Breaking Waves: Ocean News

12/05/2024 - 00:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 05 December 2024; doi:10.1038/s44183-024-00080-8 More robust offshore wind energy planning through model ensembling
12/05/2024 - 00:00
npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 05 December 2024; doi:10.1038/s44183-024-00097-z Exploring trends and emerging topics in oceanography (1992–2021) using deep learning-based topic modeling and cluster analysis
12/04/2024 - 16:04
This blog is now closed Former senior bureaucrat Dennis Richardson to lead urgent review into agency tasked with $368bn Aukus contract Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Detectives investigating four separate incidents of children being approached by drivers in white vans in Melbourne Victoria police detectives are investigating four separate incidents in Melbourne in the last month of children being approached by drivers in white vans. People like Mr Rogan prey on people’s vulnerabilities: they prey on fear, they prey on anxiety, they prey on all of the elements that contribute to uncertainty in society. They entrepreneur fantasy outcomes and conspiracy outcomes as being a normal part of social narrative – I personally find it deeply repulsive. Continue reading...
12/04/2024 - 15:17
US says current climate rules are satisfactory, prompting condemnation from activists and vulnerable countries Climate justice campaigners have condemned the US after the world’s largest historic greenhouse gas emitter argued against countries being legally obliged to combat the climate crisis. The US intervention came on Wednesday as part of the historic climate hearing at the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague, where island nations and other climate-vulnerable countries are calling for wealthy polluting nations most responsible for climate breakdown to be held legally responsible. Continue reading...
12/04/2024 - 14:54
Coconut palms are king throughout the tropics, serving as the foundation for human lives and cultures across the Pacific Ocean for centuries. However, 200 years of planting by colonial interests transformed the palm from the revered 'Tree of Life' to a cash crop monoculture grown on Pacific atolls for a singular purpose -- production of coconut oil (copra) for export around the world.
12/04/2024 - 14:51
A research team has investigated the importance of limestone quarries for wild bee conservation. Diverse landscapes with good connectivity between quarries and calcareous grasslands proved to be particularly valuable. Calcareous grasslands -- meaning grasslands on chalk or limestone soils -- are exceptionally rich in plant and animal species, making them valuable ecosystems. Quarries with a lot of shrub encroachment, on the other hand, had a lower species diversity. Endangered bee species were more common in large quarries.
12/04/2024 - 13:09
Mary Lawlor criticizes US’s failure to respond to concerns after Alex Connon and John Mark Rozendaal charges A leading UN human rights expert has expressed dismay after the US government failed to respond to questions about the criminal crackdown on peaceful climate protesters. Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders, on Tuesday published a letter sent to US authorities raising concerns about the potential violation of international human rights law after two climate activists, Alex Connon and John Mark Rozendaal, were charged with crimes that carried lengthy jail terms. Continue reading...
12/04/2024 - 11:00
AI program GenCast performed better than ENS forecast at predicting day-to-day weather and paths of hurricanes and cyclones For those who keep an eye on the elements, the outlook is bright: researchers have built an artificial intelligence-based weather forecast that makes faster and more accurate predictions than the best system available today. GenCast, an AI weather program from Google DeepMind, performed up to 20% better than the ENS forecast from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), widely regarded as the world leader. Continue reading...
12/04/2024 - 10:00
Native leaders ready for a fight as Trump calls ANWR, one of the last truly wild places on Earth, the US’s ‘biggest oil farm’ The Arctic national wildlife refuge (ANWR) is one of the earth’s last intact ecosystems. Vast and little-known, this 19m-acre expanse along Alaska’s north slope is home to some of the region’s last remaining polar bears, as well as musk oxen, wolves and wolverines. Millions of birds from around the world migrate to or through the region each year, and it serves as the calving grounds for the porcupine caribou. Donald Trump has called the refuge the US’s “biggest oil farm”. Continue reading...
12/04/2024 - 09:00
Testing found acute lead toxicosis as cause of death of two lorikeets, a honeyeater and three grey-headed flying foxes in Port Pirie Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Dozens of native birds and flying foxes have been killed by “acute” lead poisoning in the South Australian regional town of Port Pirie, with contamination fears in the town that is home to one of the world’s largest lead smelters. Earlier this year locals in the 17,600-person town raised the alarm when they began to find dead native birds and flying foxes in large numbers in parks and green spaces, with subsequent testing of several animals showing they died from acute lead poisoning. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...