Environmental News July 11 to August 8, 2016

Noisy Neighbors: Measuring the Impact of Human-Generated Noise Pollution on Sea Mammals in the Mediterranean
Date: August 8, 2016
By: R&I World
Researchers at the Universitat Politiénica de Valéncia (UPV), Valencia’s Oceanbográfic and the University of Alacalá (UAH) are carrying out a study to analyze the possible influence of anthropogenic or human-generated disturbances on different cetacean mammals in the Mediterranean Sea.
Read more here.

Under-reporting of fisheries catches threatens Caribbean marine life
Date: August 5, 2016
By: Frontiers, EurekAlert
Marine fisheries catches have been drastically under-reported in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean, threatening the marine environment and livelihoods of the local community, reveals a recent study.
Read more here.

Subduction zone earthquakes off Oregon, Washington more frequent than previous estimates
Date: August 5, 2016
By: Oregon State University
A new analysis suggests that massive earthquakes on northern sections of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, affecting areas of the Pacific Northwest that are more heavily populated, are somewhat more frequent than has been believed in the past.
Read more here.

Looking back into the future: Are corals able to resist a declining pH?
Date: August 4, 2016
By: Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Tropical Porites corals adjust their internal pH to enable themselves to form calcium carbonate and grow under elevated carbon dioxide concentration — even for a longer period of time. In order to understand the ability of pH regulation in more detail, researchers have used the boron isotope method to examine samples of corals that have existed at natural carbon dioxide vents in Papua New Guinea for decades.
Read more here.

Study maps hidden water pollution in U.S coastal areas
Date: August 4, 2016
By: Pam Frost Gorder, The Ohio State University
Researchers have uncovered previously hidden sources of ocean pollution along more than 20 percent of America’s coastlines. The study offers the first-ever map of underground drainage systems that connect fresh groundwater and seawater, and also pinpoints sites where drinking water is most vulnerable to saltwater intrusion now and in the future.
Read more here.

Whales’ ultrasonic hearing has surprisingly ancient history, fossilized ear shows
Date: August 4, 2016
By: Cell Press, Science Daily
All living toothed whales rely upon echoes of their own calls to navigate and hunt underwater, a skill that works best in conjunction with high-frequency hearing. Now, researchers who studied one of the best-preserved ears of any ancient whale ever discovered find that whales’ high-frequency hearing abilities arose earlier than anticipated.
Read more here.

Bloom and Bust: Algae takes a heavy toll on Florida tourism
Date: August 4, 2016
By: University of Florida
The harmful algae bloom affecting some South Florida beaches has driven away half of people considering visiting the Sunshine State and could deter nearly three-fourths of those thinking of traveling to the affected counties, a new study shows.
Read more here.

Sharks get bad rap when views with ominous background music
Date: August 3, 2016
By: University of California— San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
In a new study, researchers found that the background music in shark documentaries affects viewers’ perceptions of sharks. The researchers suggest that ominous background music could hinder shark conservation efforts.
Read more here.

Citizen scientists needed to find hammerheads!
Date: August 3, 2016
By: Bridget Altman, Marine Science Today
For the past two years, record numbers of hammerhead shark sightings were reported in San Diego County waters. Is this another El Niño anomaly (like all of those Tuna Crabs washing inshore) or are these sharks trying to tell us something about our changing waters?
Read more here.

First ever satellite track of endangered Caspian seals
Date: August 3, 2016
By: University of Leeds
The first ever satellite tracking study of one of the world’s endangered seal species has revealed new information about their migration habits and hunting patterns.
Read more here.

Discovery: Mantis shrimp use UV color spots, chemical cues to size up opponents
Date: August 3, 2016
By: Patrick Collins, Tufts University
Mantis shrimp, often brightly colored and fiercely aggressive sea creatures with outsized strength, use the ultraviolet reflectance of their color spots as well as chemical signals to assess the likelihood of victory in combat, according to research led by a Tufts University doctoral candidate.
Read more here.

What can a sea lion teach us about musicality?
Date: August 2, 2016
By: Liam Drew, Frontiersin.org
Whether it is Mozart, Hendrix, Miles Davis, or tribal drumming, few activities feel as uniquely human as music. And, indeed, for a long time, most scientists believed that Homo sapiens was the only species capable of creating and responding to rhythm and melody. Ronan the sea lion can keep the beat better than any other animal, a study published in Frontiers in Neuroscience found out more.
Read more here.

Warm ocean current reaches surprisingly far south in the Antarctic Weddell Sea
Date: August 2, 2016
By: University of Bergensis
New observations recently published in Nature Communications show that warm deep water also reaches the large Filchner ice shelf in the souther Weddell Sea.
Read more here.

Researchers study impact of extreme weather events on striped bass
Date: August 2, 2016
By: University of Maryland
Striped bass are known to have favorite summer swimming spots to which they return every year. They are creatures of habit. However, when a hurricane hits, everything can change very quickly.
Read more here.

Antarctic sea ice may be a source of mercury in souther ocean fish and birds
Date: August 1, 2016
By: University of Melbourne
New research has found methylmercury — a potent neurotoxin — in sea ice in the Southern Ocean. The results are the first to show that sea-ice bacteria can change mercury into methlymercury, a more toxic form that can contaminate the marine environment, including fish and birds.
Read more here.

Researchers Pinpoint Abrupt Onset of Modern Day Indian Ocean Monsoon System
Date: August 1, 2016
By: Ocean News and Technology
A new study by an international team of scientists reveals the exact timing of the onset of the modern monsoon pattern in the Maldives 12.9 million years ago, and its connection to past climate changes and coral reefs in the region. The analysis of sediment cores provides direct physical evidence of the environmental conditions that sparked the monsoon conditions that exist today around the low-lying island nation and the Indian subcontinent.
Read more here.

Fisherman spots alien-like creature floating in the ocean and shares horrific pictures
Date: August 1, 2016
By: The Mirror
A fisherman has captured bizarre images of an unidentified alien creature he spotted while out on his boat — which turned out to be a whale.
Read more here.

Late Marine Ecosystems are important and they need better management
Date: July 29, 2016
By: Marine Science Today
There are 66 Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) in the world. They produce about 80% of the world’s fisheries catch and contribute an estimated $28 trillion to the global economy in goods and services annually.
Read more here.

Does the Disappearance of Sea Ice Matter?
Date: July 29, 2016
By: Jon Gertner, New York Times Magazine
Every month, the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo., puts out a news release about how much ice is floating on the cold seas at the top of the world. Those who follow this obscure bit of news will know that last month marked the lowest extent of Arctic sea ice on record for June, going back to the beginning of satellite observations in the late 1970s.
Read more here.

Plastic “continents”: Is there a way out?
Date: July 28, 2016
By: Institut de Recherche pour le Développment (IRD), Science Daily
Plastic “continents” are not static. Based on the oceanic circulation modeling work conducted in the Pacific, researchers have recently shown that there are exit currents for these areas of the sea where these piles of waste build up. This means they are not cast in a never-ending whirlpool in the middle of the ocean, as had been previously thought.
Read more here.

The US is Finally Getting Its First Offshore Wind Farm
Date: July 28, 2016
By: Brendan Cole, Environmental News Network
Building in Rhode Island isn’t easy. But one company sees the state’s incessant wind as a utility. Deepwater Wind has partnered with General Electric Renewable Energy to build the first offshore wind farm in the United States, off the coast of Block Island.
Read more here.

Abundant and diverse ecosystem found in area targeted for deep-sea mining
Date: July 28, 2016
By: University of Hawaii
In a study published in Scientific Reports, scientists discovered impressive abundance and diversity among the creatures living on the seafloor in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) — an area in the equatorial Pacific Ocean being targeted for deep-sea mining
Read more here.

Increasing ocean acidity could impact fish spawning
Date: July 27, 2016
By: Matt McGrath, BBC News
A new study suggests that the increasing acidification of the oceans is likely to interfere with the ability of fish to reproduce. Researchers found that elevated levels of CO2, which make the waters more acidic, saw significantly lower levels of spawning.
Read more here.

Cod and climate
Date: July 27, 2016
By: University of California Santa Barbara via EurekAlert, Environmental News Network
In recent decades, the plight of Atlantic cod off the coast of New England has been front -page news. Since the 1980s in particular, the once seemingly inexhaustible stocks of Gads morhua — one of the most important fisheries in North America — have declined dramatically.
Read more here.

Keep Your Mouth Closed: Aquatic Olympians Face a Toxic Stew in Rio
Date: July 26, 2016
By: Andrew Jacobs, New York Times
Health experts in Brazil have a world of advice for the Olympic marathon swimmers, sailors, and windsurfers competing in Rio de Janeiro’s picture-postcard waters next month: Keep your mouth closed.
Read more here.

Pokémon GO players, please don’t take drifters from the ocean. THEY ARE NOT POKÉBALLS.
Date: July 24, 2016
By: Dr. Martini, Deep Sea News
Love it or hate it, Pokémon Go is undeniably a phenomenon. Although we here at DSN previously warned of the perils of Poké hunting in the ocean, some Pokémon trainers have not heeded our warning. According to scientists at UCSB, some rather enthusiastic players spotted what they thought was a Pokéball floating in the ocean near Isla Vista, California. So of COURSE they swam out and got it.
Read more here.

Starbucks to trial new recyclable cup
Date: July 21, 2016
By: The Guardian, Plastic Oceans
The take away coffee industry is a huge business, but it also brings about its own environmental issues. Now, according to a recent Guardian newspaper report, Starbucks are going to trial a new type of cup which can be totally recycled.
Read more here.

What Happens When a Coral Reef Dies?
Date: July 20, 2016
By: Caitlin Martin Newnham, Hakai Magazine
Coral reefs are being pushed to the brink. Since the 1970s, climate change, El Niño events, overfishing, pollution, and other pressures, have caused coral to decline at an unprecedented rate. As coral continue to be assailed from all sides, the question becomes: what happens to a coral reef when the coral disappear?
Read more here.

The Worst Ocean Environments to “Catch Em’ All”
Date: July 11, 2016
By: Alex Warneke, Deep Sea News
This week the best part of the 90s has returned in full force with the Niantic’s release of Pokémon Go. There are good places to look for Pokémon and very bad, bad places to look for Pokémon. We here at Deep Sea News believe it is our sacred duty to keep the public well informed of all things ocean-faring and would like to point out some of the places that perhaps you shouldn’t go looking for your next Seel or Horsea.
Read more here.