Topic 36 of 99: Oceanic Geo
Thu, Jun 22, 2000 (22:42) |
Marcia (MarciaH)
Most of the Earth is covered with water. This is the topic to consider the watery world around us.
83 responses total.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 1 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Jun 22, 2000 (22:44) * 26 lines
Sonar affects whales’ song, study shows
Associated Press
A powerful new sonar being tested by the Navy affects the length of humpback whale songs
but doesn't seem to lead to any other extreme behaviors, according to a new study.
Scientists reported today that the low-frequency, high-range sonar used to detect
submarines extended the mating songs of some humpbacks while others stopped singing
altogether.
"We looked for any sorts of extreme responses like breaching, where the animal would jump
out of the water and swim rapidly away from the sonar," said Patrick Miller, the study's lead
author and a researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. "We didn't observe
any sorts of extreme reactions."
The new sonar has come under greater scrutiny after a biologist hired by the National
Marine Fisheries Service suggested a possible link between Navy traditional sonar tests
and ear hemorrhages that fatally disoriented the animals.
In March, 16 whales of four different species beached themselves in the Bahamas. Seven
died, and initial autopsies suggested the deaths might have been linked to the Navy tests.
The latest research took place off Hawaii in 1998. Miller and his colleagues first recorded
the whale songs without the sonar and later asked the Navy to transmit the signals. Of the 16
whales monitored, five stopped singing altogether. The remainder sang on average 29
percent longer when the sonar was activated than without it. The findings appear in today's
issue of the journal Nature.
The research, sponsored by the Navy but conducted by independent scientists, said it
wasn't clear how much of a threat the sonar and its effects on mating songs pose to whales.
But Miller said the Navy should avoid active breeding areas when using the new sonar.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 2 of 83: Cheryl (CherylB) * Fri, Jun 23, 2000 (17:18) * 1 lines
Do you think the whales in the Bahamas were frightened and disoriented by the Navy sonar tests? I remember posting something about this at the Marine Mammals topic on the SpringArk board.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 3 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Jun 23, 2000 (18:01) * 1 lines
Yup, I remember and though adding this topic here would get wider readership. Post your Spring ark one here - copy and paste it! It is interesting and not impossible! I believe I posted something there as well. Have to go look!
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 4 of 83: Cheryl (CherylB) * Sat, Jun 24, 2000 (11:27) * 3 lines
This was originally posted to [SpringArk]: Marine Mammals on Mon, Apr 17, 2000
Last month the were about 14 whales which beached themselves in the Bahamas; 9 of them were freed back into the ocean. The problem, according to some marine biologists, was that the US Navy was conducting sonar detection testing in the area. The Navy says it doesn't think the testing of its equipment had any effect on the whales. The biologists think it may well have disoriented and frightened the whales. Their reasoning is that just as humans depend to much on sight and are in fact highly visual creatures; whales are extraordinarily acoustical creatures. The marine biogists also noted whale beachings in the Canary Islands about 4 years ago, and in Florida slightly before that, while the Navy was carrying out the same sorts of tests in those areas.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 5 of 83: Maggie (sociolingo) * Mon, Jun 26, 2000 (14:45) * 32 lines
Efforts Intensify to Rescue South African Penguins
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000626/sc/safrica_penguins_dc_3.html
By Ed Stoddard
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) - Efforts to rescue thousands of jackass penguins from a murky death intensified on Monday after an oil spill off the Cape Town coast.
Environmentalists said that over 2,000 oil-covered penguins had been plucked from Robben Island by late Monday and the whole colony -- an estimated 20,000 birds including 6,000 chicks -- would be evacuated over the next week.
The affected birds are being cleaned at the South African National Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds' (SANCCOB) rehabilitation center in Cape Town.
The ecological disaster began unfolding Friday when the freighter Treasure, carrying a cargo of iron ore from Brazil to China, sank off Cape Town. The spill coincided with the start of the breeding season, adding to the urgency of the situation.
``Nearly 70 percent of Robben Island's adult penguin colony has been affected by the devastating spill,'' SANCCOB said.
``Unoiled birds that have been rescued from the island will be airlifted to Cape Recife, near Port Elizabeth, Tuesday for release,'' the organization said in a statement.
According to reports last week, the ship was ordered out of South African waters after a failure to agree to a plan to unload the Treasure's 1,400 tons of fuel -- highlighting the difficulties ships in distress have in finding safe havens.
Christina Pretorius, a spokeswoman for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), told Reuters the South African Airforce was assisting in the airlift.
She said it would take the birds 10 to 12 days to swim back to Robben Island -- enough time to hopefully clean up the mess on the island's beaches and shoreline.
Wildlife experts from the U.S. and Britain have been arriving since Sunday to help with the penguin clean-up, the SANCCOB statement said. A large team of volunteers has been helping in the effort.
SANCCOB said the scale of the disaster exceeded the 1994 spill from the sinking of the Apollo Sea, which triggered one of the world's largest seabird rescue operations in which 10,000 oil-covered penguins were retrieved and cleaned.
Although less than half survived, birds were returned successfully to the wild and have been breeding ever since.
Jackass penguins, also known as African penguins, are the continent's only penguins and are endemic to South Africa's coasts. They number around 150,000.
Robben Island, a World Heritage Site, has the third largest colony of the birds. Former South African President Nelson Mandela spent most of his 27 years in prison on the island.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 6 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Jun 26, 2000 (16:31) * 1 lines
Interesting, Maggie. Thanks!
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 7 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Jul 16, 2000 (01:08) * 31 lines
Science News - Week of July 15, 2000; Vol. 158, No. 3
Ultimate Sea Weed Loose in America
J. Raloff
On June 12, while surveying a
private lagoon in San Diego
County, biologists ran across a
strange, 14-inch-high mat of
algae. Not only did it look unlike
anything they had seen before,
but it had infiltrated, squashed,
and killed a 30-by-60-foot patch
of 4-foot-high eelgrass.
Rachel Woodfield, part of the
research team that made the
discovery, sent a specimen to
seaweed taxonomist Paul C.
Silva of the Jepson Herbarium
at the University of California,
Berkeley. "I took one look," he
recalls, "and it just screamed,
'I'm a weed! Get out of my
way!'"
Without question, Silva says, "this was the so-called killer alga"
that has been progressively smothering the Mediterranean
seafloor (SN: 7/4/98, p. 8).
More: http://www.sciencenews.org/20000715/fob1.asp
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 8 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Aug 23, 2000 (00:32) * 16 lines
SING OUT LOUD, SING OUT LONG
Some male humpback whales lengthened their songs while others ceased
to sing altogether when exposed to low-frequency sonar tests off the
coast of Hawaii in 1998, suggesting that sonar transmissions by the
U.S. Navy could disrupt whale breeding and cause other behavioral
changes, according to a new study published in the journal Nature.
On average, the whales' songs were 30 percent longer than normal, a
strong shift given that the sonar was tested at less than full
strength, said Patrick Miller, lead study author and a scientist at
the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Still, he said the
researchers didn't notice any "extreme reactions" in the whales such
as breaching. Many environmentalists are calling on the Navy to end
some of its uses of sonar, saying that it can disorient and killwhales.
BBC News, 06.22.00
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_801000/801458.stm
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 9 of 83: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Sun, Aug 27, 2000 (22:38) * 1 lines
unless, it's as they say, a leader of the group becomes ill and beaches to end the suffering and the others come along for comfort. but i do think that the sonar can confuse them.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 10 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Aug 28, 2000 (00:43) * 1 lines
I think they have established that. Sort of like hearing strange noises in your house and cutting your finger as you slice veggies when your concentration shifts... Only, this is on a much larger scale with much more serious ramifications...
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 11 of 83: Cheryl (CherylB) * Mon, Aug 28, 2000 (19:43) * 1 lines
There is a theory that it is much worse for whales because they are acoustical creatures, much in the way humans are visual creatures. Hearing is the sense the sense upon which they rely most heavily. So it might be like seeing strange things in your house, or a profound shift in your visual perception. In which case, you probably would cut your finger when you slice veggies, not being able to properly gauge distances.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 12 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Aug 29, 2000 (00:31) * 1 lines
Good point. I am sure you are right. They use sound for everything from navigation to locating their babies to finding food. I would surely be blind and fingerless by now!
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 13 of 83: Maggie (sociolingo) * Sun, Sep 17, 2000 (05:52) * 26 lines
Dolphins to desert dying British seas
Jonathan Leake, Environment Editor
Sunday Times 17th Sept
http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/
DOLPHINS and porpoises could soon disappear from the seas around Britain, driven away by overfishing and pollution, says a report out this week.
It predicts that large parts of the English Channel could become a dead sea, and re-veals that fish in the Irish and North Seas have been devastated, with birds, shellfish and many plankton species also threatened.
The report, for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), studied 10 key species, including dolphins, porpoises, cod, salmon and oysters. It also looked at coastal habitats, including mudflats, rocky reefs and salt marshes.
It concludes that two-thirds of the species fished for food are overexploited, and that without tougher controls on fishermen and industry some will disappear.
The WWF said: "Cod has been fished unsustainably for years. It is threatened with commercial extinction."
However, figures from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food reveal that fishermen are stripping more life from the sea than ever, taking 772,000 tons of fish and shellfish last year, up from 600,000 in 1990.
The ministry says the en-dangered species include cod, monkfish and nephrops, otherwise known as scampi.
The decline of dolphins and porpoises is perhaps the most obvious sign of damage. Populations of bottlenose dolphins around Britain were stable until they recently suddenly started falling. Destruction of their food supplies through overfishing is a big factor, but many also drown after being caught in nets.
The effect of pollution is also severe. Scientists said a baby bottlenose dolphin washed ashore in Cardigan Bay was one of the most polluted animals ever found.
Inland, wild salmon are disappearing from many British rivers largely because of fish farming, the report warns.
The WWF wants changes in legislation to halt the damage and give threatened species a way of recovering. These include turning some of the waters around Britain into protected areas where fishing and other commercial activities are banned, and an oceans act to protect the coast, seas and sea bed.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 14 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Feb 13, 2001 (17:32) * 72 lines
Scientists Hope to Catalog S.Africa Coelacanths
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) - A population of "living fossils"
unexpectedly discovered off South Africa's coast late last year may
soon be studied up close and cataloged with the help of a small
submersible craft.
For a fish thought to have died out 70 million years ago, the
Coelacanth has been doing remarkably well.
The first specimen, caught off South Africa by a trawler in 1938, was
considered by many to be the zoological find of the century, but more
have since been reported. The most recent find was made by divers
four months ago.
"We are tentatively looking at March or April and hope to have two to
three weeks of diving with the craft to begin studying the South African
coelacanths," said biologist Philip Heemstra with the JLB Smith Institute
of Ichthyology.
"Our preliminary budget is one million rand ($130,000) and that
should give us two to three weeks of diving. I'm trying to raise it
through corporate sponsors," he told Reuters, adding that if it was not
possible this year he hoped to have the cash lined up in 2002.
Fossil records show the coelacanth -- dubbed "old four legs" because of
its extra fins -- has been swimming the seas for as long as 400 million
years. In the 1950s, specimens were found near the Comoro Islands
off Africa's southeast coast, leading scientists to speculate that those
netted off South Africa had drifted far from home.
The fish are found only at depths of 100 yards or more below the
surface and are nocturnal, hiding in caves by day, which made it all but
impossible to observe them in their natural habitat.
A German expedition in 1987 finally observed live coelacanths for the
first time from a submersible craft off the Comoro Islands. A new
population came to light in Indonesia 10 years later when an American
marine biologist came across one in a fish market.
But living specimens off South Africa, which has long considered itself
to be the "home" of old four legs because of the 1938 catch, remained
elusive until the discovery in October by deep-water technical divers off
Sodwana Bay on the country's stunningly beautiful northeastern coast.
FIRST COELACANTHS SEEN AND FILMED BY SCUBA DIVERS
The October sighting of three coelacanths -- the first ever by scuba
divers -- led to a November expedition that resulted in three of the
fish, ranging in length from three to six feet, being caught on film at a
depth of 380 feet.
The expedition was marred by tragedy as one member of the team
died after surfacing without proper decompression.
The footage showed the fish on the edge of a canyon in their classic
vertical position, seeming to stand on their heads.
"There is an organ in the coelacanth's snout called the rostral organ,
which we believe is electroreceptive," Heemstra said. "We believe they
may use it to scan the bottom for prey. Each coelacanth has a unique
pattern of white markings. ... This way we can get an estimate of the
size of the population."
This is important as South Africa's coelacanths may simply number a
few, which could suggest they may simply have strayed down the
Mozambique Channel from their home waters.
"I would like to know how many there are in South African waters and
to establish if there is a viable population or not. The individuals
sighted may be drifters from the Comoro Islands," Hans Fricke, a
German scientist who will lead the submersible expedition, told
Reuters.
Fricke, who has had a lifelong passion for the fish, has been to the
Comoros with his submersible several times and has identified and
cataloged 109 adult coelacanths there.
"We believe there are 200 to 300 adults off Grand Comore and a few
more have been sighted off Anjouan," he said by telephone from the
Seewiesen Research Institute south of Munich.
Curiously, juveniles have never been sighted and Fricke admits he has
no idea why. Perhaps they are only found at depths his minisub cannot
reach -- it only goes to 1,30 feet -- or perhaps they spend their time at
an unknown location elsewhere.
Fricke said he has his fingers crossed regarding South Africa's
population. "I really hope South Africa has a sustainable population of
coelacanths because then the story goes full circle and comes back to
South Africa."
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 15 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Feb 21, 2001 (14:30) * 13 lines
New Zealand Tsunamis
A tsunami hit Wairarapa province in the
1800s and killed several people who thought it was just one wave when a
much bigger wave swamped the lowlands and drowned 12. The 1960 Chile
earthquake produced a tsunami that is well known to longtime coastal
residents in New Zealand on the east because no ships in any east coast New
Zealand port went anywhere the day that tsunami hit, because the
disruption took 10 hours to sort out and the timing of the tsunami was BAD.
And I heard today in Geology at Canterbury University that there is evidence in the hills around
Wellington that there has been tsunamis up to and over 1000ft high!!!!!!
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 16 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, May 2, 2001 (06:17) * 10 lines
Does Size Determine Longevity?
"Three bowhead whales killed by Inupiat Eskimos in northern Alaska were estimated to be 135 to 172 years, while a
fourth bowhead was believed to be 211 years old, researchers concluded."
“'This is just incredibly interesting,” Jeffrey Bada, a marine chemistry professor at the Scripps Institution in San Diego,
told The San Jose Mercury News. “Maybe what we’re looking at are the survivors, the males who escaped hunting all
those years.'”
more... http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/DailyNews/whale_old001220.html
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 17 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, May 22, 2001 (17:07) * 17 lines
The sea hedgehog owes its name to the unusual composition of
its skin. Similar to its landlubber cousin's, the sea
hedgehog's fur is studded with sharp quills. Thanks to
these quills, this sea creature, which measures less than a
foot in length, is capable of killing a much larger enemy:
the shark.
The sea hedgehog is often attacked and swallowed by sharks.
Once it is in the belly of the shark, though, the sea
hedgehog inflates its prickly body as if it were a balloon.
The spearlike points penetrate the stomach of the shark and
rip a hole through the shark's body. The sea hedgehog then
calmly swims through the gap, leaving a fatally-wounded
shark behind.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 18 of 83: Cheryl (CherylB) * Wed, May 23, 2001 (20:09) * 1 lines
I'm glad I'm not a shark. Ouch! Talk about indigestion. There is the old saying of having your food talk back to you, but having burrow out and swim away on you...
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 19 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, May 24, 2001 (01:27) * 1 lines
That IS a nasty thought! It is nice to know that something gets away from sharks! Ouch, indeed! Can't you see the tv ads, now?! I wonder if they will become the next rich and famous food fad like fugu and other dangerous "edibles."
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 20 of 83: Maggie (sociolingo) * Thu, May 24, 2001 (01:31) * 1 lines
what a thought indeed !
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 21 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, May 25, 2001 (14:56) * 1 lines
Hi Maggie - Big Hugs! I cannot seem to get Yahoo and anything else going on this computer without crashing. Will try again later. Am catching large-sized brickbats being hurled once again by resident hairy chest pounder. I think it is about time to end the agony and get him on his way. Enough of verbal abuse. Anyway, will try to talk later when I think you might be online.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 22 of 83: Maggie (sociolingo) * Fri, May 25, 2001 (16:37) * 1 lines
Online now ...for a little while ...back from ER ....in a bit of pain ..but need to lie down soon.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 23 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Jun 11, 2001 (17:32) * 17 lines
Liam, Thanks! I truly appreciate your sending on these goodies:
Killer whale - Japan claims whales eat more of the oceans'fish than people do - more whaling would protect fish stocks
Exclusive from New Scientist magazine
A claim by Japan that whales eat more of the oceans' fish
than people do is set to stir up a row at July's meeting of the
International Whaling Commission in London.
Japan hopes to use the results from its controversial
"scientific" whaling programme to convince fishing nations to
vote for the resumption of whaling to help protect their fish
stocks, says Joji Morishita of the Japanese government's
Fisheries Agency and a delegate to the IWC.
more... http://www.newscientist.com/dailynews/news.jsp?id=ns9999841
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 24 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Jun 14, 2001 (16:25) * 13 lines
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_1387000/1387012.stm
Wednesday, 13 June, 2001, 15:59 GMT 16:59 UK
Ferry survivors rescued in Madagascar
A French navy rescue team in Madagascar says it has found 21 people alive after a ferry carrying more than 40 people
sank in bad weather on Monday night.
Four people have been confirmed dead and several others are still missing.
The ferry was travelling up Madagascar's eastern coast from Toamasina to Maroantsetra when it sent a distress signal
shortly before it capsized.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 25 of 83: horrible horace (horrible) * Sat, Jun 30, 2001 (17:06) * 6 lines
WHAT A LOAD OF POLLOCKS.................................CONSERVATION STRATEGY IS POLLOCK
Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) are highly endangered, so that restrictions have been placed on Alaskan walleye pollock fisheries in an attempt to safeguard the sea ’lions’ food sources. The problem is, researchers now reveal, sea lions don’t eat pollock.
Gary Thomas and Richard Thorne of the Prince William Sound Science Center, Cordova, Alaska, used sonar to monitor the fish in Prince William Sound, and infrared imaging to keep track of the sea lions. In a Brief Communication, they describe how the sea lions feed exclusively on herring, which are less abundant than pollock but live closer to the surface, and only at night. This finding suggests that both the management of fish stocks and the conservation strategy for the sea lions need to be rethought
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 26 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Jun 30, 2001 (18:05) * 1 lines
Pollack is a fish. It is so like what you really wanted to say, I did a double take on your comments. LOLOL they don't eat pollacks?! Isn't science amazing stuff?! Some lab-bound land-locked geniuses started the Pollack theory?!
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 27 of 83: Cheryl (CherylB) * Mon, Jul 2, 2001 (19:49) * 1 lines
Was it because nobody ever bothered to ask the sea lions? Bad joke, I'm sorry.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 28 of 83: horrible horace (horrible) * Wed, Jul 4, 2001 (16:45) * 1 lines
Not a bad joke,Cheryl,asking wildlife what they like to eat is the way forward(OK then observing them if you want to be all scientific :) )I mean calling a nice baby like the Killer Whale a killer just because of its size is the sort of bad press they can do without.I have seen the damage done to Salmon, as i mentioned before, by seals but I have never seen convincing data on the actuall amount that they eat.Nor have I seen data on the % of Salmon that they damage.I know its a lot from what I've seen first hand,but I would have to see more hard fact before I would start going anti-seal.Now Magpies.....but this subject is Ocean..........
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 29 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Jul 4, 2001 (19:21) * 1 lines
Hmmmm want a bird discussion topic, Liam? Aerial Geo dedicated to you and your magpies?
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 30 of 83: horrible horace (horrible) * Thu, Jul 5, 2001 (15:11) * 1 lines
Too late Marcia 3 magpies downed with one shot!!! Save the Whale?? Save baby birds from Magpies is a better cause.Bree is now temporarily a Magpie -free zone
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 31 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Jul 5, 2001 (15:48) * 1 lines
Yes!!! Liam, you are reaching legendary status. Save the helpless baby birds indeed. One shot? Your arrow has spitted them well. I trust you are teaching Nick, your field hand, in your skills so he might serve at your side in a worthy manner. Are cuckoos also a menace to baby bird as they are on the mainland USA?
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 32 of 83: horrible horace (horrible) * Thu, Jul 5, 2001 (17:43) * 1 lines
Yep ,Magpie family engrossed in murder attempt on nest did not spot the horrible one ,so at point blank range of 20 feet magpies felt the wrath of one No.5 shotgun cartridge!! Cuckoos are somehow natural, the Maggie is a demon from hell
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 33 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Jul 5, 2001 (23:17) * 1 lines
the only thing you can say about magpies is they are striking in color. Cuckoos do have a natural selection about them... Canibalism is not. You got um alright
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 34 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Jul 9, 2001 (19:11) * 14 lines
From Liam the ever-vigilant:
Cork Harbour whale found dead in water
By Dick Hogan, in Cork
One of the three orca whales which had been in the Cork
Harbour area for the past three weeks was found dead in the
water yesterday at Roches Point, near the entrance to the
harbour. Zoologists from UCC conducted an autopsy on the
30ft killer whale yesterday in an attempt to discover why the
apparently healthy animal died.
more... http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2001/0709/hom19.htm
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 35 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Jul 10, 2001 (21:49) * 21 lines
From Liam - the reason I like to LOOK at the ocean
Uncle wrestles shark to save boy's severed arm
By Toby Harnden in Washington
(Filed: 09/07/2001)
A BOY of eight has had his arm sewn back on after it
was bitten off by a shark.
His uncle wrestled with the 7ft bull shark and
dragged it to shore where it was shot and the arm
retrieved from its gullet.
Jesse Arbogast was in a critical condition last night
after being attacked at dusk on Friday as he swam
in shallow water at Langdon Beach, Florida. The
shark bit off his right arm and part of his right thigh
before his uncle plunged into the water, carried the
boy to the shore and dived back to seize the shark.
more... http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/07/09/wshark09.xml&sSheet=/news/2001/07/09/ixhome.html
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 36 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Jul 16, 2001 (21:19) * 19 lines
From Liam the wonderful (who has added a spectacular find in his photo section at Bree House.) See? Aunty Siog has not fired you yet. Bet she is using it for wallpaper on her desktop! Wonder how long I could get away with that before my cranium was sundered by an irate and jealous ex-Marine...
http://homepage.eircom.net/~bree/fungi.html You guess which one is the one in question.
Deep water has many sources
Hellmer and Beckmann ["The Southern Ocean: A Ventilation
Contributor with Multiple Sources"] use a coupled ocean/ice-shelf
model to determine the location and rate of Antarctic Bottom
Water (AABW) formation. Their results suggest that the Atlantic
and Indian-Pacific are equal contributors but produce bottom
waters of different density. As in observations and analyses, the
model calculates that the southern oceans have multiple bottom
water sources producing dense AABW at a rate of approximately
10 Sverdrup [unit used to measure the volume transport of ocean
currents], the Atlantic being the dominant source. The authors
report that the southern and northern hemisphere sources are equal
contributors to the ventilation of the deep world ocean
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 37 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Jul 18, 2001 (16:48) * 27 lines
Follow-up from Liam - this seems to be a problem in more than just Cork:
Cork orca died from abscess of the jaw
By Dick Hogan, Southern Correspondent
The orca whale found dead in Cork harbour over a week ago
died from blood poisoning, experts at UCC have determined.
The orca, a 30 ft female, and two companions, had been
regaling crowds with their antics in the harbour since the end of
June. The three whales had broken away from a larger pod off
the south coast.
On July 8th last, one of the animals was found floating at
Roche's Point. It was brought ashore at Crosshaven boatyard,
where experts from the UCC departments of agriculture and
food and zoology performed a postmortem examination.
The whale, whose teeth had been practically worn away, died
of a lower jaw abscess which led to blood poisoning. The
infection entered the animal's gums, where the worn teeth had
led to exposed cavities.
It is likely it had come inshore to feed more easily on shoals of
fish, as it was suffering with the infection, said Ms Sinéad
Murphy of UCC.
The skull of the orca was presented to the National Archive by
the department of zoology at UCC. The other two whales
remain in Cork harbour.
More... http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2001/0718/hom5.htm
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 38 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Jul 28, 2001 (20:39) * 15 lines
Some time ago I discussed the problem of ships breaking up - the super-tankers.
Liam has found this for me - and he knows whereof he speaks.
NEW CURRENT
Researchers on board the Pelagia, the research vessel belonging to the Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), have discovered an interesting rotational current in the sea off the coast of South Africa. Unlike previously identified Agulhas rings , this one, a cyclone, rotates clockwise. The water in the centre is also about 50 centimetres lower than at the edges, whereas normal Agulhas rings form a raised area on the surface of the ocean. The body of water has a diameter of 300 kilometres and the speed of rotation at the periphery is more than one metre per second.
The research team discovered the enormous eddy to the south-west of South Africa quite by chance. The measurements were carried out when the actual research target an Agulhas ring of similar size, but one which rotates anticlockwise had already been crossed. Agulhas rings occur around the coast of South Africa where the current coming from the Indian Ocean makes a sharp clockwise turn back on itself. During this retroflection, several times a year an Agulhas ring is shed; a gigantic rotating body of water peels off and gradually drifts into the Atlantic. These rings always rotate anticlockwise.
At the edge of an Agulhas ring, cyclones often occur which rotate in the opposite direction in the surrounding water, which is virtually motionless. Initially, the measurements of the ocean movements seemed to indicate that the new ring was one of these accompanying features of an Agulhas ring. More detailed analysis showed, however, that the speed of the flow within the ring up to a metre per second was very high for such a feature. Indeed, it was even higher than the speed of rotation in an Agulhas ring itself. At a depth of 1000 metres, the water in the giant eddy has also been found to be more saline than the water in the Atlantic Ocean, and even more so than the water at similar depths in the Indian Ocean, which is already very saline
Further research by the Pelagia showed that the origin of the water in this contrary current is in part to be found in the Mozambique Channel (between Mozambique and Madagascar). Here, two different bodies of water meet at a depth of more than a kilometre. Cold water from the poles meets extremely saline water coming from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. Because they are of virtually the same density (cold water and extra-saline water are both more dense than warm or less saline water), both types of water are at the same depth and merge with one another.
Because some of the water from the Red Sea ends up in the Mozambique Channel in both the anticlockwise and clockwise bodies of the Agulhas current, water and salt from the Red Sea are conveyed into the Atlantic.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 39 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Jul 28, 2001 (21:02) * 7 lines
More on The Agulhas current complete with satellite images of it:
http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/CAMPAIGN_DOCS/OCDST/classic_scenes/09_classics_agulhas.html
There are other articles including one from the Navy (US) and NOAA Those guys need to redo that tv program which called it "freak sea waves" like it was an all-purpose excuse.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 40 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Jul 28, 2001 (21:59) * 13 lines
Not nearly as dramatic but I think it might feed the Horrible family for a while is this bit of drama from The UK
Hunt for monster catfish
A FISHING expedition to catch a 5ft catfish at large in
a British river is being mounted today by Environment Agency officers.
The Wels Catfish was landed by a 15-year-old schoolboy who returned it to the
River Darent at Eynsford, Kent. Anglers have nicknamed the fish Darren.
The species is usually found in warmer parts of Europe where they can grow up to 300lb and have been known to attack humans and dogs.
More... http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/07/26/nfish26.xml
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 41 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Jul 30, 2001 (02:37) * 23 lines
From, Liam - more about the Orca that died in Cork Harbor:
UCC scientists study body of orca
Analysis of organs from the orca killer whale which died in
Cork Harbour two weeks ago could give insights into the
movements and life pattern of one of the most beautiful
creatures ever seen in Irish waters.
The public response to the presence of the orcas in the shallow
waters near Cobh has been so great, says the Irish Whale and
Dolphin Group, (IWDG) that whalewatching could become a
popular pastime.
The female orca, about 50 years old and 30 feet long, died
from a form of septicaemia caused by the bacterium
staphylococcus aureus. Its teeth had become ground down,
exposing pulp cavities which allowed infection to enter through
an abscess of the lower jaw. Its lungs were affected by
bacterial pneumonia and its kidneys were inflamed.
more... http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2001/0724/reg1.htm
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 42 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Nov 5, 2001 (15:51) * 42 lines
USGS talks about America's Coastal Crisis
Session: "America's Coastal Crisis-Providing the Geoscience Information
Needed to Conserve and Protect Coastal Resources"--Monday, Nov. 5, 8:00 am
? 12:00 pm in the Hynes Convention Center, room 112.
*America's coastal states, the states bordering the Great Lakes, and the
Pacific and Caribbean island territories, are experiencing increasingly
severe coastal erosion and a variety of other coastal hazards. Most of the
hazards are natural, but unwise coastal development and poorly designed
manmade alterations have increased the risk of damage to life and property.
*"Because many of these destructive processes occur gradually, they garner
little publicity, leaving residents of coastal areas largely unaware of the
hazards," said Jeff Williams of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). "Lack
of publicity and the often contentious nature of property issues make good
public policy on coastal issues difficult to achieve," explains Williams,
who will co-chair the session.
*More than 45 million residents live along hurricane-prone coastlines. Since
the 1960's, population and development within this coastal zone have more
than doubled and are expected to continue for the next several decades.
This population explosion, which has put more property at risk, has made
the apparent number and magnitude of coastal hazards appear to increase
dramatically.
*Assuming no additional beach nourishment, roughly 1,500 homes along
America's coasts, and the land on which they are built, will be lost to
erosion each year. About 87,000 homes are located on land expected to be
lost to erosion within 60 years.
*In Maine, the rates of 20th century sea-level rise relative to land were
unprecedented. Maryland has a disproportionately long shoreline, more than
3,900 miles in the Chesapeake Bay alone. In Louisiana, barrier islands are
eroding at an alarming rate and rapid land subsidence contributes to a
relative rate of sea level rise that is nearly the fastest in the country.
Along the Rio Grande, dams and reservoirs have altered the natural
environment to the point where water and sediment no longer flow into the
Gulf of Mexico. Surveys of Monterey Bay in California have revealed that a
seawall constructed to mitigate coastal erosion can induce it.
*The USGS serves the nation by providing reliable scientific information to:
describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from
natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources;
and enhance and protect our quality of life.
*** USGS ***
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 43 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Nov 23, 2001 (19:02) * 11 lines
Tanker adrift off Washington - Oregon State Coast
SEATTLE, Washington (Reuters) -- A rescue crew boarded a decommissioned oil tanker drifting off the Oregon coast Friday to reattach it to a tug boat from which it broke free in a heavy storm Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The 906-foot Atigun Pass, a single-hull vessel destined for a salvage yard in China, had about 20,000 gallons of old, sticky fuel in its tanks and threatened to run aground, said Coast Guard spokeswoman Amy Gaskill.
"There was a six-man Canadian salvage crew flown to the ship by helicopter this morning. They filled the ballast tanks to make the draft a little deeper, so if it does run aground it will run aground further offshore," Gaskill told Reuters by telephone.
High winds and 50-foot swells snapped a steel cable connecting the tanker to the sea-going tug De Da about 100 miles west of the mouth of the Columbia River but seas were much calmer Friday, with just four-foot swells, Gaskill said.
The tanker, which had drifted to within 20 miles of the coast, is one of four such ships sold to Shanghai Salvage
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 44 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Dec 11, 2001 (22:14) * 9 lines
[1]OCEANOGRAPHY
* NASA/French Ocean-Observing Satellite Set to Soar
* Robots Put Ocean Weather Under Australian Spotlight
* Mid-Ocean Ridge Program, RIDGE 2000, Moves Inland
References
1. http://www.sciquest.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/sci_level3.d2w/report?nav_banner=bio&resource=articles&gateway=S-oceano
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 45 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Dec 27, 2001 (22:30) * 3 lines
Search for the Giant Squid
http://www.nature.com/nsu/011227/011227-3.html
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 46 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Jan 4, 2002 (19:43) * 12 lines
[1]OCEANOGRAPHY
* New Squid on the Block
* The Risk of Antarctic Ice Sheet Collapse
* Going Deep With CO2
* Underwater Treasure: Divers Map the Caves of Wakulla Springs
* Southern Ocean Iron May Have Come From the Depths, Not the
Atmosphere
References
1. http://www.sciquest.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/sci_level3.d2w/report?nav_banner=bio&resource=articles&gateway=S-oceano
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 47 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Jan 8, 2002 (19:09) * 33 lines
HOW DOES A GIANT SQUID EAT?
A giant squid has two long tentacles that make up much of
the total length of the animal. Each tentacle terminates with
a flattened club that has several hundred suckers on one side.
The tentacles grab prey and transfer it to the eight arms
where the squid’s muscular, beak-like mouth bites out chunks
to swallow. The food then travels down the esophagus, which
runs through the squid’s brain.
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF AMERICANS BELIEVE THAT NASA IS KEEPING SECRETS ABOUT ALIEN LIFE?
36 percent of Americans.
HOW OLD IS THE SPECIES OF FISH KNOWN AS THE COLELACANTH?
This ancient creature existed 350 million years ago. Scien-
tists had believed that the fish became extinct 60 million
years ago, until a living specimen was caught in the Indian
Ocean of Southern Afica in 1938.
HOW LARGE WAS THE LARGEST SQUID EVER CAUGHT?
The largest giant squid ever measured was discovered at Timble
Tickle Bay, Newfoundland, on November 2, 1878. Three fisherman
were working not far off shore when they noticed a mass float-
ing on the ocean they took to be wreckage. They investigated
and found a giant squid had run aground. Using their anchor as
a grappling hook they snagged the still-living body and made
it fast to a tree. When the tide went out the creature was
left high and dry. When the animal died, the fishermen measured
it and then chopped it up for dog meat. The body of the squid
was twenty feet from tail to beak. The longer tentacles measured
thirty five feet and were tipped with four inch suckers. It
weighed two tons.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 48 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, Feb 21, 2002 (19:15) * 4 lines
Geologists now assume that most of the water in the oceans was produced by volcanic outgassings. It has been estimated that seventy volcanoes the size of Mexico's Paricutin producing 0.001 cubic mile of water per year for 4.5 billion years of the earth's history could.
http://www.theistic-evolution.com/stansfield.html
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 49 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Feb 22, 2002 (22:47) * 15 lines
MARINE BIOLOGY
* SOLO Float Tracks Plankton Bloom in Southern Ocean
* Corals Are Being Robbed of Light
* The Sea of Life
* "Summer of the Shark" in 2001 More Hype Than Fact
* Military Technologies and Increased Fishing Effort Leave No Place
for Fish to Hide
* Alaskan Waters Growing Hospitable to Sharks While Seals and Sea
Lions Decline
References
1. http://www.sciquest.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/sci_level3.d2w/report?nav_banner=bio&resource=articles&gateway=B-marbio
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 50 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Feb 22, 2002 (22:48) * 21 lines
WILDLIFE & FISHERIES
* Dead in the Water
* Consider Her Ways . . .
* Kidnapping Males Could Save a Species
* Flightless New Zealand Parrot Numbers Set to Soar
* Much Ado About Robins
* Humans May Not Be as Aggressive and Competitive as Thought
* Boosting Bird Brains
* "Summer of the Shark" in 2001 More Hype Than Fact
* Military Technologies and Increased Fishing Effort Leave No Place
for Fish to Hide
* North Atlantic Study Reveals Food Fish Catches Have Declined by
Half -- Despite Tripled Fishing Effort
* Alaskan Waters Growing Hospitable to Sharks While Seals and Sea
Lions Decline
* Tricks of Nutcracker's Mighty Memory Revealed
References
1. http://www.sciquest.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/sci_level3.d2w/report?nav_banner=bio&resource=articles&gateway=B-wildfi
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 51 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Feb 22, 2002 (22:52) * 18 lines
OCEANOGRAPHY
* Hawaiian Ridge HOME to Efforts to Understand Deep-Ocean Mixing
* Eddies Warm Up the Ocean
* Satellite Images Help Find Safe Routes to South Pole
* "Little Robot That Could" Tracks Plankton Growth in Stormy
Antarctic Waters to Test Global Warming Hypothesis
* Terra Measures Sea Surface Temperature With Unprecedented Detail
* Still Waters? "Clear-Cutting" Robs the Deep-Sea of Ancient
Treasures
* Global Sea Levels Likely to Rise Higher in 21st Century Than
Previous Predictions
* Arctic Summer Sea Lanes Open by 2015 ONR Forecasts
References
1. http://www.sciquest.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/sci_level3.d2w/report?nav_banner=bio&resource=articles&gateway=S-oceano
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 52 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 23, 2002 (22:28) * 13 lines
MARINE BIOLOGY
* Cultured Sea Fans to Be Re-Seeded in Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary
* Depths of the Southern Ocean Being Starved of Oxygen
* Red Tide Strands South African Lobsters
* Too Much Sun Can Harm Ocean Life
References
1. http://www.sciquest.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/sci_level3.d2w/report?nav_banner=bio&resource=articles&gateway=B-marbio
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 53 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 23, 2002 (22:28) * 13 lines
WILDLIFE & FISHERIES
* Fish Fillets Grow in Tank
* Rare Parrots Lay a Record
* Mirrors to Help Birds Mate
* The Hairy Senses of Manatees
* Of Hummingbird Kidneys, Nectar, and All That Water
* Sturgeon Researcher's Vision Spawns Thriving Industry
References
1. http://www.sciquest.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/sci_level3.d2w/report?nav_banner=bio&resource=articles&gateway=B-wildfi
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 54 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Mar 23, 2002 (22:33) * 15 lines
OCEANOGRAPHY
* Researchers Describe Overall Water Balance in Subglacial Lake
Vostok
* Red Tide Strands Lobsters
* Hide-and-Seek in Antarctic Seas
* Deep Ocean Losing Oxygen
* Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapses in Largest Event of Last 30 Years
* Unveiling Planet Ocean
* Recent Shifts in Pacific Winds May Support El Nino Formation
References
1. http://www.sciquest.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/sci_level3.d2w/report?nav_banner=bio&resource=articles&gateway=S-oceano
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 55 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Apr 10, 2002 (17:43) * 11 lines
Something Unexpected in the Pacific Ocean
NASA Science News for April 10, 2002
Scientists have discovered something nearly invisible that straddles the
vast Pacific Ocean: Hawaii's surprising island wake.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/10apr_hawaii.htm?list89800
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 56 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Wed, Apr 17, 2002 (22:04) * 13 lines
Rift Valley Fever
NASA Science News for April 17, 2002
Scientists are learning that the key to predicting certain epidemics --
like Rift Valley fever in Africa or Hanta virus in the U.S. -- lies in an
unexpected place: the ocean.
FULL STORY at
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2002/17apr_rvf.htm?list89800
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 57 of 83: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Sat, Apr 20, 2002 (22:19) * 1 lines
the hanta virus from the ocean?
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 58 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Apr 21, 2002 (00:20) * 1 lines
Apparently wet years make for ideal bredding conditions. Hawaii is fighting a Dengue Fever epidemic... There is no known cure for it. You just survive it as best you can.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 59 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, Apr 21, 2002 (00:22) * 1 lines
Cetain weather patterns make for gathering more water from the sea and dumping it on the continents. It is cyclical.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 60 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Apr 22, 2002 (23:49) * 24 lines
Rare Megamouth Shark Found on S.African Beach
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A rarely seen megamouth shark, unknown
to science before 1976, has washed up on a South African beach,
scientists said Monday.
"We are very excited because it is only the third female to be discovered to
date and we know almost nothing about its biology, so we are keen to
dissect and study it," Dr. Vic Cockcroft of the Center for Dolphin Studies
told Reuters.
The 3.5 meter (12-foot), 300-kg (660 pound) female is the first
megamouth to be discovered in southern Africa. It washed up on a beach
Saturday morning about 400 kilometers (249 miles) east of Cape Town.
"They are rarely seen because they are usually far offshore feeding on
plankton. We are unsure about their numbers... We have no information
on how many there are," Cockcroft said.
Only about a dozen specimens, mostly males, have been found since the
animal was discovered when a U.S. navy experimental trawler caught one
off Hawaii in 1976, Cockcroft said.
The creature has also been found near California, Japan, the Philippines,
Senegal, Indonesia and western Australia.
As its name suggests, the creature has a massive mouth but is
harmless to humans as it is a plankton eater.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 61 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Mon, Apr 22, 2002 (23:59) * 12 lines
The body of the megamouth shark is flabby and its fins are soft, suggesting that it is a
leisurely swimmer and mostly in mid-water where scarring shows it has been attacked
by the semi-parasitic cookiecutter shark. In fact, the megamouth is the only known
shark to fall victim to this fearsome little shark that sucks onto its (usually marine
mammal) prey and knifes out a round plug of flesh with the sharp triangular teeth in its
lower jaw.
Every year, the list of known shark species is enlarged by new discoveries. The
addition of the megamouth to the list of more than 400 living shark species is surely the
most exciting of this century.
http://www.seatrek.org/curriculum/reference/species/mega.htm
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 62 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Apr 23, 2002 (00:15) * 15 lines
Megamouth was first discovered in 1976 when one was caught
south of the Hawaiian Islands. To date only a few
have been taken, all of them in the Pacific. One specimen brought into San Diego
harbor was too big to handle and was towed out to sea and released.
The megamouth is very large -- 15 to 17 feet long and weighs around 1500 pounds. It
is dark brown on top and silvery white on the bottom, with two dorsal fins and an anal
fin. It has a short but broadly rounded snout and a very large head. The huge mouth
with blubbery lips extends behind the eyes and is lined with more than 100 rows of
small hooked teeth with which it captures planktonic animals. Examination of the
stomach contents of the first caught megamouth revealed that its diet was mostly
euphasiid shrimp which are also eaten by the two other filter feeding sharks, the
basking shark and the whale shark. This kind of shrimp is generally found between
900 and 3300 feet during the day and rises to between 450 and 1500 feet at night -- a
migratory pattern the megamouth apparently follows.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 63 of 83: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Tue, Apr 23, 2002 (18:19) * 1 lines
marcia, i copied and pasted the above into springark's shark topic!
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 64 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Apr 23, 2002 (20:51) * 91 lines
Hi Woklfie *HUGS* I'll also put this is SpringArk under the appropriate topic!
Pacific Sea Turtles Diving Toward Extinction
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Giant Pacific leatherback sea turtles are on
a fast track to extinction as commercial fishing and man-made
destruction of their beach nesting areas threaten to wipe out the 150
million-year-old species, scientists said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Leatherback International Survival Conference in
Monterey, researchers said only a handful of females returned to nesting
beaches along the Pacific coast last season -- down from thousands
who did so just 20 years ago.
The week-long meeting that began Tuesday is aimed at bringing together
marine biologists, environmental activists and fishing industry
representatives to seek ways to ensure the survival of the only sea turtles
without shells.
"The decline is an example of the greatest extinction of a population of
animals that we have probably witnessed since humans have recorded
this sort of thing," James Spotila, a researcher at Philadelphia's Drexel
University told a telephone news conference.
"It is almost as rapid as the extinction of the bison in North America in the
1800s."
Currently there are some 30,000 leatherbacks swimming in the world's
oceans, down from about 115,000 in the 1980s, the researchers said.
The turtles can reach 9 feet in length and weigh 2,000 pounds. The
females come ashore once a year to lay their eggs.
PACIFIC NUMBERS DWINDLING FAST
But the situation of Pacific leatherbacks -- which are genetically distinct
from those in the Atlantic Ocean -- is particularly perilous because their
numbers have sunk to about 3,000 from 91,000 just 20 years ago.
This creates a downward spiral where fewer and fewer females are left to
reproduce, leaving the leatherbacks swimming toward an uncertain
future, scientists said.
For example, last year just 68 of the animals, which spend most of their
time in the water, nested on Costa Rica's most popular leatherback
beach, down from 1,600 only 15 years ago.
More worrying, along Mexico's coast -- once described as the largest and
most important leatherback nesting area in the world -- only 50 females
returned to lay eggs this past season, researchers said.
"The decline in the last five years is nothing short of catastrophic," said
Sylvia Earle, an Explorer in Residence at National Geographic and
leatherback expert. "The number has dropped at a precipitous rate."
Pacific leatherbacks are facing extinction mainly because of commercial
fishing and from commercial development of their nesting areas, the
researchers said.
The main ocean threat comes from longline fishing where a ship can
send out thousands of baited hooks on hundreds of lines that total 60
miles in length, snagging sea turtles, seals and other sea animals, in
addition to the target catch of swordfish and tuna, the scientists said.
BEACH HOTELS A BIG THREAT
Problems on land stem from rapid development of hotels and resorts that
encroach on the beaches where leatherbacks come to lay their eggs, they
added. Egg poaching is also a danger.
But scientists also said there is hope for the sea turtles, so long as
something is done soon. This makes it important to hold conferences
like the one in Monterey where representatives from disparate groups can
search for ways to address the problem, they added.
"Scientists have been talking to each other for a long time," Todd Steiner,
director of Turtle Island Restoration Network, the nonprofit group that put
on the conference. "But it really needs to get into the policy arena."
Some ideas for staving off Pacific leatherback extinction included better
regulating fishing or exploring technology that could scare the turtles
away from the hooks.
Other scientists said solutions were as simple as donating money to
environmental groups looking to buy beaches to hold off development of
hotels and resorts to protect the Pacific leatherbacks' nesting areas.
"If we could just set aside some of these beaches that historically are
critical for the survival this species, we can make a difference," said Frank
Paladino, a biologist at Purdue University. "It is not going to cost billions
of dollars, it is only going to cost a few million dollars."
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 65 of 83: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Tue, Apr 23, 2002 (22:28) * 1 lines
thanks! i thought the sea turtles were already endangered what with the media attention concerning street lights and baby turtles finding their way back to sea.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 66 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, Apr 23, 2002 (23:10) * 1 lines
They ARE endangered. In Hawaii you can get a very long jail sentence for killing loggerhead turtles. Hwaiian Monk Seals are even more protected than the turtle.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 67 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr 27, 2002 (01:16) * 10 lines
MARINE BIOLOGY
* Discovery of Method to Combat Toxic Algal Blooms and Description
of a New Group of Organisms
* Massive Coral Bleaching Strikes Great Barrier Reef
* Sea Squirt Savants Celebrate
References
1. http://www.sciquest.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/sci_level3.d2w/report?nav_banner=bio&resource=articles&gateway=B-marbio
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 68 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Apr 27, 2002 (02:07) * 9 lines
OCEANOGRAPHY
* Rift Valley Fever
* Marine Researchers Explore Sediment Highways
* Oceans Swell Towards New El Niño
References
1. http://www.sciquest.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/sci_level3.d2w/report?nav_banner=bio&resource=articles&gateway=S-oceano
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 69 of 83: Cheryl (CherylB) * Tue, May 7, 2002 (18:27) * 1 lines
Marcia, you mentioned that the loggerhead turtles and Hwaiian Monk Seals are both very protected species. What about the tiger sharks, are they protected, as well?
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 70 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, May 7, 2002 (19:20) * 41 lines
Good question - I searched and found the following about the tiger shark and Hawaii:
TIGER SHARK
Jesse Spencer, now 18, from the Big Island of Hawaii, was surfing near Kona
in October 1999 when a 10-ft. tiger shark came halfway out of the water and
pushed him off his board. The shark's nose struck Spencer's head, then its
jaws locked onto his arm. "I could almost see the whole shark. My elbow
was down his throat." The shark ripped muscles, tendons and blood vessels,
then chomped down on the surfboard before finally disappearing. Spencer
made it to shore, and today his arm is recovering, although he still cannot grip
with his hand. His mistake? Surfing at sundown.
The tiger shark generally hunts at night. It is an indiscriminate eater, "willing to
try anything for food," says Rocky Strong, a shark biologist associated with
the Jean-Michel Cousteau Institute. Not just fish, turtles and sea mammals but
also dogs, boots, beer bottles and unopened cans of beans. Its teeth are
serrated, with a notch to catch and cut through ligament or shell tissue.
Tiger attacks on humans have been on the increase in Hawaii, and one reason,
says John Naughton of Hawaii's Habitat Conservation Program, may be the
increase in seagoing green turtles since they were protected in the 1970s.
"Turtles come close to the shore, and the tigers follow them to prey on them.
That puts them in the same area as swimmers and surfers." Tigers are slower
swimmers than great whites and not as good at surprise. Human victims often
see the shark before it closes in to attack. But tigers are persistent. "If you are
bitten by a tiger, you have a good chance of being chewed up. They come
back," says John McCosker, a scientist at the California Academy of
Sciences.
After a spate of attacks in Hawaii in the early '90s, islanders headed out to kill
the rogue tigers. But scientists have since learned that tigers are not territorial,
and so chances of catching the culprit at an attack site are minimal. Dr. Kim
Holland of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Hawaii
has been monitoring tiger movements with the CHAT (Communicating History
Acoustic Transponder) tag. Implanted in belly walls to log the shark's position
and depth, the CHAT tags upload their information to underwater receivers,
usually placed in shallow bays, which are retrieved every three weeks. "We
know they don't stake out declared territories. They are inter-island travelers,"
says Holland.
http://www.time.com/time/2001/sharks/cover2.html
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 71 of 83: Cheryl (CherylB) * Thu, May 9, 2002 (17:45) * 1 lines
Thanks, Marcia. I didn't know much about tiger sharks other than they do live in the ocean around Hawaii, among other places, are considered an aggressive species of shark, and really do have stripes on their backs. I didn't know that they tended to feed at sundown.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 72 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, May 9, 2002 (21:17) * 1 lines
Either I did not know of the shark attacks on the Island of Hawaii or I forgot (is that possible?) It reinforces my desire to remain OUT of the ocean. What on earth amd I doing out here on an island 5 hours by air to get to larger amounts of dry land! It scares me sometimes and I feel very vulnerable.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 73 of 83: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Thu, May 9, 2002 (21:39) * 1 lines
*HUGS*
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 74 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Thu, May 9, 2002 (22:15) * 1 lines
Thanks, Wolfie. *scratching you under your chin*
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 75 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, May 10, 2002 (13:28) * 45 lines
Iceberg Breaks Off Antarctic Shelf
By Associated Press WASHINGTON --
An iceberg 47 miles long and 4.6 miles across has broken off the Ross
Ice Shelf in the Antarctic, the National Ice Center reported Thursday.
The giant sheet of glacial ice and snow was named C-18, meaning that
it's the 18th iceberg to be tracked in that section of Antarctica since
1976, when record keeping began.
The iceberg, floating close to the ice shelf, is not considered a hazard
to navigation. It was spotted on satellite images.
The discovery comes just under a month after a much larger iceberg -- 40
miles by 53 miles -- broke away from another part of Antarctica. That
iceberg is known as B-22.
Also in March, a large floating ice shelf in Antarctica collapsed. The
1,250-square-mile section of the Larsen Ice Shelf collapsed during a
five-week period that ended March 7. It splintered into a plume of
drifting icebergs.
Meanwhile, however, new measurements indicate the ice in parts of
Antarctica is thickening, reversing earlier estimates that the sheet was
melting.
Scientists reported in January that new flow measurements for the Ross
ice streams indicate that movement of some of the ice streams has slowed
or halted, allowing the ice to thicken.
Researchers don't know if the thickening is merely part of some
short-term fluctuation or represents a reversal of the long retreat of
the ice.
That report, in the journal Science, came less than a week after a paper
in Nature reported that Antarctica's harsh desert valleys -- long
considered a bellwether for global climate change -- have grown
noticeably cooler since the mid-1980s.
The National Ice Center, based in Suitland, Md., provides worldwide ice
analyses and tracking to assist the military and private shippers.
It is a joint operation of the Navy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and Coast Guard.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 76 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sun, May 26, 2002 (16:33) * 42 lines
Mexico Becomes World's Largest Whale Sanctuary
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico announced an accord on Friday to
protect whales in its waters, making it the world's largest national
sanctuary for the giant mammals, environmental groups said.
The office of Mexican President Vicente Fox said the "Area of Refuge"
accord would provide added protection in areas such as reproduction,
growth and migration to 39 whale species that spend time in Mexican
waters.
The accord was signed at the International Whaling Commission
meeting in Shimonoseki, Japan.
"We have the largest national protected area for whales in the world," said
Juan Carlos Cantu, the coordinator of the Greenpeace Mexico biodiversity
campaign.
"We're talking about nearly 3 million square kilometers (1.15 million
square miles) of the Pacific ocean and the Atlantic ocean and the
Caribbean," he added, speaking on national radio.
Some 17,000 Gray whales come into Mexican waters each year, many of
them using the warm waters as a breeding ground.
Since 1933, Mexico has been active at international forums to protect
whales. Early this year it established penalties for whaling in its waters.
"No marine mammal, regardless of species, can be hunted for
commercial uses or for subsistence," Fox's office said in a statement,
adding that only accredited institutions would be allowed to capture
whales for scientific or educational purposes.
The International Whaling Commission wound up an acrimonious
annual meeting on Friday after rejecting both a bid by native peoples to
keep hunting whales and Japan's wish to resume commercial hunts.
The five-day meeting in the old Japanese whaling city of Shimonoseki
hardened battle lines in the long-running feud between those who want to
hunt whales for commercial and traditional reasons and those who want
to protect them.
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 77 of 83: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Mon, May 27, 2002 (20:47) * 1 lines
marcia, i'm clipping this article for springark!
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 78 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Tue, May 28, 2002 (00:09) * 1 lines
I was going to do that and got busy elsewhere. Please do so!
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 79 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Jul 26, 2002 (15:35) * 10 lines
I did not know there were species of sea turtle without shells!
600-kilo Sea turtle
A dead sea turtle weighing 600 kilos was hauled into the port of Limassol yesterday after its body
became enmeshed in the nets of Cypriot fishermen, the Athens News Agency said. The shell-less
creature (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest form of sea turtle and is not generally found in the
Mediterranean, preferring the cold oceans of the north Atlantic, according to Limassol's Department of
Fishery and Sea Studies.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100016_26/07/2002_19190
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 80 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Sat, Aug 24, 2002 (17:22) * 12 lines
Waves and the sounds of science (Aug 23)
http://physicsweb.org/article/news/6/8/14
The air bubbles trapped in water that are responsible for the hypnotic
sound of breaking waves have been scrutinized by two scientists in
California. Grant Deane and Dale Stokes of the Scripps Institute of
Oceanography have discovered that the bubbles fall into two categories -
large and small - that are created by different mechanisms. Since the
size of these bubbles influences the way gases travel between the ocean
and the atmosphere, the research could lead to more accurate models of
global climate (G B Deane and M D Stokes 2002 Nature 418 839).
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 81 of 83: Cheryl (CherylB) * Tue, Jan 10, 2006 (11:37) * 17 lines
41 Beached Whales Shot in New Zealand
Wildlife officers shot 41 pilot whales that beached on New Zealand's South Island, the Department of Conservation said.
A total of 49 whales came ashore Saturday near Farewell Spit in the second major stranding in the area within two weeks. Eight died on the beaches, and the remaining animals were shot when heavy seas prevented any attempt to refloat them.
"Given the hopelessness of being able to successfully refloat the whales, our prime concern was then to avoid the whales' suffering a long and painful death," Greg Napp, the department's Golden Bay area officer, said in a statement.
Napp said the latest stranding was likely unconnected to another last month when 129 pilot whales came ashore close by.
Conservation officers and volunteers managed to refloat more than 100 in that stranding, but 21 whales died.
Mike Rogers, a Department of Conservation worker, said the whales that beached Saturday were not thought to be from the pod involved in the larger stranding on Dec. 20.
"There have always been strandings at Golden Bay," he said, noting that the tide goes out as much as four miles and the animals "get trapped on this gentle sloping beach."
http://www.kfmb.com/story.php?id=33046
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 82 of 83: Curious Wolfie (wolf) * Tue, Jan 10, 2006 (19:19) * 1 lines
oh yes, i posted this one in spring ark last week, i think. thanks!
Topic 36 of 99 [Geo]: Oceanic Geo
Response 83 of 83: Marcia (MarciaH) * Fri, Jan 13, 2006 (17:23) * 1 lines
That is so terrible - but a whole lot better than just dying in the sun. I've been on a whale vigil and it ends in heartbreak far too often. Thanks for posting this.
Geo conference 
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