Tag - oceans

 
 

OCEANS

Passersby hold umbrellas as they walk under strong sunlight as the Japanese government issued heat stroke alerts in 39 of the country's 47 prefectures in Tokyo on July 22.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 12, 2024
Climate change forged a new reality in 2024: 'This is life now'
As the year draws to a close, the environmental conclusion is both blatant and bleak: 2024 was the hottest year since records began.
A grapnel, used to retrieve cables, on the deck of the Leon Thevenin in Cape Town on April 30. In a wireless world, it is easy to forget the all-too-real cables that snake across the turbulent ocean floor — until they snap.
WORLD
Dec 4, 2024
When undersea cables break, a wireless world’s vulnerability is exposed
Landslides, a ship dragging its anchor, military skirmishes and sabotage can all damage cables.
Japan's bluefin tuna catch quotas will increase from 2025, with the first increase ever for smaller ones.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2024
WCPFC decides to expand Japan's pacific bluefin tuna catch quotas
Japan's catch quota will increase to 8,421 metric tons from 5,614 metric tons for large bluefin tuna, rising for the first time in three years.
Trees in a forest in Nyanga, Gabon
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Dec 3, 2024
Scientists behind ‘net zero’ concept say nations are getting it wrong
Countries may be claiming carbon credits for work already being done by land and oceans — and the accounting mismatch has consequences.
Members of the German Navy operate a submarine drone onboard German mine hunter FGS Weilheim during a NATO exercise led by the Finnish Navy, in the Baltic Sea in Turku, Finland, on Nov. 20
WORLD / Politics
Dec 3, 2024
As sabotage allegations swirl, NATO struggles to secure the Baltic Sea
The defense alliance conducted one of northern Europe's largest naval exercises on Nov. 18 to step up its protection of critical infrastructure.
Debris from Hurricane Helene on a roadside as residents evacuate before the arrival of Hurricane Milton on Oct. 7 in St. Pete Beach, Florida.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Nov 30, 2024
Atlantic hurricane season ends, leaving scientists to ponder the future
The Atlantic spawned 11 hurricanes this season, above the annual average of seven. Also above average was the number of major hurricanes.
Environmental activists demonstrate in front of the convention center in Busan, South Korea, where delegates from around the world are seeking to reach a binding treaty against plastic waste.
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 29, 2024
Showdown looms on plastic treaty days before deadline
With just two days of talks left, countries seeking an ambitious treaty urged delegations that "have not moved a centimeter" to make compromises or "get out of the way."
A research team that includes government-backed research institute Riken and the University of Tokyo has developed a plastic material that can be dissolved in seawater in just a few hours.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2024
Riken and others develop plastic material that dissolves in seawater
Unlike earlier biodegradable plastics, the material is strong and easy to process and takes only hours to decompose.
Nylon is wrapped around fiber-optic cables at a SubCom factory in Newington, New Hampshire, in December 2018.
WORLD
Nov 21, 2024
Strategic subsea cables: the vulnerable links that enable our digital lives
Sweden and Finland have opened investigations into potential "sabotage" against cables damaged on Sunday and Monday in the Baltic Sea.
David Cooper (left), executive secretary of COP16, Colombian Environment Minister and COP16 President Susana Muhamad (center), and Astrid Schomaker, secretary of COP16, attend the closing session of the conference in Cali, Colombia, on Saturday.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Nov 3, 2024
U.N. talks on saving nature stumble on finance hurdle
COP16 was suspended after negotiations ran nearly 12 hours longer than planned and delegates started leaving.
The closing session of the United Nations' COP16 summit in Cali, Colombia, on Friday
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Nov 2, 2024
Talks on halting nature loss run into extra time in Colombia
A closing plenary session started more than four hours late as groups of negotiators huddled behind closed doors seeking to iron out their differences.
A 15,000-pound undersea cable for transportation to Brazil, at Dulles International Airport in Virginia on June 8, 2009.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 31, 2024
U.S. agency to launch review of undersea cables and national security risks
More than 400 subsea cables form the backbone of the internet, carrying more than 99% of the world’s data traffic.
Soldiers stand in formation in front of Chinese flags at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sept. 29. China's Ministry of State Security said on Tuesday it had uncovered devices that had been hidden on the ocean floor and were sending back information that could "pre-set the field for battle.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 29, 2024
China reports finding spying devices at sea
Beijing said the devices — it did not specify where they were found — act as underwater "lighthouses" that guide submarines, among other functions.
The addition of an area in Pacific waters east of Chichijima in the Ogasawara Islands saw Japan's continental shelf expanded by 120,000 square kilometers in July.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2024
Japan expands its continental shelf by 120,000 square kilometers
The expansion has sparked optimism for potential resource development.
Coral growing off Indonesia's Komodo island, located in the marine rich Coral Triangle
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 27, 2024
Report details fossil fuel threat to 'Amazon of the seas'
The Coral Triangle covers waters claimed by Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, the Philippines, Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands.
Participants in a protest call for the release of Paul Watson, founder of anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd, in Paris on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 24, 2024
Protesters in Paris demand release of Sea Shepherd founder
Japan has placed founder Paul Watson on an international wanted list on suspicion of obstructing the country's research whaling, demanding his extradition.
Limited to fall, "Saba Nouveau" is served with in-flight meals for first-class passengers of Japan Airlines domestic flights and sold at supermarkets in urban areas.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2024
Mackerel from Norway boosting presence in Japan
130,000 to 140,000 tons of Norwegian mackerel is consumed in Japan annually, including imports via China and Vietnam.
Each year, millions of tons of trash and other pollutants enter the world's oceans, creating scenes like this one in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2024
Multinationals must stop flow of ocean waste in Global South
The world's oceans are being suffocated by millions of tons of waste, especially in the Global South. The corporations responsible need to clean up their mess.
By windsurfing around the British Isles, Jonathan “Jono” Dunnett says he was rescued from disillusionment and depression.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 10, 2024
Jonathan Dunnett: ‘The ocean is far bigger than we are, and it will humble us.’
With his bright orange sail, windsurfer Jonathan Dunnett is pretty visible out on the water. This means he draws attention from other boaters and the odd shark.
A dolphin approaches a swimmer in the sea off the coast of the city of Fukui in 2022.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 8, 2024
Cases of dolphin attacks spike in Fukui Prefecture this summer
A total of 15 cases have been reported, compared with five last year, with victims sustaining injuries that require multiple stitches.

Longform

People in cities across Japan will pop into their local convenience store for any number of products they believe will help them with a night of drinking.
Hangover cures are everywhere in Japan — but do they work?