Blog Archives

European scientists are going to try to measure the movement of the oceans by tracing their magnetism alone.

The effort will be achieved using three super-sensitive spacecraft called Swarm, which should launch in 2012.

The magnetic signal of the tides sweeping around the globe has been seen before, but the new mission would aim to observe far more detail.

It should provide additional data on how the oceans transfer heat around the Earth, a key feature of the climate.

“When salty ocean water flows through the magnetic field of the Earth, an electric field is generated and this electric field again makes a magnetic field,” explained Dr Hermann L

Few research tools in the history of science can match the achievements of Alvin, the US manned deep-submersible.

It was this 46-year-old vessel which discovered the hot volcanic vents on the ocean floor that transformed ideas about where and how life could exist.

The sub is also famed for finding an H-bomb lost at sea and for making one of the first surveys of the Titanic.

But this veteran of the abyss has been withdrawn from service this week as it gets ready for a major re-fit.

Alvin is to undergo a two-phase, $40m (

New Zealand warned Wednesday that the mood between Japanese whalers and protesters who challenge them annually off Antarctica is especially volatile this year, and urged both sides to show restraint to ensure no one is killed.

The whalers left Japan earlier this month for the Antarctic Ocean, and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society boats have left New Zealand in pursuit.

Each year, protesters try to harass the whaling fleet into stopping a hunt that Japan says is part of a scientific program that allows an exemption from an international moratorium on the commercial killing of the animals.

The protesters say there is no reason to kill the animals to research them, and that the program amounts to commercial whaling in disguise because surplus meat of the killed whales is sold in Japan.

Cl...

Scottish fishermen are facing deep cuts in catch quotas after all-night EU Fish Council talks in Brussels.

The west coast is hardest hit, with 25% reductions in catch sizes for cod, haddock and whiting.

There were some successes for the Scottish negotiating team, with proposed reductions to other species scaled back.

The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation has called for reform in the way Scotland’s fisheries are managed.

Bertie Armstrong, the federation’s chief executive, said: “Despite some good negotiating successes, for which the Scottish government team is congratulated, the conclusion of the EU Fish Council has resulted inevitably in a sombre picture for the Scottish fleet with further overall losses in fishing opportunity, particularly on the west coast of Scotland.

“The Scottish fleet...

The North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores is recruiting members for its volunteer dive team.

The program offers certified SCUBA divers a unique opportunity to dive inside the 306,000-gallon Living Shipwreck exhibit and converse with visitors about the many animals gliding around a replica of the U-352, a famous World War II shipwreck. Volunteer divers also assist with other programs underwater, as well as help care for animals and maintain exhibits.

In addition to SCUBA certification, divers must be at least 18 years old, be in good health and be willing to make time and training commitments. The deadline to apply for the 2011 program is Jan. 31.

See the volunteer page at the Aquarium

A giant block of ice measuring 260 sq km (100 sq miles) has broken off a glacier in Greenland, according to researchers at a US university.

The slab of ice separated from the Petermann Glacier, on the north-west coast of Greenland.

It is the largest Arctic iceberg to calve since 1962, said Prof Andreas Muenchow of the University of Delaware.

The ice could become frozen in place over winter or escape into the waters between Greenland and Canada.

If the iceberg moves south, it could interfere with shipping, Prof Muenchow said.

Cracks in the Petermann Glacier had been observed last year and it was expected that an iceberg would calve from it soon.

The glacier is 1,000 km (620 miles) south of the North Pole.

A researcher at the Canadian Ice Service detected the calving from Nasa satellite ima...

A blue whale’s mouth cavity is so vast and stretchy that it can engulf a volume of water equivalent to its own body mass, say scientists.

The whales – the largest animals on the planet – filter the krill they eat from these huge watery mouthfuls.

Researchers based in the US and Canada studied the giant mammals to find out how much energy they needed to fuel their lunging feeding dives.

They report their findings in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

Diving paradox

Jeremy Goldbogen from University of California San Diego led the study.

He and his colleagues combined direct measurements from sensors on the whales’ bodies, and physics-based models, to calculate the mass that each mammal took in as it moved through the water.

Robert Shadwick, a zoologist from the University of British Columb...

Egypt says it will reopen beaches at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh after a spate of shark attacks temporarily forced their closure.

New measures are being put in place to ensure the safety of swimmers in the future, authorities said.

A German woman was killed and four other tourists injured in a series of attacks a week ago.

Many of the resort’s main beaches were closed to swimmers and snorkellers after the fatal attack on 5 December.

“We have allowed the beaches to reopen on condition hotel owners adhere to new controls to ensure the safety of foreign tourists while diving or swimming,” South Sinai Governor Mohamed Abdel Fadil Shousha told reporters.

He said watch stations, manned by divers, would be set up to monitor the coast, and that speed boats would continuously patrol the ...

UN talks in Cancun have reached a deal to curb climate change, including a fund to help developing countries.

Nations endorsed compromise texts drawn up by the Mexican hosts, despite objections from Bolivia.

The draft documents say deeper cuts in carbon emissions are needed, but do not establish a mechanism for achieving the pledges countries have made.

Some countries’ resistance to the Kyoto Protocol had been a stumbling block during the final week of negotiations.

However, diplomats were able to find a compromise.

Delegates cheered speeches from governments that had caused the most friction during negotiations – Japan, China, even the US – as one by one they endorsed the draft.

BBC environment correspondent Richard Black said the meeting did not achieve the comprehensive, all-encompassi...

Sharks of different species are behind a series of attacks on tourists at Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, a US investigator says.

Marine biologist George Burgess said a single shark had carried out two of the attacks, while a different species was responsible for two others.

Mr Burgess told the BBC that environmental effects had caused the “highly unusual” spate of attacks.

A German woman was killed and four people injured in last week’s attacks.

Many of the main beaches have been closed to swimmers and snorkellers since Sunday’s fatal attack.

The Egyptian authorities are concerned about the impact on tourism to the country, which provides a crucial source of foreign currency and jobs in the country.

‘Rational’ attacks

Mr Burgess said the attacks were “undoubtedly” caused by env...