Maersk has had its credit rating cut by ratings agency Moody’s to one grade above junk, with the agency concerned about a “significant downside” for the container industry.
Barely living "zombie" bacteria and other forms of life constitute an immense amount of carbon deep within Earth's subsurface—245 to 385 times greater than the carbon mass of all humans on the surface, according to scientists nearing the end of a 10-year international collaboration to reveal Earth's innermost secrets.
The USACE’s Galveston District has partnered with the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM), Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (GoM OCS) Region, Texas General Land Office (TGLO), and the Offshore Operators Committee (OOC), to conduct a GoM sediment resource-offshore infrastructure two-day partnering workshop on November 29 and 30, 2018.
Lisa Beth Robinson and Kristin Thielking were attempting something completely new—to digitally capture, and cast in glass, a three-dimensional model of a real, live wave.
The study looked at more than 1,600 companies, the largest private-sector adaptation study to date, and found that most companies, about four out of five, reported that they did experience physical risk from climate change within the last year — but only about 20 percent were able to quantify those risks in financial terms.
Although offshore drilling may not be as landmark of an event as the Apollo spaceflights and subsequent Moon landings, just like Apollo, it will help humanity explore more of the planet hidden by oceans.
'Rotor sails' can replace up to half a ship's engine propulsion on a windy day, Norsepower says
New partnership will protect coastal communities and enhance habitat for fish and wildlife
Despite increased resilience actions, extreme weather events due to climate change are projected to increasingly threaten the nation’s energy infrastructure, and create fuel availability and demand imbalances, the Trump administration’s sprawling climate report released on November 23 suggests.
Marine scientist Orrin Pilkey has long been cautioning about sea level rise and the folly of building and rebuilding along coastlines. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he talks about why an eventual retreat from oceanfront property on the U.S. coast is inevitable.
Is your city prepared for climate change? The latest National Climate Assessmentpaints a grim future if U.S. cities and states don’t take serious action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Federal Maritime Commission Authorization Act of 2017 was signed into law by President Donald Trump on Dec. 4, 2018, marking the first substantive revision to the U.S. Shipping Act since 1998. The amended Act signals an important development for the maritime industry in the U.S. It is aimed at preserving competition in U.S. trades and assuring future capital investment in maritime and transportation infrastructure, the vital link in supply chains across the U.S. and the world.
WASHINGTON: The following statement was issued by Nancy Somerville, Hon. ASLA, SITES AP, executive vice president and CEO of the American Society of Landscape Architects, in response to the release by the federal government of the Fourth National Climate Assessment.
Seagrasses are flowering marine plants that live in shallow coastal waters almost everywhere in the world. The more than 70 species of seagrass provide an important habitat for thousands of ocean animals, from tiny invertebrates, crabs, and turtles to large fish and birds.
It’s often argued that climate change is not a technological or engineering problem, it is a political problem. And it’s true. We have all the technology we need to power the world with renewables and stave off the worst of climate chaos. What we lack is the political will to take the kind of moonshot-scale action necessary to accomplish it.
As the UN hosts its annual meeting on climate change this week, it is imperative that we continue to place an emphasis on the strongest evidence to inform how our society should respond. Last month, coincidentally timed with the Thanksgiving holiday, the U.S. government released one such summary of evidence - its latest National Climate Assessment.
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - For experts in the field of ocean mapping it is no small irony that we know more about the surfaces of the Moon and Mars than we do about our planet’s sea floor.
The pattern of uneven sea level rise over the last quarter century has been driven in part by human-caused climate change, not just natural variability, according to a new study.
In May 2018, The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) established the National Coastal Resilience Fund with the goal of restoring and enhancing natural resource infrastructure to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities top storms, floods, and other detrimental natural events.
Total US oil reserves in 2017 exceeded a … 47-year-old record, highlighting the importance of crude oil development in shales and low permeability plays, mainly in the Southwest.
Royal Dutch Shell plans to set short-term emission reduction targets and link these targets with executive pay, the oil major said on Monday, yielding to growing investor pressure about establishing short-term emission goals.
Offshore wind could be America's biggest bipartisan clean energy success story in the next two years. But how policymakers design related policies will determine how fast project costs fall.
Jellyfish undergo an amazing metamorphosis, from tiny polyps growing on the seafloor to swimming medusae with stinging tentacles.
'This is not a time to be passive and allow this calamity to happen to us,' says one psychologist
When renown Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson told the legendary marine biologist Sylvia Earle, a passionate advocate of ocean protection, that he was worried that we humans were “letting Nature slip through our fingers,” Earle replied to him that her biggest concern was that “Nature may let the human race slip through her fingers.”
On Nov. 23, 13 federal agencies issued “Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA),” a scientific report that predicted climate change will slash 10% from the U.S. economy’s gross domestic product by the end of the century. We will need to take action -- and four industries could be at the forefront -- creating opportunities for investors.
If one thing is for certain, it's that the barrage of weather-related disasters isn't letting up soon. Here, architects and researchers offer a checklist for increasing the resiliency of new and existing projects.
Rising seas to roil coastal areas, federal scientists predict Large outflows of people expected from New York, New Jersey
In 2010, 123.3 million people, or 39 percent of the nation’s population lived in counties directly on the shoreline.
Carl Wunsch continues to expand his foundational framework for understanding the behavior of worldwide oceans as a whole.
From California’s horrific megafires to the punishing hurricanes and typhoons that leveled communities in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Northern Marianas, this year — like last year — faced deadly devastation from extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change.
A team of researchers with the French National Centre for Scientific Research has found an example of environmental microplastics disrupting a predator-prey relationship.
The Fishing Communities Coalition (FCC), a group of seven harvester associations that previously opposed efforts to modify the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), is already working to win over the next US Congress.
The oil and gas supply chain is positioning for what appears to be an emerging US offshore wind market. There are at least 12 projects in various stages of development in the US that could deliver about 10 GW of power by 2030.
Whenever we talk about the consequences of climate change, we’re talking about probability. Scientists present a rainbow of possible outcomes for our little experiment in fossil fuel consumption, some more likely than others. We’re used to thinking of that uncertainty as being driven by the physics of the natural world. The more we learn about heat absorption, fluid dynamics and the behavior of clouds, the better our understanding of climate as a system becomes. The more we know, the less uncertainty.
From reels being projected in high school auditoriums while filmmakers narrated a script, to paying a pretty penny for VHS cassettes at surf shops, all the way up to today’s attention deficit digital age, the surf flick has endured the fluidity in its format.
Thirteen federal agencies agree: Climate change has already wreaked havoc on the United States, and the worst is likely yet to come.
Governors have a wide range of priorities they want to tackle in the coming year, from tax reform to education. Yet it's a topic that receives less attention on the campaign trail and in their speeches that could determine their success — natural disasters.
Inspired by Actinia, a sea organism that ensnares its prey with its tentacles, a team of researchers has developed a method for efficiently treating water. The research used a material known as a nanocoagulant to rid water of contaminants.
Ocean noise varies spatially and temporally and is driven by natural and anthropogenic processes. Increased ambient noise levels can cause signal masking and communication impairment, affecting fitness and recruitment success.
Fishing companies operating worldwide are leaving between $51 billion and $83 billion in unrealized net economic benefits on the table every year due to the overexploitation underperformance of fish stocks, according to new research from the Sea Around Us initiative, the Institute for the Oceans and Fishers at the University of British Columbia, the Fish Tracker initiative and the Sea Around Us—Indian Ocean project.
The Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC) advises the Secretary of Commerce on all living marine resource matters that are the responsibility of the Department of Commerce. Nominations are sought for vacant positions.
Although the Trump administration attempted to bury the news by releasing it on Black Friday, the latest national climate assessment did receive some wide coverage. Of course, because the news is bleak and the practical evidence of how things are changing—worsening wildfires, storms, floods, and more—is there to see.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — There’s still time for those with an interest in federal shrimp regulations to comment on a proposal to create a traceability program for farm-raised shrimp.
Earth’s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, primarily as a result of human activities. The impacts of global climate change are already being felt in the United States and are projected to intensify in the future—but the severity of future impacts will depend largely on actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the changes that will occur. Americans increasingly recognize the risks climate change poses to their everyday lives and livelihoods and are beginning to respond
PADI, the world’s largest diving association has joined forces with the Reef World Foundation, supported by UN Environment, to promote sustainable diving practices for the protection of the marine environment. This partnership will raise awareness and deliver tools to implement the Green Fins standard of best practice, helping to ensure the long-term sustainability of coral reefs, recreational scuba diving and local livelihoods.
For community associations, short-term rentals are a hot topic in today’s legal and association governance landscape. Courts and localities are attempting to deal with the unique challenges presented by short-term rentals. Some jurisdictions are seeking to limit or otherwise tax short-term rentals.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has delivered its Fiscal Year 2019 Work Plan for the Army Civil Works program to Congress.
Developers aren’t deterred by rising insurance rates, which are largely passed along to buyers and renters, or by more expensive building requirements. Higher costs have simply “forced more expensive development” on the coast
One of the most important challenges researchers and managers confront in conservation ecology is predicting a population’s response to sub-lethal stressors. Such predictions have been particularly elusive when assessing responses of large marine mammals to past anthropogenic pressures. Recently developed techniques involving baleen whale earplugs combine age estimates with cortisol measurements to assess spatial and temporal stress/stressor relationships.
Activists are pressuring San Antonio-based Whataburger to end its use of foam cups and containers in favor of materials that are friendlier to the environment.
William P. Doyle, CEO & Executive Director of Dredging Contractors of America (DCA), says the industry is going to thrive, and he intents to ensure the Jones Act continues to do the same.
Differences between federal and state energy regulations will likely require judicial intervention.
Urgency grows for WTO deal that would boost ocean health, help ensure sustainable fishing
McGill scientists discovered that carbon dioxide also has begun to drift to the ocean bottom, dissolving the very materials that help put the brakes on acidification.
Coastal zones are critical to life and livelihoods, people and planet. They are conduits to trade, to communications, they provide resources and livelihoods, they are often centers of economic growth.
Heat is transported through the ocean by a deep-ocean circulation system, known as the global heat conveyor belt, which constantly circulates water around the globe and helps to balance the earth's climate.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for losses linked to algal blooms fueled by warmer waters
What do a billionaire real estate mogul, a wealth management executive and a Republican congresswoman have in common? Living and working in South Florida, they share concerns about the impacts that a changing climate — and rising seas — may pose to the area and its economy. Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article221677295.html#storylink=cpy
While contemporary vessels lack the open hatch grates of 19th century sailing ships, boaters still know what it means to “batten down the hatches” in preparation for a storm. Eliminating or minimizing vulnerabilities before rough conditions hit is also becoming an essential consideration for marina owners and operators. Coastal and shoreline areas occupy ground zero for a broad range of climate change impacts, exposing a widening number of hatches that will need to be battened down or rebuilt in the years ahead.
Atlantic herring is a hearty source of protein for people and marine mammals alike, but like a startling number of Canada’s fish stocks the plan to rebuild the depleted herring population is currently one big question mark. That’s a conclusion reached by advocacy group Oceana Canada, which published its second annual fisheries audit Tuesday – a report card assessing the health of Canada’s fish stocks.
Researchers with UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Princeton University have walked back scientific findings published last month that showed oceans have been heating up dramatically faster than previously thought as a result of climate change.
Natural capital is a way to quantify the value of the world that nature provides for us – the air, soils, water, even recreational activity. Advocates say this is crucial if biodiversity is to have any clout in a world governed by raw economics. Others believe the concept merely turns the natural world into a commodity. Is natural capital our last chance to halt the carnage mankind inflicts on the environment or are its supporters naively dancing with the devil?
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The U.S. Senate approved a compromise policy Wednesday on dumping ship ballast water in coastal ports and the Great Lakes, a practice blamed for spreading invasive species that damage the environment and the economy.
IT WASN’T A whodunnit. Last year’s unprecedented rainfall and flooding in Houston were the proximate result of Hurricane Harvey, a massive storm born northeast of Venezuela and reborn in the Gulf of Mexico, where it rapidly intensified, made landfall over Houston, and then stayed—parked, as it were, for five days. Harvey was, however, something of a whydunnit. Why did the storm drop more than four feet of rain on the city?
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Trillions of dollars' worth of U.S. coastal development and military installations are at risk from powerful storms and sea level rise, a panel of experts warned at a congressional briefing today. They said that continued investments into accurate and timely weather forecasts and long-term understanding of the Earth system are vital for saving lives and protecting property in densely populated coastal regions, both in the United States and overseas.
The Marine Institute of Ireland and the Geological Survey of Ireland captured drone footage of a rare shark nursery 200 miles off Ireland's western coast. Drone footage of a rare shark nursery, found 200 miles off west of Ireland, has been revealed. It's being called a discovery on a "scale not previously documented in Irish waters."
Today, Paul G. Allen Philanthropies and a consortium of partners, including Carnegie, unveiled the Allen Coral Atlas, a pioneering effort that uses high-resolution satellite imagery and advanced analytics to map and monitor the world's coral reefs in unprecedented detail. At launch, the Allen Coral Atlas offers the highest-resolution, up-to-date global image of the world's coral reefs ever captured, and the first detailed maps showing the composition and structure of five important reefs located throughout the world.
Microplastics have been recorded in a range of zooplankton species, and they are already causing problems for these tiny - but vitally important - animals, even before the plastic particles make their way through the food web. A new review suggests that, to further our understanding of when and why zooplankton munch on microplastics, experiments need to better represent the tiny plastic particles actually found in the marine environment.
The specter of rising sea levels looms for the more than 40 percent of the U.S. population living in coastal counties. Because sea levels rise slowly and their effects worsen over time, the threat can seem remote. But even now, it’s clear that major financial losses are likely within the next three decades – the lifetime of a typical 30-year mortgage signed in the next couple years.
The sea wall of an island off the coast of Suffolk is being lowered by almost half a metre to prevent it flooding in stormy weather.
As Congress returns from the campaign trail, there is a major effort underway to pass comprehensive legislation before the 115th Congress adjourns that addresses the most pressing needs on America’s public lands and waterways. While any legislative vehicle is likely to include a variety of measures important to America’s millions of sportsmen and women, it is critical that this package fix a problem decades in the making: outdated management of America’s federal fisheries.
Construction of a new Oregon State University research vessel that will advance the science of coastal environments, and support research on topics such as ocean acidification, hypoxia, and sea level rise, officially began yesterday in Louisiana.
The land-based fish farming company Pure Salmon has announced plans to produce 260,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon per year.
The results indicate that large swaths of real estate value lie in areas at high risk of being affected by sea-level rise. More than 24 percent of the NPI value is in metro areas whose central cities are among the 10 percent of cities most exposed to sea-level rise. This amounts to more than $130 billion of real estate. And a whopping 67 percent of the NPI’s value, or $360 billion, is in metro areas whose primary cities are among the 20 percent most exposed in the United States
Turn time is the bench mark by which ocean terminals measure efficiency. The longer it takes to move a container on or off the ship or through the facility, the costlier that unit becomes in terms of handling and vessel delay. Container ships aren’t getting smaller; in today’s fast paced world it’s becoming impossible for ports to compete without technology. Automation is not the way of the future; it’s quickly become the norm today.
In the next three decades, the global population is expected to grow by more than two billion people. That could be a problem. We already fail to feed the roughly seven and a half billion people currently living on the planet, so we’ll need to initiate entirely new agricultural systems to accommodate more.
For the last hundred years, protecting neighborhoods has often meant relying on sea walls — large, concrete barriers designed to withstand strong waves and rising waters. Beyond not being particularly attractive, they are expensive, can cause erosion and harm marine life.
Bloomberg Philanthropies to launch major grant for coastal communities to improve the health of oceans
The worst predicted impacts of climate change are starting to happen — and much faster than climate scientists expected
The U.S. has a climate policy, and it wants the Supreme Court to enforce it. That policy: No such thing.
The 22nd World Dredging Congress & Exposition (WODCON XXII) will take place in Shanghai, China, from 25-29 April, 2019.
Why are people in Asia and the Pacific particularly vulnerable to climate change? The answers may lie in a combination of factors that literally creates a “perfect storm”
The global dredging market will touch a value of nearly US$ 16,500 Mn in the year 2022 and grow at a sluggish CAGR during the assessment period.
That's a really long time to be airborne!
Hopefully the World Surf League's next hire!
World travelers seek new destinations outside of the usual locales and coastal sites are at the top of the list
Convention on Biological Diversity members will meet to advance new targets for protecting marine habitat
Oil prices were down sharply in afternoon trading prior to the release of the API data
It happens as the hurricane moves into the reach of the blades.
The drop was steeper than in 2016 when emissions fell 2 percent.
The Senate cleared the popular bill on Oct. 10 by a 99-1 vote. The House passed it on Sept. 13 by a voice vote.
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is responsible for the conservation and management of tunas, sharks, and other highly migratory species in the Atlantic Ocean.
It could rival the bursting dot-com and real estate bubbles of 2000 and 2008
Prior research has suggested that mussels are a robust indicator of plastic debris and particles in marine environments. A new study says that's not the case because mussels are picky eaters and have an inherent ability to choose and sort their food.
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