Dec 28
Posted on
Wednesday, December 28, 2011 in
Articles
How cool is this?? Read how “sensorbots” will help scientists monitor the ocean in this article from MSN.
-Your friends at Caostal CODE
Washington, Dec 21 (IANS) Scientists have discovered sensorbots equipped with bio-geo-chemical sensors that will monitor key events in the ocean like underwater earthquakes and hydrothermal vents. The device promises to open a new chapter in the exploration of the earth’s largest ecosystem.
The globe shaped devices are being designed and developed in the lab of Deirdre Meldrum, a professor at the Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute.
The Sensorbots will enable continuous monitoring of key elements in the ocean and the ability to respond to events such as underwater earthquakes and hydrothermal vents.
Much of Meldrum’s genomic research focuses on deep ocean environments and leverages her extensive technology development for human health and disease, a university statement said. (more…)
Oct 24
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Monday, October 24, 2011 in
ArticlesA lethal and highly contagious marine virus has been detected for the first time in wild salmon in the Pacific Northwest, researchers in British Columbia said on Monday, stirring concern that it could spread there, as it has in Chile, Scotland and elsewhere.
A farm-raised salmon, the type hit hardest by infectious salmon anemia. The spread to the wild in the Pacific Northwest was reported by researchers in British Columbia.
Farms hit by the virus, infectious salmon anemia, have lost 70 percent or more of their fish in recent decades. But until now, the virus, which does not affect humans, had never been confirmed on the West Coast of North America.
The researchers, from Simon Fraser University and elsewhere, said at a news conference in Vancouver that the virus had been found in 2 of 48 juvenile fish collected as part of a study of sockeye salmon in Rivers Inlet, on the central coast of British Columbia. The study was undertaken after scientists observed a decline in the number of young sockeye.
Richard Routledge, an environmental scientist at the university who leads the sockeye study, suggested that the virus had spread from the province’s aquaculture industry, which has imported millions of Atlantic salmon eggs over the last 25 years, primarily from Iceland and Scandinavia. He acknowledged that no direct evidence of that link existed, but noted that the two fish had tested positive for the European strain of infectious salmon anemia.
The virus could have “a devastating impact” not just on the region’s farmed and wild salmon but on the many species that depend on them in the food web, like grizzly bears, killer whales and wolves, Dr. Routledge said. “No country has ever gotten rid of it once it arrives,” he said in a statement.
Read More…
Posted on New York Times By: Cornelia Dean
Oct 5
Posted on
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 in
ArticlesAlliance pledges to make trash too valuable to toss
WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Ocean Conservancy today announced the creation of a Trash Free Seas Alliance as their 2011 Commitment to Action at the Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City. The Alliance will unite industry, science and conservation leaders who share a common goal for a healthy ocean free of trash.
Trash is one of the most widespread pollution problems facing our ocean and waterways. The ocean currently serves as the end of the pipeline for products that are not recycled, repurposed or properly discarded. The glut of items polluting our seas kills wildlife, chokes economies and impacts human health around the world.
“Members of the Trash Free Seas Alliance will first and foremost have a safe place for dialogue and a safe place to imagine solutions with others who are equally committed on this issue,” said Vikki Spruill, president and CEO of Ocean Conservancy, at the Waste to Wealth panel discussion on Wednesday. “By bringing influence, brilliance and passion together in one room, we can truly create cutting-edge solutions that make trash too valuable to toss.”
Read More.
Posted on PR Newswire
Sep 30
Posted on
Friday, September 30, 2011 in
ArticlesLast Friday I missed the first real north swell of the season to attend a meeting organized by the University of California-Santa Barbara on the development of an ocean health index.
Coronado Patch columnist puts in some work developing an ocean health index, one part of community action for cleaner beaches.
The objective of the index is to have a monitoring scorecard that communities, scientists and government agencies can use to determine coastal and ocean health locally, regionally and nationally.
The group included fishermen, seafood harvesters (e.g. shellfish and seaweed), elected officials, energy company representatives, conservationists, scientists and the Chief of State of the Makah tribe.
Everyone in the room, especially the fishermen, made it clear that ocean water quality and biodiversity were the two most important indicators for managing the health of the coast and ocean.
Read More.
Posted on Coronado Patch By: Serge Dedina
Sep 14
Posted on
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 in
ArticlesJoin thousands of people all over the world to help keep garbage and debris out of our oceans by volunteering for International Coastal Clean-Up Day on Saturday, September 17th from 9:00 am to 11:00 am.
Local groups, businesses, youth groups and other local organizations are asked to pre-register to clean garbage and debris from 15 different beach locations in Douglas and Juneau. If your group is interested in volunteering, please call the Juneau Watershed Partnership at 586-6853 to register. Individual volunteers can help clean up Auke Recreation Area and Sandy Beach by showing up on the day of the event at each of these locations and sign-in with local ICC volunteers. (more…)
