Latest Issue

Ocean Life News in Brief: December-1-2014

Cretaceous Lobster Fossil Unearthed in Pueblo Mexico 
In the semiarid location of Santa Ana Teloxtoc, Tehuacan, Puebla Mexico fossil of Lobsters dating as far back as 120 million years ago -Cretaceous Period were discovered. The area now distant from being an ocean environment used to home mollusks, corals, fish and other marine species.

Ocean Temperature Broke All Summer Registers in US
The International Center for Investigation of the Pacific of the University of Hawaii in Manoa US communicated that temperature of the oceans broke all records this summer. Axel Timmermann, Climate expert and professor of climate world systems of the International Center told the media that the temperatures exceeded those of the 1998 El Niño crisis.

Rolex Presents Deepsea Precision for Ocean Environment
Rolex presented its new Swiss watch design in New York -Rolex Deepsea, as a main protagonist of the Deepsea Challenger expedition. The new Rolex Deepsea was presented during the premier of the James Cameron documentary which narrates a visual expedition into the depths of the Mariana Trenches. Rolex assured that the watch is inspired in their commitment to the exploration of the ocean and marine environments.

New Tsunami Pacific Basin Alert Generates Precaution in Sector as Activity Increases
Earthquake activity registered in 7.3 Richter Scale in the Pacific Ocean generated a Tsunami alert in several countries including, Indonesia, Philippines, Salomon Islands, Papa New Guiney and Japan. Pacific basin tectonic plate dynamic is signaled by experts who urge for precautions to be taken as future events are unknown.

Spain Barcelona Opens Ocean Secrets to the Public
Spain Barcelona is celebrating the Secrets of the Ocean in its second edition of the International Conference of Ocean Investigation. This year the event has scheduled activities open to the general public.

Volvo Ocean Race to Enter the Unknown Zone in Leg II Cape Town-Abu Dhabi
Volvo Ocean Race Leg II of the world ocean extreme regatta has initiated. Leg II will take the sailing teams on route Cape Town South Africa -Abu Dhabi Arab Emirates. Leg II spans out 6.125 miles of ocean waters. Teams MAPFRE, Abu Dhabi Racing, Brunel and others will sail past Mauricio Island towards the Arabic Peninsula. The waters are a challenge for teams as they have not sailed the waters extensively before.

Starfish Key Species Under Virus Impact Affecting Ocean Health of Pacific California-Alaska
A new study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences assures to have isolated a virus which is impacting starfish populations of the Pacific Ocean from California to Alaska US. The virus is reported to be a variety of the densovirus. Starfish are key species of the marine ocean trophic chains.

Shimizu Japanese Corporation Firm to Invest £ 16 Billion in Underwater City
Shimizu Corp communicated that the project Ocean Spiral -valued in 16 Billion £ will "capitalize on the infinite possibilities of the deep sea” to accommodate human life, as rising sea levels threaten the survival of island communities". Officials at Shimizu said the project would take about five years to build, at an estimated cost of 3tn yen £16 billion.

Ocean Extreme Environments Untapped Source of Antibacterial Drugs
Science Daily reported that a mysterious life form of the Archaea family -single-celled organisms that thrive in extreme environments could be an untapped source for the medical sector. "It is the first discovery of a functional antibacterial gene in Archaea," said Seth Bordenstein, the associate professor of biological sciences at Vanderbilt University who directed the study.

Environmental Bleaching Impairs Long-Term Coral Reproduction
A new study of Florida State University biologist shows that bleaching events brought on by rising sea temperatures are having a detrimental long-term impact on coral. Professor Don Levitan, chair of the Department of Biological Science, writes in the latest issue of Marine Ecology Progress Series that bleaching is also affecting the long-term fertility of the coral

Wild Life Conservation Employs Satellite Tags to Solve Whale-Sized Mystery
Wild Life Conservation Society communicated on new works to solve whale mysteries. For the first time, scientists working in the waters of Patagonia are using satellite tags to remotely track southern right whales from their breeding-calving grounds in the sheltered bays of Peninsula Valdez, Argentina, to unknown feeding grounds somewhere in the western South Atlantic. Work is conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society WCS, the Aqualie Institute of Brazil, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA, and others in cooperation with Fundación Patagonia Natural and other regional organizations in Argentina's Chubut Province.

Peru Works with IRD for Fish Stock Models
The Institut de Recherche pour le Développement IRD reported that Peru homes “turbid cold waters, valuable fish stocks, the Humboldt Current system, and boasts exceptional biological productivity thanks to a very intense coastal upwelling phenomenon”. Thanks to high-resolution models of the oceanic circulation and water oxygen content, IRD researchers and their partners have now quantified this ecosystem's sensitivity to various disturbances in the equatorial Pacific.

Robotic Ocean Gliders Discover New Answers to Polar Ice Melting
Researchers have a new tool in determining how and why polar ice is melting that has already discovered important new information. Robotic gliders used by researchers at Caltech and University of East Anglia were able to reach parts of the oceans surrounding Antarctica.