State of the Oceans — Log 103
YOUR WEEKLY BRIEFING FROM PARLEY
THE ARCTIC
Hundreds of researchers from around the globe recently concluded the MOSAiC project, the largest Arctic expedition in history. The mission sought to provide an unprecedented opportunity to study the rapidly melting Arctic, which is warming at least twice as fast as the rest of the world. Scientists were able to capture a firsthand glimpse of the effects of human driven climate change and understand the Arctic more clearly, which in turn, will help to understand how the rest of the global climate change is progressing.
Leaders of the expedition stated if we don’t make immediate and sweeping efforts to combat global heating, we’ll soon see ice-free Arctic summers, which will have incalculable repercussions for our own weather and climate. The increasingly warming Arctic is amplified by other natural climate variabilities such as the changes in temperature of the North Atlantic Ocean, which recorded the hottest temperatures in nearly 3,000 years this past decade.
CORAL
Researchers studying the Great Barrier Reef have found that the reef has lost half of its coral populations in the last 25 years. The study measured changes in colony sizes as a way of understanding the capacity of corals to breed. Their results showed that colony sizes were smaller, and there were less mother corals and fewer baby corals, which are vital to the reef’s future ability to breed. The finding it worrying for entire marine ecosystems beyond the reef, as corals are home to a vast array of marine life. Scientists blame the decline largely on human-induced climate change and the rapidly warming waters in the area. Though coral reefs are widely resilient, the resiliency of the species are being compromised from the lack of baby and adult corals. If we let the corals be and don’t continually damage them, they will be able to repopulate and recover.
MICROPLASTICS
A new first-of-its-kind study finds there are 13.3 quadrillion plastic microfibers in California’s natural environment. To put that number in perspective, that’s 130,000 times as many fibers as there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy. The study researched the scale of pollution from plastic microfibers in synthetic clothing — one of the most widespread, yet largely invisible, forms of plastic waste. Water treatment plants have ability to capture the fibers, but many plants are collecting the sludge and combining it with biosolids (sewage), three-quarters of which gets treated then spread on agricultural fields, eventually leading right back to waterways. Relying on wastewater treatment isn’t going to solve the issue, says the study. Advances in materials, lint-catching technology and a change to the clothing industry will make the largest difference.
SEALS
An estimated 5,000 Cape fur seal fetuses have been found along the shores of Namibia – a large portion of the new pup arrivals expected in late November. Cape fur seals are mostly found along the coasts of Namibia and South Africa, with females giving birth in November and December. When there is a shortage of food, they will often abandon their young or abort their foetuses. Lack of food, disease and toxins are all possible causes, but there is not enough data yet to confirm why so many pups were affected this year. The scientists are gathering data for analysis, using drones to count the bodies and collecting biological samples to establish causes and evaluate the risks for repeat events of catastrophic die-offs in the future.
POLLUTION
Japan is nearing a decision to release more than 1 million tons of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean as soon as 2022. Scientists advising the Japanese government looked at a range of options to deal with the water, including evaporating it into the atmosphere or injecting it into underground reservoirs. But diluting it and then releasing it into the ocean was judged the safest and most cost-effective approach. The water at Fukushima Daiichi will be diluted inside the plant before it is released so that it is 40 times less concentrated, with the whole process taking 30 years. Local fishermen, environmental groups and South Korea oppose the plan.
… and the underwater globetrotter
For 30 years researchers have been studying the asteroid starfish larvae – a species that has the ability to clone itself. Recently, a Smithsonian team discovered what these mysterious larvae grow up to be and how its special superpower may help them move around the world.
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