The latest marine news from around the globe, brought to you by UNEP/GRID-Arendal.http://www.engine21.com/collections?cid=2100109 The Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association for the first time sent its Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) on an under-ice mission at about 79° North. The four-metre-long, torpedo shaped underwater vehicle was deployed from the research icebreaker Polarstern under heavy pack ice. The vehicle was subsequently recovered by helicopter. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100729101611.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100729101611.htm 2010-07-30T00:00:00-00:00 ScienceDaily.com The world's oceans are host to an enormous diversity of drifting, microscopic organisms, known as plankton. How this biodiversity has arisen has puzzled biologists for decades. An international team of researchers has now succeeded in elucidating how new planktonic species are formed, providing an explanation for the large biodiversity seen today. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100729075013.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100729075013.htm 2010-07-30T00:00:00-00:00 ScienceDaily.com Soot from the burning of fossil fuels and solid biofuels contributes far more to global warming than has been thought, according to a new study. But, unlike carbon dioxide, soot lingers only a few weeks in the atmosphere, so cutting emissions could have a significant and rapid impact on the climate. Controlling it may be the only option for saving the Arctic sea ice before it all melts. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100728092617.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100728092617.htm 2010-07-29T00:00:00-00:00 ScienceDaily.com Scientists have mapped and analyzed global biodiversity patterns for over 11,000 marine species ranging from tiny zooplankton to sharks and whales. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100728131707.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100728131707.htm 2010-07-29T00:00:00-00:00 ScienceDaily.com A new article reveals for the first time that microscopic marine algae known as phytoplankton have been declining globally over the 20th century. Phytoplankton forms the basis of the marine food chain and sustains diverse assemblages of species ranging from tiny zooplankton to large marine mammals, seabirds, and fish. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100728131705.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100728131705.htm 2010-07-29T00:00:00-00:00 ScienceDaily.com A study published in the journal Nature finds a strong link between higher sea surface temperatures and a major decline in phytoplankton, which forms the base of the marine food chain. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/29/2967430.htm http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/29/2967430.htm 2010-07-29T00:00:00-00:00 ABC (Australia) Online The government's point man for the Gulf spill plans to meet with coastal parish officials Thursday to talk about what's next now that the oil has stopped flowing. http://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Gulf-cleanup-will-change-once-oil-stops-for-good-591869.php http://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Gulf-cleanup-will-change-once-oil-stops-for-good-591869.php 2010-07-29T00:00:00-00:00 timesunion.com Kenya: The government?s campaign to increase revenue sources in Coast Province has received a boost with the World Bank approving a new credit line to support the development of the region. http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/World%20Bank%20approves%20Sh28bn%20to%20stimulate%20activity%20at%20the%20Coast/-/539552/966584/-/gm0vr6/-/ http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/World%20Bank%20approves%20Sh28bn%20to%20stimulate%20activity%20at%20the%20Coast/-/539552/966584/-/gm0vr6/-/ 2010-07-29T00:00:00-00:00 businessdailyafrica.com African governments need to take control of their own maritime assets and create a co-ordinated policy framework to drive economic development as well as secure the marine environment, urges a new discussion document that has been drawn up by the Brenthurst Foundation. http://allafrica.com/stories/201007280178.html http://allafrica.com/stories/201007280178.html 2010-07-29T00:00:00-00:00 AllAfrica.com The gaudy white and reddish brown-striped lionfish are equipped with an array of flaring venomous spines like a lion's mane, hence their name. They are native to Indo-Pacific seas, but have been rapidly expanding in Caribbean and Atlantic waters, where they have few natural predators. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38455204/ns/us_news-environment/ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38455204/ns/us_news-environment/ 2010-07-29T00:00:00-00:00 MSNBC The oceans have become so depleted by over-fishing, pollution and climate change that they can only be saved by a large global network of reserves, according to a growing consensus among marine scientists. http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/07/26/marine.reserves/#fbid=PrINvDFPT8w http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/07/26/marine.reserves/#fbid=PrINvDFPT8w 2010-07-29T00:00:00-00:00 CNN Northern Maine and Nova Scotia share coastline along the Bay of Fundy, a piece of ocean with the strongest tides in the world. In order to harness the powerful forces of those tides, the leaders of Maine and Nova Scotia have formed a partnership to develop ocean energy technologies in the area. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/07/maine-and-nova-scotia-partner-on-ocean-energy http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/07/maine-and-nova-scotia-partner-on-ocean-energy 2010-07-29T00:00:00-00:00 RenewableEnergyWorld.com When samples were dragged up from the ocean to the deck of the Canadian Coast Guard ship Hudson in the past month, scientists found more than they bargained for. http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/article/589467--sea-finds-offer-clues-to-climate-change http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/article/589467--sea-finds-offer-clues-to-climate-change 2010-07-29T00:00:00-00:00 metronews.ca Iceland has told the European Union that its fishing grounds are not open to negotiation and must remain under the control of the Reykjavik Government. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/fishupdate/Yytu/~3/fkeygZoqiYQ/13939 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/fishupdate/Yytu/~3/fkeygZoqiYQ/13939 2010-07-29T00:00:00-00:00 fishupdate.com Tess Agro's yellowfin tuna and swordfish pass traceability audit making Friend of the Sea leading sustainable seafood label in Sri Lanka. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/fishupdate/Yytu/~3/Y3S3kmQC19c/13940 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/fishupdate/Yytu/~3/Y3S3kmQC19c/13940 2010-07-29T00:00:00-00:00 fishupdate.com A panel of politicians has voted to remove the Galapagos Islands from the UN's list of World Heritage Sites in danger - in spite of a firm recommendation from scientists and officials who visited the islands that they should keep their status. http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/266/f/3782/s/c618a29/l/0L0Sindependent0O0Cenvironment0Cnature0Cfears0Efor0Eunique0Ewildlife0Eof0Egalapagos0Eas0Eun0Edrops0Eislands0Eprotected0Estatus0E20A390A730Bhtml/story01.htm http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/266/f/3782/s/c618a29/l/0L0Sindependent0O0Cenvironment0Cnature0Cfears0Efor0Eunique0Ewildlife0Eof0Egalapagos0Eas0Eun0Edrops0Eislands0Eprotected0Estatus0E20A390A730Bhtml/story01.htm 2010-07-29T00:00:00-00:00 The Independent UK South West Regional Development Agency to support Ocean Power Technologies Ltd in development of larger version of Powerbuoy' device http://www.newenergyfocus.com/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=1&listcatid=32&listitemid=4220 http://www.newenergyfocus.com/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=1&listcatid=32&listitemid=4220 2010-07-29T00:00:00-00:00 NewEnergyFocus Welsh environment minister announces funding for feasibility study to develop 1.2MW DeltaStream technology http://www.newenergyfocus.com/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=1&listcatid=32&listitemid=4219 http://www.newenergyfocus.com/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=1&listcatid=32&listitemid=4219 2010-07-29T00:00:00-00:00 NewEnergyFocus Scientists in Southampton, UK, and Ulm and Karlsruhe in Germany have shown that a variant form of a fluorescent protein originally isolated from a reef coral has excellent properties as a marker protein for super-resolution microscopy in live cells. Their findings have been published online by Nature Methods and will appear in print in the upcoming August issue of that journal. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-07/nocs-ecp072710.php http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-07/nocs-ecp072710.php 2010-07-28T00:00:00-00:00 EurekAlert The University of Hawaii at Manoa's School of Ocean Earth Science and Technology completed a three-year long investigation of Sea Disposal Site Hawaii Number 5, a deep-water military munitions disposal site in US coastal waters approximately 5 miles south of Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii. This complex investigation required the use of high-resolution sidescan sonar and remotely operated underwater vehicles to locate sea disposed munitions in water as deep as 1,500 feet. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100727201524.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100727201524.htm 2010-07-28T00:00:00-00:00 ScienceDaily.com