Heat-trapping gases are being emitted into the atmosphere faster than ever, and the 10 hottest years since records began have all taken place since 1998. But the rate at which the earth’s surface is heating up has slowed somewhat since 2000, causing scientists to search for an explanation for the pause.

Experts in France and Spain said on Sunday that the oceans took up more warmth from the air around 2000. That would help explain the slowdown in surface warming but would also suggest that the pause may be only temporary and brief.

“Most of this excess energy was absorbed in the top 700 meters (2,300 ft) of the ocean at the onset of the warming pause, 65 percent of it in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic oceans,” they wrote in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Lead author Virginie Guemas of the Catalan Institute of Climate Sciences in Barcelona said the hidden heat may return to the atmosphere in the next decade, stoking warming again.

“If it is only related to natural variability then the rate of warming will increase soon,” she told Reuters.

Caroline Katsman of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, an expert who was not involved in the latest study, said heat absorbed by the ocean will come back into the atmosphere if it is part of an ocean cycle such as the “El Nino” warming and “La Nina” cooling events in the Pacific.

She said the study broadly confirmed earlier research by her institute but that it was unlikely to be the full explanation of the warming pause at the surface, since it only applied to the onset of the slowdown around 2000.

THRESHOLD

The pace of climate change has big economic implications since almost 200 governments agreed in 2010 to limit surface warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) above pre-industrial levels, mainly by shifting from fossil fuels.

Surface temperatures have already risen by 0.8 C. Two degrees is widely seen as a threshold for dangerous changes such as more droughts, mudslides, floods and rising sea levels.

Some governments, and skeptics that man-made climate change is a big problem, argue that the slowdown in the rising trend shows less urgency to act. Governments have agreed to work out, by the end of 2015, a global deal to combat climate change.

Last year was ninth warmest since records began in the 1850s, according to the U.N.’s World Meteorological Organization, and 2010 was the warmest, just ahead of 1998. Apart from 1998, the 10 hottest years have all been since 2000.

Guemas’s study, twinning observations and computer models, showed that natural La Nina weather events in the Pacific around the year 2000 brought cool waters to the surface that absorbed more heat from the air. In another set of natural variations, the Atlantic also soaked up more heat.

“Global warming is continuing but it’s being manifested in somewhat different ways,” said Kevin Trenberth, of the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research. Warming can go, for instance, to the air, water, land or to melting ice and snow.

Warmth is spreading to ever deeper ocean levels, he said, adding that pauses in surface warming could last 15-20 years.

“Recent warming rates of the waters below 700 meters appear to be unprecedented,” he and colleagues wrote in a study last month in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

The U.N. panel of climate scientists says it is at least 90 percent certain that human activities – rather than natural variations in the climate – are the main cause of warming in recent decades.

(Reporting by Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent; Editing by Peter Graff)

Source: Reuters

“When you talk to serious divers, the Great Barrier Reef is on everyone’s bucket list, so it’s ridiculous there’s not one site mentioned … There are diving experiences you can have on the Barrier Reef that you can’t do anywhere else in the world,” The Herald Sun quoted Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators Executive Director Col McKenzie.

He cited the Yongala wreck near Townsville, Osprey Reef off Cape York and the Acropolis near Lizard Island as better sites compared to Cocklebiddy Cave in Australia and Rainbow Warrior wreck in New Zealand which made it 9^th and 10^th on Lonely Planet’s list.

However, Lonely Planet spokesman Adam Bennett admitted the list is open to debate and did not intend to downgrade the Great Barrier Reef.

“The list was not intended to be definitive, but rather a representative selection of diving sites from all around the world. It was selected by our online editorial team inLondon and designed to inspire a global audience,” he said, adding that in past editions, the travel guide, recently sold by BBC to an American firm, had recommended the Barrier Reef to readers.

Here are Lonely Planet’s top 10 dive spots:

1.     Great Blue Hole – Belize

2.     Chuuk Lagoon – Micronesia

3.     Manta Ray Village – Hawaii

4.     Samarai Island – Papua New Guinea

5.     Pulau – Sipadan

6.     Cocos Island – Costa Rica

7.     Gansbaai - South Africa

8.     Ras Mohammad – National Park, Egypt

9.     Cocklebiddy Cave – Australia

10.    Rainbow Warrior wreck – New Zealand.

If it is of any consolation to the tour operators who are pushing the Great Barrier Reef, the Australian Traveller Magazine named the activity of swimming with minke whales on the Great Barrier Reef as one of the most Incredible Travel Secrets in Australia.

The dwarf minke whales are observed to visit the northern part of the reef during the winter months due to the warmer, tropical water and to mate and give birth. During this period, they often interact with humans and vessels which could involve one up to 30 whales and last for several hours.

The best time to catch the minke whales is from mid-July to December when the mammals finish their northern migration by taking the all-day boats at Port Douglas. To contact the editor, e-mail: editor@ibtimes.com

Source: IB Travler

The term is problematic for a number of reasons. The first being that people who are facing movement do not like the term. The word “refugee” brings to mind a number of (not always accurate) images: tented camps, long lines of people walking, dangerous boat crossings. People facing the prospect moving hope that they will have some choice in the timing and circumstances of their movement and that when they arrive they will find work and become active members of their new communities. Their hope is that they will move with dignity.

President Anote Tong of Kiribati, an island nation in the Pacific, told Australia’s ABC Radio that the people of Kiribati do not want to leave as refugees but as skilled migrants. Similarly, Ursula Rakova, a campaigner from the Carteret Islands is highly critical of the “climate refugee” narrative: “Our plan is one in which we remain as independent and self-sufficient as possible. We wish to maintain our cultural identity and live sustainably wherever we are.”

Apart from people’s own rejection of the “climate refugee” term there are also several other problems. It’s clear that there are connections between climate change and the movement of people, but the connections are not as clear as the “climate refugee” narrative suggests. The phrase conjures images of large numbers of people moving en masse over long distances and crossing international borders and possibly continents. It seems unlikely that climate change will produce this kind of human movement.

What seems more likely is that climate change might reinforce existing trends in short-term, short distance migration. For example, as subsistence farmers find it increasingly difficult to make a living in rural areas they may move to nearby cities to find work. Whole towns or villages will not move together: in fact, families may not even move together. Far more likely is that one or two household members will move, find work elsewhere and send money home to their community. This statement collected by the EACH-FOR research project from a farmer in Hueyotlipan, Mexico gives a sense of this kind of movement: “Times have changed … the rain is coming later now, so we produce less. The only solution is to go away, at least for a while. Each year I’m working for three to five months in Wyoming. That’s my main source of income.”

Another problem is that the phrase implies that it is easy to untangle the different causes of someone’s movement – that we might be able to pick out a group of people who have moved solely because of climate change. This is very misleading. Even when climate change has contributed to someone’s decision to move many other factors are often as, or more, important. This statement from a Somali farmer in a Ugandan refugee camp gives a clear sense of how multiple factors cause someone to move: “And since there was the war, we did not receive any support from the government. Therefore, there are combined factors that made us suffer: droughts and war. If war did not exist, then we might have been able to stay, but now that the land is looted, there is no way for us to claim it.”

The “climate refugee” narrative leads us away from other vital questions about the connection between climate change and migration: the first being how we protect growing cities. As climate change reinforces the factors pushing people out of the countryside, people will move into areas exposed to new climate-related risks in cities. This raises huge questions about urban planning, infrastructure and how cities plan to deal with the effects of climate change. There is also the possibility that climate change, rather than being a driver for new movement might actually prevent people from moving. Moving to find work is one of the key ways people are coping with falling incomes in rural areas. But moving requires resources, and as people become poorer, moving becomes harder. Climate change could in fact trap people in dangerous locations.

We need a new narrative that helps us address these vital questions, and which the people who are actually moving feel positive about. We need a new narrative in which we frame migration as a way for people to adapt to climate. Rather than being seen as a negative consequence of climate change, we need to describe moving in dignity as a way for some people to survive.

• Alex Randall is project manager of the UK Climate Change and Migration Coalition: a network of refugee, migration and environmental organisations. The network exists to protect and support people at risk of displacement linked to environmental change.

Source: Guardian

We will be holding a series of three hangouts on the air, each an hour long, each beginning at 12:00PM in a different time zone across the world. These hangouts will be streamed live in the assigned slots above, in their associated event pages and on our G+ page.

Guests will include: Louis , Celine Cousteau, One World One Ocean, The Sargasso Sea Alliance, Ocean Ark Alliance, Sharon Kwok, Richard Vevers of Catlin Seaview Survey/Underwater Earth, The Oceanic Preservation Society and many many more! You can learn more about the hangouts and their participants in their map you can view here.

Asia, Australia and Micronesia

The very first of the hangouts in the series, streaming live starting at 12:00PM Perth, Australia time. We will kick off World Oceans Day with a discussion on work being done in Asia, Micronesia and Australia. The work highlighted will range from the Amazing Archive from the Ocean Ark Alliance, the Coral triangle, The Underwater Imagery of Catlin Seaview Survey andUnderwater Earth, and conservation work being done in Asia.
Event Page Here

The European/African/Ocean Connection

The second of our G+ hangouts centering on stories around the UK, Europe and the African area. Highlights include Celine Cousteau, the Seychelles, and the Sargasso Sea. Come check out the conversation between film makers, conservationists and legal experts working to protect and highlight our amazing Oceans.
Event Page Here

The Americas

The third and final hangout in our World Oceans Day series will be starting at 12:00PM San Francisco time. This hangout will be highlighting the work of groups like the Oceanic Preservation Society, One World One Ocean, the Sea Turtle Restoration Project, and much much more. With live broadcasts from the Virgin Islands, Costa Rica and even Colorado.

This will prove to be an exciting hangout!
Event Page Here

History of World Ocean’s Day
Originally proposed by the Canadian delegation to the RIO Earth Summit in 1992, World Oceans Day wasn’t officially recognized by the United Nations until 2008. This 5 year old day of appreciation and learning for our Ocean has become an internationally recognized and celebrated event, thanks to the fact that it has been coordinated by The Ocean Project and the World Ocean Network.

The Online Ocean Symposium and Mission Blue would like to use this year’s World Oceans Day to highlight some of our favorite stories and work over the past year and to draw attention to Dr. Sylvia Earle’s international network of Ocean Hope Spots

You can learn more about World Oceans Day by visiting the official website of Wikipedia Page.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral Joseph Aikhomu revealed that the facility was born out of the Chief of the Naval Staff’s resolve to ensure that Crude Oil Theft is brought to an end in the Nation’s Maritime environment. He added that “with the establishment of this ICT centre, Navy’s reaction to developments in the Gulf of Guinea would be swifter.

The FOC lauded the effort of the company behind the initiative, Protection Plus Services Ltd and pointed out the significance of the Centre in improving the ICT knowledge of the Command’s officers and ratings as well as the ease it will bring to the Command in performing its duties at sea.

Source: Nigerian Navy

“The seas were really rough. There was a lot of sand stirred up. It was hard to see,” said Scallan. Scallan returned to the beach the next morning, hoping the camera had washed up on shore. “But of course, we didn’t find it, so at that point I just gave up. I was pretty disappointed because I had all my vacation pictures on there. Plus, the cost of the camera,” Scallan said.

The Canon PowerShot was in a waterproof case and it drifted thousands of miles to Taiwan. A China Airlines employee discovered the camera on a beach last month. The airline asked Hawaii News Now to help find the owner seen in many of the pictures. Once the story hit the airwaves and the internet, Scallan’s friend sent her a link.

“I just was floored that it was my camera and it was all my old pictures and it was amazing. I just couldn’t believe it had floated so far, so long ago and the memory card was still intact,” said Scallan.

China Airlines has offered to fly Scallan to Taiwan to be reunited with her camera, but she isn’t sure if she can take time off from work since she just started a new job a week ago. “Brought back some good memories, and some pictures I’d forgotten I’d taken. It was great. I’m curious to see what else was on there,” said Scallan.

Source: HawaiiNewsNow

Significant strides have been made in recent years towards combating piracy, especially off the coast of Somalia, but a robust international grand strategy is urgently needed in order to forestall an ever more dangerous global threat as pirates develop ever more sophisticated organizational structures, many of which are already linked to criminal gangs and even, in some cases to terrorist groups.

Their activities already impose heavy financial and human costs not only on the maritime industry but also on the countries from which they operate. Heretofore, the area around Somalia has been the most dangerous area but significant progress has been made in reducing piracy there. Last year, pirates succeeded in capturing 13 vessels, compared to 49 in 2010 and 28 in 2011, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Part of that success can at least be partially explained by the European Union’s heavy naval presence around the Horn of Africa, in the Gulf of Aden while improving intelligence sharing with NATO, the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), and the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Piracy Reporting Center. Additional measures implemented by shipping companies such as providing more armed security aboard merchant vessels while securing the ship’s perimeter with razor or barbed wire have also led to the significant decrease in the number of piracy attacks. Equally important, however, was the 2009 implementation of the Djibouti Code of Conduct, a code concerning the repression of piracy and armed robbery against ships. Under the code, aside from committing themselves to abiding by various counter-piracy United Nations Security Council Resolutions, the signatories also pledged to overhaul their domestic counter-piracy legislation. As a result, a record number of pirates were sentenced by local courts around the world last year.

The significance of these developments should not, however, be overstated. First, the cost remains enormous — in 2011, it is estimated that Somali piracy cost the global economy an estimated 7 billion USD through higher insurance premiums, security enhancements, and business disruption and earned the pirates some 160 million USD in ransoms. These figures do not include the psychological burdens borne by the captives or the costs imposed on Somalia. And, the actual costs are probably even higher due to widespread underreporting. Second, while piracy off the coast of Somalia has decreased, pirates are gradually focusing their efforts where patrols are not available for protection, now operating in the wider Indian Ocean. As pirates are extending their reach from Oman to the Maldives, they have also proven to be excellent entrepreneurs, building large well-financed organizations that are able to execute ever more sophisticated attacks such as hijacking oil tankers off the coast of Nigeria and stealing the valuable cargo. Moreover, pirate groups are becoming increasingly international and are extending their reach from national bases to neighbors — from Nigeria, for example to Benin and the Ivory Coast, usually in cooperation with powerful local elements.

Economically speaking, piracy already presents an enormous challenge and it is conceivable that as pirates face stiffer resistance on the high seas by an increasingly stronger international naval presence, their political and ideological motivations could radicalize over time. Currently, terrorist groups already cooperate with criminal gangs to raise funds and piracy could potentially become a lucrative source of income for radical groups. A second plausible scenario is that as pirates struggle to capture more ships, pirates could resort to attacking shipping directly as criminal motivations could subside to radical ideology propagated by al Qaeda and its splinter groups.

Hence, it is easy to envision a nightmare scenario wherein terrorists, supported by a pirate group, hijack an oil tanker not just to steal the oil or collect the ransom but to blow it up in a major port with devastating economic consequences across the globe. A separate threat scenario that should not be underestimated entails terrorists capturing a liquefied natural gas carrier that can be used as a floating bomb, which can either be detonated at a major port or near a flotilla of ships in the open seas. Piracy and terrorism can also be used as means to exert economic warfare against the United States and the international community as maritime attacks offer terrorists an alternate means of causing mass economic destabilization. After all, terrorists have already attacked ships — al Qaeda, the USS Cole (2000), Abu Sayyaf a ferryboat in the Philippines (2004) and the Mumbai attacks (2008).

Although only limited evidence exists at present for such a prospect, the piracy issue must be viewed as more than an economic problem.

This is particularly relevant for the Somalia case where the Al Shabaab terrorist group is known to have links to al Qaeda. Although, at present, such factors as clan differences and the pirates’ business orientation have precluded any cooperation with Al Shabaab, a scenarios where Al Shabaab mounts a transnational attack by sea can easily be imagined.

Hence, though significant strides have been made towards quelling piracy in recent years, a broad approach that focuses on defeating piracy networks on land as well as on the seas is urgently needed. Such a strategy should be carried out in conjunction with international security cooperation that places greater emphasis on socio-economic development in order to deal with the underlying political and economic factors. The cost of neglecting a robust development strategy for Somalia could potentially be devastating for East Africa and beyond; failure to do so could also undermine the region’s trading ability, at the expense of radical groups potentially seeking to capitalize on economic devastation brought by piracy.

As a first step in that strategy, we propose that Somalia be strengthened through soft policies that allow for stronger institutions, which include building a capable coast guard, and training local forces to take responsibility for their own security. In such an effort, initiatives spearheaded by the U.S. and such organizations as the African Union and Arab League and regional partners such as Kenya and Ethiopia are sorely needed. Efforts should be made to promote economic development by building a well-functioning central government beyond Mogadishu’s premises. Diplomatically speaking, the Somali government also needs to be boosted. Moreover, drawing upon the Arab states’ close geographical proximity and deep historical ties to Somalia, members of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Islamic Development Bank could play a lead role in funding urgently needed development initiatives while at the same time strengthening partnerships with tribal leaders across Somalia.

Failure to implement stabilizing measures for Somalia could also significantly hurt U.S. economic interests as it is estimated that nearly 20 percent of all international seaborne freight in any given year end up in the United States. By implementing a comprehensive strategy for Somalia, Washington will inevitably protect its economic interests by helping to secure the world’s oceanic environment. It is therefore a welcoming sign that Washington is considering re-establishing a formal U.S. diplomatic presence in Somalia. However, this is only a first step; the U.S. should exercise stronger leadership in combating piracy throughout the world.

Follow Sigurd Neubauer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SigiMideast

Source: HuffPo

Relatively little is known about what goes on in Google X, but the division is responsible for two of Google’s most-hyped projects: the self-driving car and Project Glass. It was built to create a place free from both the restraints of academia and the commercial pressure of business, targeting futuristic and world-changing goals. “Google X is very consciously looking at things that Google in its right mind wouldn’t do,” says team member Richard DeVaul. Some of those ideas, like Glass, could eventually become consumer products: the original prototype apparently weighed ten pounds, with cables connecting to a belt clip. Now, it’s not too much larger than an ordinary pair of glasses, and the first units are in the hands of selected “Explorers.” But much wilder-sounding ideas, including “levitation and teleportation,” have also been discussed.

Makani Power, meanwhile, recently completed tests of its 26-foot-long Wing 7 turbine prototype, which can fly in circles at between 800 and 2,000 feet up generating electricity from four propellers. Chief engineer Damon Vander Lind says that a working large-scale version could transform power: “If we’re successful, we can get rid of a huge part of the fossil fuels we use.” The Wing 7 is meant to be more versatile than stationary wind turbines, catching wind at high altitudes or offshore while requiring far less material to build.

Source: The Verge

Original Article: Bloomberg 

Co-founder of The Black Fish Wietse van der Werf shows off a newly developed drone

In the case of illegal fishing, the development of drones is a boost to existing efforts to halt criminal activity that is threatening the oceans. The world’s oceans are in peril. Illegal fishing operations are threatening increasing numbers of species and enforcement of international conservation laws often lacks or is completely non-existent. The use of driftnets in the Mediterranean Sea kills thousands of whales, dolphins, sharks and fish every year. Even though this damaging fishing practice was outlawed by the United Nations in 1992, an estimated 500 ships continue to flaunt the rules. The Black Fish and ShadowView will start a new campaign this summer, to seek and expose these destructive and illegal activities.

The aim of the campaign is to increase effective monitoring of the illegal driftnet fishing fleets that operate in the Mediterranean Sea, using inspection teams on land, boat crews at sea and drones in the sky. The Black Fish is keen to take further action beyond just investigating but also aware that the scale of the problem – and exact locations of illegal driftnet ships – need to be documented thoroughly first, before further effective action can be planned.

To support the campaign, you now have the chance to contribute to our donation appeal. The more money that can be raised, the longer The Black Fish will be able to stay out in the field, hunting for the illegal fishing vessels and documenting their every move. Please help us in our mission to protect the fragile ocean from illegal fishing.

As part of the final campaign preparations, ShadowView spent the day at Chobham Park in Surrey, UK, this weekend. Test flying the various drones that will be actively used in the driftnet campaign, the capability of both the OpenRanger fixed wing and new multi rotor UAV drones were demonstrated. An ITV news crew was on location, filming for an upcoming news feature on the issue of illegal driftnets and the new innovative approaches ShadowView and The Black Fish are developing to halt it.

Be sure to follow The Black Fish’s Facebook page and Twitter feed over the coming weeks for updates on the campaign. If you wish to be involved in our efforts more actively, please help by sharing our appeal and see what different roles new volunteers can take on at our get involved pages.

Source: The BlackFish

Co-founder of The Black Fish Wietse van der Werf shows off a newly developed drone

]]> http://theterramarproject.org/thedailycatch/are-drones-the-answer-to-finding-illegal-driftnets/feed/ 0 http://theterramarproject.org/thedailycatch/scottish-farmed-salmon-company-agrees-to-limit-pesticides-and-seal-killings/ http://theterramarproject.org/thedailycatch/scottish-farmed-salmon-company-agrees-to-limit-pesticides-and-seal-killings/#comments Thu, 23 May 2013 12:56:03 +0000 The Daily Catch http://theterramarproject.org/thedailycatch/?p=8709 more…]]> One of the world’s largest fish farm companies, Marine Harvest, has voluntarily agreed to much tougher limits on its pesticides use and seal killing by joining a strict new environment scheme.

Marine Harvest will join the Aquaculture Stewardship council, a new accreditation scheme championed by WWF, after coming under repeated attack for heavy use of toxic chemicals, seal-killing and major outbreaks of sea lice and salmon diseases.

The Norwegian-owned company, which grows 25% of all Scotland‘s farmed salmon, has promised to put all its UK fish farms through ASC accreditation by the end of this decade in what supporters of the scheme believes could transform the environmental sustainability of salmon farming.

It will force the firm to put a strict cap on escapes of farmed salmon – a problem with critics believe threatens the survival of wild salmon stocks – and cut chemical treatments. Under the scheme, the killing of seals as a precautionary measure to protect salmon will be drastically reduced but not entirely stopped. It would also require the company to only use fishfeed derived from Marine Stewardship Council-accredited wild fish stocks or other, non-wild sources of protein.

The move follows increasing criticism by environment and conservation campaigners about the Freedom Foods scheme operated by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which only applies the minimum legal standards on environmental protection and has been widely criticised for failing to penalise fish farms that breach standards.

Under the ASC scheme, said Lang Banks, director WWF Scotland, the company’s farms would lose it accreditation if it fails to meet standards.

Guy Linley-Adams, of the Salmon & Trout Association, which has been highly critical of the fish farming industry, said: “This isn’t the end of the story. Marine Harvest still have fish-farms in the wrong places, as do all fish-farmers. They are too near to wild salmonid rivers threatening wild fish conservation and those farms need to be relocated.”

Source: Guardian