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Jan 09 2006

Canada: Container traffic predicted to triple

Vancouver Sun, 10 May 2006

Container shipping traffic in British Columbia is expected to triple over the next 10 years, and coal shipments through the province's ports are expected to double. But B.C. won't be able to handle this growth without further rapid port expansion, a transportation organization said in a report released Tuesday.

The Western Transportation Advisory Council forecasts that 5.41 million TEUs (twenty-foot-equivalent containers) will go through the province's ports in 2015, up from 1.86 million TEUs in 2004.

Atlantic: La Niña Will Not Affect 2006 Atlantic Hurricanes, NASA Says

Washington file, 08 May 2006

The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season in recorded history, with more than 2,000 deaths and record damages valued at more than $100 billion. Normally, a La Niña tends to increase Atlantic hurricane activity and decrease Pacific Ocean hurricanes.

Although La Niña occurs in the Pacific, it also affects weather in the Atlantic Ocean through changes in the winds, according to a May 4 NASA press release. La Niña changes the wind patterns in the upper and lower levels of the atmosphere, which make it easier for hurricanes to form in the Atlantic and more difficult for them to form in the eastern Pacific.

In the Atlantic, the winds that normally would tear a hurricane's circular motion apart are lessened, but those winds tend to increase in the eastern Pacific during a La Niña event.

Japan: The long reach of the Seventh Fleet

Taipei Times, 08 May 2006

US power in the Pacific faces few contenders, but keeping the situation this way is a question of constant vigilance AP , ABOARD THE USS GARY Monday, May 08, 2006

It has been a rough few days. Steaming up the eastern coast of Japan, Commander Joseph Deleon's guided missile frigate has been tossed around on heavy seas and the younger sailors, back from five months ashore, are feeling seasick. Grounded by high winds, the helicopter pilots are watching movies in the ward room.

The primary mission is hunting submarines. But the USS Gary, like the US Seventh Fleet to which it belongs, is also a showcase of US power in a region fraught with crises -- North Korea, Taiwan, terrorism and piracy.

Somali: pirates release hijacked vessel, kill crew

China View, 08 May 2006

Somali pirates have released a commercial ship they hijacked last month off the coast of the Horn of Africa country, killing a crew member and wounding two others, Kenya's maritime official confirmed on Monday.

Andrew Mwangura, the coordinator of the Kenyan Chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Program, said the pirates released the MV Al-Taj, its ten Indian crew late Saturday from where the ship had been held near the port of Haradhere, about 400 km north of Mogadishu.

Cuba: Cuba seeks oil near Keys

St. Petersburg Times, 07 May 2006

Few Americans paid much attention last year when Cuban President Fidel Castro announced China would help explore potentially large oil reserves off Cuba’s northwest coast — not far from the Florida Keys.But now — with gas prices climbing above $3 a gallon — the prospect of China drilling near the United States has become a hot political issue as two of the world’s largest economies vie for new sources of energy.

Some members of Congress warn that China and other countries could lock up oil supplies at a time when U.S. companies are barred from doing business with Cuba because of a 43-year-old trade embargo.

Yemen: Sana’a Ministerial meeting demands lift of arm embargo on Somalia

Yemen times, 07 May 2006

The Sana’a Ministerial meeting issued their final communiqué in Sana’a on Thursday May 4. The Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, the Sudanese foreign Minister, the Ethiopian Foreign Minister and Foreign Minister of the Somali interim government attended the meeting.

The ministers issued the following decisions at the end of their meetings.

A secretariat that coordinates and organizes the affairs of the Sana’a Ministerial meeting is to be established, with Sana’a as its central base. Yemen will assume presidency of the secretariat and the other countries should send their representatives to work in this secretariat.

Chile: Scientists discover 'most important' blue whale colony

The Independent online, 06 May 2006

Scientists say they have discovered one of the world's most important blue whale colonies off the coast of Chile, where the endangered animals appear to be staying for the summer instead of migrating south to the Antarctic to feed according to their traditional migratory patterns.

"What we are seeing is one of the biggest feeding and breeding sources, at least in the southern hemisphere," Ernesto Escobar, a spokesman for the Ballena Azul (Blue Whale) project, said. The project has been studying the animals in Chile for the past four years.

Kenya: Kenya to fight piracy off Somalia's coast

Afrol News, 05 may 2006

The government of Kenya has announced its commitment to the "eradication of pirate attacks against ships off the coast of Somalia." A maritime rescue centre today was set up in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa and is to provide a rapid response to the growing number of pirate attacks in Somali waters. The pirates have jeopardised food aid deliveries to Somalia, but also threaten maritime traffic at large in the region.

Also Kenya has felt economic consequences of the increasing rate of pirate attacks on shipping in Somali waters, leading to less traffic at higher costs. Somalia is located just north of Kenya, in the middle of the historically much trafficked route from East Africa to the Red Sea and to the Arabian Peninsula and Asia.

China: China on horizon - Part 1

The China Post, 04 May 2006

The primary mission is hunting submarines. But the Gary, like the U.S. Seventh Fleet to which it belongs, is also a showcase of American power in a region fraught with crises -- North Korea, Taiwan, terrorism and piracy. It is also a region whose security profile is being changed by the rise of China and a major realignment of U.S. forces, and by the prospect of Japan breaking out of its 60-year pacifist mind-set and playing a greater defense role.

Pacific:Pacific countries feature with worst records on endangered species

Radio New Zealand, 04 May 2006

Australia has topped the red list of threatened species in the Oceania region, followed by Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia. The world's biodiversity agency, the World Conservation Union, has named more than 16,000 at-risk species globally - over six hundred of which are in Australia, 266 in New Caledonia and 301 in Papua New Guinea. French Polynesia, Fiji and New Zealand have between one and two hundred species on the list with Nauru and Tokelau at the bottom with seven apiece.

South Africa: Crisis in SA fishing as catches hit new low

Cape Times, 04 May 2006

Marine and Coastal Management (MCM) head, Monde Mayekiso, said at a media briefing yesterday that catches were "at a historical low" and that unemployment in the fishing industry was "rife".

Mayekiso said the Department of Environment Affairs would not be able to deal with the socio-economic fallout on its own, and government intervention would be necessary.

"The fact is, we don't have as much fish as before, and the fish have moved," Mayekiso said.

World: Signs of climate change circulating

The Seattle Times, 04 May 2006

NEW YORK — An important wind-circulation pattern over the Pacific Ocean has begun to weaken because of global warming caused by human activity, perhaps altering climate and the marine food chain in the region, new research suggests.

It's not clear what climate changes might arise, but the long-term effect might resemble El Niño, albeit a weak one.

El Niños boost rainfall in the southern United States and western South America and bring dry weather or even drought to Indonesia, Malaysia and elsewhere in the western Pacific. In the Pacific Northwest, El Niños can contribute to drier, warmer winters.

Tonga: Tonga fails to receive tsunami alert from Hawaii center

AZ Central, 04 May 2006

(AP) EWA BEACH, Hawaii - Minutes after an earthquake struck near the South Pacific nation of Tonga, tsunami warnings began to radiate to countries as far away as Fiji and New Zealand by phone, e-mail and fax.

But in the island country closest to the epicenter, where the danger of a giant wave was greatest, the news never came.

Though a major tsunami never materialized after Thursday's quake, the communication failure raised troubling questions about the effectiveness of such alerts, which have come under global scrutiny since an earthquake-driven tsunami in the Indian Ocean nearly 18 months ago left at least 216,000 dead or missing.

Atlantic: New species of fish found in Atlantic Ocean

IOL, 04 May 2006

Oslo - Scientists have found about 10-20 new species of tiny creatures in the depths of the Atlantic in a survey that will gauge whether global warming may harm life in the oceans, an international report said on Thursday.

The survey, of tropical waters between the eastern United States and the mid-Atlantic ridge, used special nets to catch fragile zooplankton - animals such as shrimp, jellyfish and swimming worms - at light-less depths of 1-5km.

Malaysia: Ship piracy up; Indonesia, Nigeria, Somalia risky

Reuters, 03 May 2006

Piracy attacks worldwide rose slightly in the first three months of 2006, with the waters around Somalia, Nigeria and Indonesia especially vulnerable, an ocean crime watchdog said on Wednesday. But there were no cases of piracy reported from the Malacca Strait, a known hotspot, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said. U.S. warships ply waters.

Pacific: Global warming weakens Pacific Ocean wind pattern

Pravda, 03 May 2006

Global warming caused by human activity has begun to dampen an important wind circulation pattern over the Pacific Ocean , and that could alter climate and the marine food chain in that area, a new study suggests. It's not clear what climate changes might arise in the region or possibly beyond, but the long-term effect might resemble some aspects of an El Nino event, a study author said.

European union: Fisheries Committee gives go-ahead to EU-Morocco Agreement

WelcomEurope, 03 May 2006

The Fisheries Committee approved a fisheries partnership agreement between the European Community and Morocco on Wednesday, despite some MEPs' reservations about its international legal ramifications regarding Western Sahara.

The fishing agreement with Morocco covers 119 vessels, mostly from France, Spain and Portugal, although it also includes a 60 000 tonne quota for industrial pelagic fishing for several northern European fleets. The financial contribution is set at €36.1 million per year. The committee adopted a consultative report on the issue, drafted by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (EPP-ED, ES).

European Union: Morocco-EU Fisheries agreement

Morocco Times, 03 May 2006

The European parliament's commission for fisheries approved on Wednesday a resolution relating to the conclusion of the partnership agreement on the fisheries sector between the EU and Morocco. Some Amendments, proposed to exclude the southern provinces' shores from the fishing agreement, were rejected, during the vote.

The commission also opposed including any reserve aiming at hampering the full implementation of the agreement under the pretext of “international law” or “respect of the interests of the Sahrawi people”, reported MAP news agency.

Canada: Sensor nets the next wave in ocean exploration

The GlobeandMail, 02 May 2006

At the end of this month, anyone with Internet access will be able to experience what lies beneath the ocean near Victoria, B.C., in previously impossible fashion.

Viewers will see what is happening second by second 100 metres deep in the waters of Saanich Inlet on the website of a project called VENUS
(Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea).

United States: Endangered Species in a Can?

The Log, 02 May 2006

It's common knowledge that we are running out of oil. What's not so well known is that we are also running out of big fish. The harsh realization that catches of big fish - marlin, sharks, swordfish and tuna - are declining rapidly is beginning to sink in. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization considers about 75% of all fish fully exploited, over-exploited or depleted.

Canada: Sensor nets the next wave in ocean exploration

The Globeandmail, 02 May 2006

Fibre optic cables bring sea research out of the water and onto the desktop, STEPHEN STRAUSS writes STEPHEN STRAUSS Special to The Globe and Mail At the end of this month, anyone with Internet access will be able to experience what lies beneath the ocean near Victoria, B.C., in previously impossible fashion.

Viewers will see what is happening second by second 100 metres deep in the waters of Saanich Inlet on the website of a project called VENUS (Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea, http://www.venus.uvic.ca).

Zanzabar: Scientists Study Hundreds of Dead Dolphins

CBS News, 02 May 2006

Scientists tried to discover Saturday why hundreds of dolphins washed up dead on a beach popular with tourists on the northern coast of Zanzibar. Among other possibilities, marine biologists were examining whether U.S. Navy sonar threw the animals off course.

Villagers and fishermen were burying the remains of the roughly 400 bottlenose dolphins, which normally live in deep offshore waters but washed up Friday along a 2 1/2-mile stretch of coast in Tanzania's Indian Ocean archipelago.

United States: Webcam helps Barrow whalers find whales in Arctic icepack

Daily Herald, 02 May 2006

ALEX DEMARBAN - ANCHORAGE Daily NEWS ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Whalers in Barrow still hunt bowheads from skin boats and lean on the wisdom of elders to decode the treacherous whims of the frozen Arctic Ocean.

But they've got a new ally for interpreting the ice -- the Internet.

Thanks to a federally funded project to make the oceans safer, scientists recently installed a radar and Web camera on Barrow's tallest building (three stories), and sounding probes at sites above and below the ice.

Now high-tech whalers can download near-real-time data charting such things as ice thickness and strength as well as the location of leads where whales surface.

Canada: Cash offered for skipping lobster season

CBC, 01 may 2006

The Prince County Fishermen's Association is adding a licence-banking plan to its program of buying back lobster licences. The offer is open to fishermen in area 25, the section of the Northumberland Strait from Victoria to North Cape.

The association bought back six lobster licenses last year, and that buyback program will continue. In addition, this year fishermen will be offered a chance to bank their license and not fish for a year. In return they'll receive a payment of $8500.

Canada: Delay of repairs raises doubts HMCS Chicoutimi will return to sea

Chronical Herald, 01 May 2006

Friday’s announcement that the Canadian navy will wait until 2010 to begin repairs on the badly burnt HMCS Chicoutimi has at least one expert doubting if the submarine will ever set sail again.

"I’d say (the odds are) 50-50," Martin Shadwick, a defence analyst at York University in Toronto, said Sunday. Mr. Shadwick thinks the future of Chicoutimi, which has been inoperable since an October 2004 fire that killed Lieut. Chris Saunders of Halifax, depends on the status of its three sister submarines. Canada bought the four vessels from the British navy for $891 million in 1998.

Indai: Navy commanders seek to enhance maritime prowess

New Kerala, 01 May 2006

The Naval Commanders' Conference beginning tomorrow will focus on two of the Indian Navy's doctrinal themes that have dominated naval operational thinking and planning over the past year, and aims at making the country's naval power a force to reckon with in South Asia.

United States: Program will track salmon in the Pacific Ocean

ESPN outdoors, 28 April 2006

WASHINGTON — Scientists hope to unravel one of the great mysteries surrounding Northwest salmon by installing a network of sophisticated acoustic receivers off the coast to track fish implanted with tiny transmitters as they journey thousands of miles through the Pacific Ocean.

Eventually, the network could include 2,000 listening devices at 30 locations stretching from Baja California to the Bering Sea to track not only salmon, but sharks, rockfish, sturgeon and other fish and marine mammals up to and including blue whales.

Antarctica: May GEOLOGY media highlights

EurekAlert, 26 April 2006

Boulder, Colo. - Topics in the May issue of GEOLOGY include: origins of the Afar hotspot in the horn of Africa; hypervelocity impacts and demagnetization of geologic materials; discovery of splash plumes; sulfate minerals and the search for Martian biomolecules; Permian sedimentary rocks in Kansas as a Martian analog; new insights into North American plate boundaries; dynamics of glacier formation in Oligocene Antarctica; fossil land snails and origins of a 2.6-million-year-old loess; and atmospheric nitrogen and the nitrogen cycle in the Phanerozoic.

Highlights are provided below. Representatives of the media may obtain complimentary copies of articles by contacting Ann Cairns at acairns@geosociety.org. Please discuss articles of interest with the authors before publishing stories on their work, and please make reference to GEOLOGY and the Geological Society of America in articles published. Contact Ann Cairns for additional information or other assistance.

United States: Spray Robot Set for Atlantic Ocean "Swim" to Assess Global Warming

All Headline News, 24 April 2006

The Spray robot will soon be launched to "swim" into a new adventure across the Atlantic Ocean from Greenland to Spain to help scientists assess global warming conditions.

A self-propelled gliding robot, which is also an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), called Spray, is the joint venture of a few scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Woods Hole, MA) and Scripps Institution of Oceanography (University of California, San Diego, CA).