Oceans suffering from sea sickness, says study (REPORT)

(Video: Learn just how much we owe these vast ocean habitats/Conservation International)

(HN, 8/15/12) - Seychelles and Germany have the healthiest seas of any inhabited territory, while Sierra Leone has the unhealthiest, according to a new index that says many oceans score poorly for biodiversity and as a human resource.

Topping the list with a score of 86 out of 100 was the uninhabited South Pacific territory of Jarvis Island, owned by the United States, as well as a clutch of other unpopulated Pacific Ocean islands.

The Seychelles, one of only two developing nations in the top 12, ranked fourth with a score of 73 out of 100 -- the same as that of Germany.

(PHOTO: Ocean Inquiry Project) The index was devised by researchers in the US and Canada who measured whether the world's oceans are able to provide food and recreation while also sustaining sea life.

They examined the overall condition of 171 exclusive economic zones (EEZs) - sea areas managed by coastal countries and stretching up to 200 nautical miles into the ocean.

The 171 EEZs represent 40 percent of the world's ocean, but yield the bulk of sea-derived food, recreation and means of livelihood.

Put together, the EEZs scored 60 out of 100, suggesting "substantial room for improvement", said a report in the journal Nature on Wednesday.

"Humans undoubtedly have substantial negative impacts on the ocean, and index scores are negatively correlated with coastal human population," it said.

Nearly half of the world's seven billion people live near the coast.

Developing countries in West Africa, the Middle East and Central America generally scored poorly, while richer nations in northern Europe, Canada, Australia and Japan had higher scores.

There were some notable exceptions, with developing country Suriname joining Seychelles in the top 12 while Poland and Singapore from the first world were ranked among the worst performers.

(MAP: Jarvis Island, South Pacific/Wikipedia) The lowest score of 36 went to the West African state of Sierra Leone.

The researchers measured the oceans in 10 categories including food provision, their ability to support coastal livelihoods and economies, clean water, coastal protection, artisanal fishing, carbon storage, tourism and biodiversity.

"The index is an important tool to assess where we've been and where we want to go," study co-author Benjamin Halpern, of the Center for Marine Assessment and Planning at the University of California at Santa Barbara, told AFP.

"This is the first time that we can quantitatively and directly compare and combine hugely different dimensions -- ecological, social, economic, political -- that define a healthy ocean."

He added the index only looked at how each nation managed its own EEZ, not on how they were affecting those of other countries.

 - This article first appeared in the Bangkok Post.  

Classroom at Sea, Teaching the World (FEATURE)

(Video via OceanLeadership)

By Vickie Chachere

It's not every day that the view from class is a deep blue Caribbean sea and misty volcanic mountains in the distance. Nor does your professor normally have to shout over the hum of engines and the whooshing of a brisk sea breeze, the 470-foot vessel beneath her feet swaying just enough to induce the slightest feeling of sea sickness.

But for University of South Florida Marine Science Professor Teresa Greely, the exotic setting and the expansive research vessel the JOIDES Resolution has been her classroom for the past four weeks, and the international scientific effort a living lesson for classrooms around the world via the magic of Skype.

The JOIDES Resolution is on six-week scientific journey through the Lesser Antilles with an international team of scientists and crew members from 15 nations. They are exploring the volcanic processes along the island arc of the Lesser Antilles, an area formed by the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean that has a history of intense seismic activity, including frequent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and the occasional tsunami.

(PHOTO: Professor Teresa Greely uses Skype to show her students the JOIDES Resolution, the research vessel she's been living on for 4 weeks/Vickie Chachere | USF News)The journey is part of the massive Ocean Drilling Program, an international effort funded by the US National Science Foundation and 22 nations to study the history of the world’s ocean basins and the earth’s subsea crust. The 10-year program is so extensive some scientists describe it as the oceans version of the Hubble Telescope program.

Greely, a marine biologist who heads up notable education and outreach efforts at the College of Marine Science in St, Petersburg, Florida such as the girl’s oceanography camp, was selected as the expedition’s education officer – a position which has had her teaching college students, public school teachers and scientific groups around the world about the JOIDES Resolution mission and how scientists will examine the geologic, chemical and biological records left below the sea floor hundreds of thousands of years ago.

“I am here as a scientific educator, my job is to translate the science that is happening on board,” Greely explained to a group of USF Honors College students Thursday in a 45-minute Skype session as she introduced to the vessel and explained.

INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH

Because her Skype sessions are being held all over the world, Greely has worked 12 to 16 hours a day teaching groups in France, Guadeloupe, Martinique, the United Kingdom and Germany. Next week she will Skype with South Africa. Thursday she completed the second of three sessions with her students at USF’s Honor College on the Tampa campus, after having conducted a classroom session with students at USF St. Petersburg a day earlier.

Also joining her on the JOIDES Resolution is USF doctoral candidate Michael Martinez, a biological oceanographer, who is serving as a member of the scientific crew, and has pitched in on the Skype educational segments. Additionally, the entire JOIDES scientific crew has joined in on the social media effort by blogging and through Facebook, allowing thousands to follow along on their journey.

Greely has used a small camera to take groups on a tour of the vessel, with its massive drilling capabilities that pull up long cores of ancient sediments from beneath the sea floor to undergo analysis. With as the eons have passed, the seismic activity has deposited layers of material on top of each other. Scientists can analyze chemical and biological markers to understand how the Earth’s activity changed over the years and altered the environment.

“It is nice to be able to 'see' the students in the class via Skype and hearing their response to the different visuals from the vessel,” Greely said. “This is not your typical classroom and it is wonderful to have USF students experience this at sea learning.”

The JOIDES Resolution is drilling at several sites near Montserrat, home of the Soufrière Hills volcano, which has been erupting continuously since 1995, sending much of the resultant ash and volcanic material into the ocean.  Later to moving toward a site off Martinique, the scientists are investigating underwater traces of pyroclastic flows – fast-moving, deadly mixtures of gases and rock debris –from Martinique’s infamous Mt. Pelée, whose 1902 eruption killed 30,000 people and devastated entire towns. The event remains one of the deadliest volcanic disasters of the 20^th century.

Thursday, Greely explained to USF students how 70 percent of the materials that erupt from a volcano end up on the sea floor, making the geological record an unparalleled window on the past. Erik Moortgat, a Marine Lab Specialist on the JOIDES Resolution, showed the students one of the sediment cores and explained the techniques for extracting scientific information and data from the sample.

Walking through the vessel on Thursday amid brisk winds at sea, Greely struggled to keep the camera steady as she moved across the vast deck. “It’s like you’re on the vessel with me!” she quipped, even though she couldn’t have seen the USF students looking away to avoid the dizzying image.

The journey just isn’t an education for students and elementary and middle school teachers – Greely has held sessions for teachers in Massachusetts, California and North Carolina in addition to Tampa Bay area schools - but for Greely herself. Remarking on the international diversity of the JOIDES community, Greely said she is learning Hindi, Japanese and French from her fellow scientists and ship crew members.

“It’s personally been very exciting for me to work with scientists from around the world and learn about other cultures from around the world,” she told the USF students.

--This article written by Vickie Chachere of USF News along with contributions from Matthew Wright and Sharon Cooper of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership first appeared on UNF).   To read Teresa Greely’s blog Adventures at Sea, click here.

Ban Ki-moon marks World Oceans Day by Drawing Attention to "Terrible Toll" Mankind Having on Oceans, Seas

(HN, June 8, 2010) Marking the second World Oceans Day today, the UN Secretary General said humans activities - from over-fishing to piracy - are taking a "terrible toll" on the world's fragile marine ecosystems.The sea lion and her pup, off the BC coast, are becoming more vulnerable to human activities. Credit: Michael Bociurkiw

Said Ban Ki-moon: "Human activities are taking a terrible toll on the world’s oceans and seas. Vulnerable marine ecosystems, such as corals, and important fisheries are being damaged by over-exploitation, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, destructive fishing practices, invasive alien species and marine pollution, especially from land-based sources.  Increased sea temperatures, sea-level rise and ocean acidification caused by climate change pose a further threat to marine life, coastal and island communities and national economies.

"Oceans are also affected by criminal activity.  Piracy and armed robbery against ships threaten the lives of seafarers and the safety of international shipping, which transports 90 per cent of the world’s goods.  Smuggling of illegal drugs and the trafficking of persons by sea are further examples of how criminal activities threaten lives and the peace and security of the oceans."

The idea for World Oceans Day stemmed form the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and the United Nations General Assembly had subsequently decided that that day would be celebrated every 8 June, starting in 2009. This year’s theme is “Our Oceans: Opportunities and Challenges”.

The oceans are essential to food security and the health and survival of all life, power our climate and are a critical part of the biosphere. They cover 71% of the Earth's surface and contain 97% of the planet's water. The official designation of World Oceans Day is an opportunity to raise global awareness of the current challenges faced by the international community in connection with the oceans.

This year's commemorations have taken special significance in the wake of the horrific oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Bill Mott, director of The Ocean Project, a network of 1,200 organizations worldwide working to help promote World Oceans Day and to communicate with the public about conservation issues, said of the BP oil spill. "I think this is going to create a whole new generation of people who are much more aware of how we are all connected to the ocean in so many ways," he told MSNBC.com.

The Secretary General said one of the most long-standing and effective international instruments to protect the oceans and seas is the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

As part of the UN observance of the event, a roundtable discussion is being held at UN headquarters in New York and the city's legendary Empire State Building will be illuminated in white, blue and purple to signify the entirety of the oceans - from the shallows to the darker depths."

In Nairobi, the UN Environment Programme is commemorating World Oceans Day at its headquarters with the screening of Ωcéans, a film by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud film. The documentary is designed to raise awareness of the need to protect our oceans.