able to recreate their natural habitat in a captive situation well enough for them to be able to breed. It would be interesting to know what different variables have been tried in the creation of captive habitat for the Nautilus.
It is sad to think of creating a captive version of the Nautilus, but perhaps if we could, then we would be able to save the wild species. If we were able to create a habitat that the Nautilus would live and breed in comfortably, then we would be able to not only raise and harvest the captive Nautilus to supply the demand for their shells, but also save the original wild Nautilus as well.
“I realize it’s completely mad,” said 45 year old Richard Pain, Australian film maker, environmentalist, and soon to be pacific ocean swimmer. In this article, Pain explains his reasoning for undertaking such a crazy challenge. Although no one has ever been able to swim the full 9000 km from Japan to the United States, Pain says that this does not faze him. “But I’m aware there is a lot of green fatigue in the broader population. This is a way to try and raise awareness by doing something more compelling. It’s like trying to do an environmental version of Super Size Me.”
Pain is planning on making the journey inside a 6 m long bottle made of thousands of used water bottles. Not only is this going to serve to protect him from sharks, but will also serve as a “reminder of the plastic waste that is threatening the Pacific Ocean.” Because the added weight of the bottle will add greatly the the dificulty of an already almost unimaginable task, the bottle will be towed by a boat.
Pain hopes to make a documentary of the experience. “I want to create that iconic media image that everybody picks up and says, ‘Oh my God, there’s a man in the middle of the ocean in a gigantic water bottle,’ ” he said. He hopes to grab and center people’s attention on the serious matter the garbage patch represents. He also hopes to raise $1 million for research of the North Pacific Gyre, which is where the garbage patch is gathering.
Pain must continue to train for about 18 more months before attempting the swim, which will take around 45 weeks in total. In order for it to even be possible, Pain will have to ride the Kurashio Current. “The ideal would be for me to walk in the water in Japan, the land of plastic, start swimming and emerge months later on Santa Monica Beach with Richard Branson handing me a cheque and looking at his watch and saying, ‘You made it with five minutes to spare.’”
Do you think this will draw attention to the pollution and toxic garbage collecting in the Pacific?
Do you think he has a chance of making it the 9000 km in 45 weeks?
Normally, seahorses will stay close to shore, blended into their surroundings. But according to this article, a tiny lined seahorse (Hipocampus erectus) was found about 3,100 miles from home. Discovered by a fisherman in the Azores archipelago in the eastern Atlantic, the seahorse was turned over to researchers. They identified it as a lined seahorse, which is native to the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic coasts of North, Central, and South Americas.
Researchers say that this is the first documentation of lined seahorses in the Eastern Atlantic. They believe that the seahorse may have attached itself to seaweed or some other floating object with its tail, and was then “carried by prevailing Gulf Stream currents away from the American coast and across the Atlantic to the Azores.” After all, other seahorses have been seen out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, attached to seaweed before. However, because this is only one sighting, the researchers cannot come to “the conclusion that there are more H. erectus in the Eastern Atlantic.” As Dr Lucy Woodall from Royal Holloway, University of London says, “We just don’t know.”
Do you think it is possible that the seahorse got to the Azores some other way?
There is a possibility that there may be more of these lined seahorses in the Azores and Europe. Why do you think that the population could be spreading?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Mangrove_in_Can_Gio_forest.jpg
We all know how important plants and forests are to take carbon out of our air, but this article sheds light on how important our underwater forests are. Plankton near the surface of the ocean takes almost 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere every year, but it has no way to store it permanently. However, there are plants such as the Mangrove Forests, salt marshes, and sea grass beds that are able to store the carbon in the sea floor. In fact, these plants are responsible for storing away nearly 1,650 million tons of carbon dioxide (about half of the world’s emissions) a year, despite the fact that they only cover 1% of the world’s seabed.
Achin Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General tells us that “We already know that marine ecosystems are multi-trillion-dollar assets linked to sectors such as tourism, coastal defence, fisheries and water purification services. Now it is emerging that they are natural allies against climate change.” Unfortunately, these marine forests are quickly disappearing; around 7% are being lost every year (this is 15 times faster than the tropical rain forest deforestation!). If we could preserve these marine forests, they would be able to reduce the emissions in our atmosphere by 25%, keeping the global warming below 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Do you think this is the best solution to global warming that we have now (even though it has been here all along)?
Do you think it is possible for these plants to slow and even stop global climate change?
For hundreds of years, sailors have told stories of the “milky seas” they encountered during their journeys. Now, two scientists in Florida believe that they may have finally solved the phenomena. Just like fireflies giving off light, the “milky seas” are caused by glowing bacteria. But how many bacteria does it take to light up the sea? Around four billion – trillion. According to bio-luminescence expert Steve Haddock, it’s like covering “the surface of the earth with a four-inch layer of sand and then count all the grains of sand in that layer, that’s the same number as the number of bacteria in the milky sea.” Unfortunately, the milky seas only last a few days, and it usually only occurs in the Indian Ocean, so scientists have not yet been able to get a boat out fast enough to be able to study the occurrence. Long thought to be folklore, the dilemma of the “milky seas” is now a bit more fact than fiction.
What causes this much of one type of bacteria to gather in one area?
Why does this happen more in the Indian Ocean than anywhere else in the world?
Upon searching, I discovered an article claiming that a certain toxin has been found responsible for the deaths of thousands of freshwater fish. This toxin originated from two types of usually harmless freshwater algae, Euglena sanguinea and E. granulata. Over 21,000 striped bass died as a result of this algal toxin in the summer of 2002, but it also killed channel catfish and tilapia fish.
Microbiologist Paul V. Zimba and chemist Peter Moeller of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) worked to create a purified form of the toxin, known as euglenophycin. When the scientists put this purified version of the toxin to test on some catfish in the lab, they were dead within 4 hours. The capability for this natural toxin to kill so easily got the scientists thinking about what other uses it could potentially have. One possibility is that the toxin could be used to help fight cancer. In a few preliminary lab tests, it has been able to slow cancer cell growth, as well as kill the cells. Some future tests will be made to see if the toxin could be used to prevent the formation of tumors as well.
Could this be the “cure to cancer” that everyone is always searching for?
Does the toxin kill healthy cells as well as cancer cells when used to treat patients? If not, how come?
Until recently, a rather large grouping of underwater worms has gone completely unknown. The seven different species of worms have been given the species name of swima, but are nicknamed the “green bombers.” The worms are between 18 and 93 mm and are capable of releasing small green globule appendages from near their heads.
The globules, filled with a luminescent fluid, burst into light for a few seconds after they are released. This helps to deter any predator that may think the worm would make a good snack. The worms are completely see through, except for the globules and their insides, and swim using bunches of bristles that grow off of their bodies.
Despite the rather recent discovery of these worms, researchers say that “These are not rare animals. Often when we see them they number in the hundreds.” But, because they live in depths of 1,800 and 3,700 m (5,900 and 12,140 ft) the worms had simply just never been seen before. In fact, “The depths between 1,000 and 4,000 meters (3,280 and 13,120 feet) form the biggest habitat on Earth and also the least explored.”
I find it strange that we know so much about outer space, have been to the moon, and are planning to go to Mars, yet are still just begining to learn about our oceans. Do you think we should spend more time and effort to learn about what lives in our oceans? When we do get farther in our research, what kinds of things do you think we will find?
