Oceans advice to GCSE boards

We are the Blue Planet. The Oceans are the earth’s life-support system, producing most of our oxyg¬en and capturing more than two-thirds of carbon dioxide. The oceans drive climate and weather, regulate temperature, shape Earth chemistry, and hold 97% of the Earth’s water. Covering 71% of the surface of our planet, an estimated 97% of all life on earth is found under the ocean surface, and less than 5% of that area has ever been explored.

So as the oceans are so important, we’ve been through every GCSE specification for science and geography searching for the terms fish, marine, sea and ocean. They should be well represented. This is what we found out.

Top prize for a great section on the urgent issue of ocean acidification goes to the AQA Science team and their new Chemistry GCSE. Loving your work and hope that the rest of the exam boards follow suit. There’s also a nice reference to the issues of over-fishing, but no mention of marine case studies for species adaptation, mutualism, etc. It would also have been nice to connect in the chemistry of ocean acidification with some more on biological impacts say on zooplankton. (more…)

Breaking bread for peace

Pakistani American, Samina Sundas, knows the fears people have all over the world of the unknown. In her own life she has experienced hardships as Americans stopped going to her daycare business after 9/11, as she discusses in a Voice of America article. She believes that the fear those people have is the result of a lack of understanding between cultures that are much more similar than many realize.

Eight years ago Sundas started the organization American Muslim Voice in an attempt for people of all religions and cultures to learn about each other and eliminate that fear we have of the unknown. She bases her organization on the idea that we cannot “just remain me, mine and I. It is us. It is we. It is ours”. She brings people together as one community based on friendship and respect and often holds dinners at her house for people to come together and talk about their lives and cultural backgrounds.

Her journey has not been easy as people of all religions are hesitant to come together as one community. Yet those who have attended her events and dinner gatherings realize that she is a voice of  ”understanding and reconciliation”.

Samina Sundas and her organization is proof that, with face-to-face meeting and interaction, all people can live together in peace and friendship. She is a beam of light in the never ending struggle for understanding and harmony.

Satellite images contradict Times Atlas

An article published a few days ago by Richard Black of the BBC reveals a new controversy over the amount of sea ice present in Greenland. According the newly-published Times Atlas, Greenland has lost 15% of its former ice coverage in just 12 years. This figure has caused concern around the world as it suggests that the climate is warming at a rapid rate and resulting in negative consequences for the environment.

Yet scientists from the Scott Polar Research Institute claim that this figure is exaggerated.  The Scott Polar researchers do not deny that increased temperatures have resulted in loss of sea ice in Greenland, but they do have evidence that contradicts the estimated rapid speed of  melting as shown in the Times Atlas. This evidence comes from new satellite images that show ice coverage and glaciers where the Times Atlas depicted as ice free zones and new land.

The Scott Polar scientists are unsure how the mistake occurred, but they want to make sure that we are only informed with ‘concrete and correct evidence’.

Oceans reveal hidden energy

New studies and research have found interesting patterns in the way the oceans absorb and store energy.  As discussed in a  Science Daily article, even when the atmospheric and global climate conditions appear stable, our oceans are still experiencing great change.

Simulations performed by scientists, using the Community Climate System Model, found that continued emissions of greenhouse gasses caused by humans will result in a temperature increase of 1.4 degrees Celsius between 2000 and 2100. Yet, the more intriguing discovery of this experiment was that there were two 10 year periods of stability during which no obvious atmospheric climate changes occurred. During these ‘hiatus’ periods ocean waters, below 300 meters, warmed 18% to 19% more rapidly than during other times. Researchers attributed their findings to the idea that changing ocean circulations cause deep ocean waters to absorb heat more rapidly.  The results also correspond with patterns of La Nina events and the two occurrences are believed to be connected in some regions.

The article and experiments attempt to show that we cannot ignore the missing heat that the oceans absorb. As stated by NCAR researcher Kevin Trenberth, “The heat has not disappeared, and so it cannot be ignored.”

Loss of Arctic sea ice indicates change

Arctic sea ice hit a record minimum last week, measuring 4.24 million square kilometres. Even though we only have satellite records of sea ice levels since 1972, it is thought that this is the lowest in 8,000 years. We can see that Arctic sea ice is on a downward spiral as last years measure of 4.76 million square kilometres was the third lowest measurement. It becomes only fair to predict that next year we will see even lower results.

As discussed in Quirin Schiermeier’s article, this is very important evidence of the changes going on within our oceans. The loss of Arctic sea ice indicates climate change and scientists from the Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado believe that it may result in “a greater potential for late season ice-loss, caused by warm water melting ice from below or winds that push the ice together”.

Pakistan Expedition alumni – one year on…

I am Elliott Murray, one of the chosen few who was given the incredible opportunity to visit Pakistan late last year. This year, I traveled over 3 months, across 3 countries in Asia, Thailand – Cambodia and India. I should point out that this is the first solo traveling project I have ever done, it would be very fair to say that the Pakistan expedition was a great starting point that gave me the confidence and thirst to explore more of the world.

In Thailand I spent one week volunteering at a self sustainable environmental community, consisting of 12 or so people from around the world. A lifestyle I had never been close to, and being fed on a daily diet of deep fried and oven baked dinners back home, was indeed a shock. Still, an interesting experience that taught me about how an alternative group of people live their life. We then did one week solo travel of Thailand. Pakistan taught me that their is no generalisation that can be made about a whole country, or community, that is always true, and that to learn about these things intimately, one must explore for oneself.

We then flew to Cambodia where we had arranged some time working at an orphanage for disadvantaged children in a small, remote village. We taught English, and knew that even our limited expertise of teaching was doing a great amount of good amongst this small community. Before Pakistan I was cynical in that I always believed if we where to ever make a social change for good, it must be achieved en masse. I then learned how small intimate projects change a selected group’s minds for tomorrow, who may indeed themselves take it upon themselves to re-teach what has been taught, to 20 more, and hence the cycle continues.

Finally I arrived in India, where I traveled independently. What I loved most was exploring other people’s cultures – drinking tea (or chi) with the locals, speaking with them and telling them of all the places I’ve seen in their country, and just understanding what their culture consists of. Whilst traveling I did see many tourists who would keep to themselves, and not be as talkative with the locals, and stay rather in their own bubble (taking private taxi’s opposed to local buses, staying in hotels with a price that could only be for foreigners etc etc..) which is fine, and maybe I would too have been comfortable traveling that way a few years ago, but since Pakistan I yearn to explore countries intimately, and find out what it’s real side is like.

Visiting Pakistan taught me to realise a country is always more than a 10 word headline, and that before passing judgment with a personal opinion, you must embrace it personally. It was without a doubt a huge part of my life, that has shaped the way I look at our world.

Increase pH levels are cause of marine life extinction

It becomes clear through examining the history of past marine life extinctions that our oceans are once again headed towards a period of decline for various species. A study on past ocean extinctions, explained in Emily Shon’s article, concluded that past marine life extinctions were due to high levels of CO2 and low levels of oxygen. This is relevant to today’s oceans as there has been an  increase of CO2 in the oceans due to the release of fossil fuels and other sources into the atmosphere. Many species who produce calcium carbonate shells are unable to adapt to the quickly changing pH levels in the oceans. It is predicted that between 2030 and 2050 that we will see a decline in pteropods, an organism at the bottom of the food chain and so crucial to maintain its balance. With this being said, we need to look at our oceans’ histories in order to preserve them in the future.

North Pole renamed

Following some recent confusion surrounding whether various expeditions had reached a / the pole, an international tribunal was established to revise the naming conventions of the various poles. Digital Explorer has this sneak preview at some of their initial findings.

The tribunal has decided to focus on four points in the Arctic often called poles in Phase 1 of the Polar Taxonomy Initiative (PTI), namely: the Geographic North Pole, the Magnetic North Pole (current and 1996) and the North Pole of Inaccessibility. A wide consultation programme with both experts and members of the public has shaped the following proposals.

The Geographic North Pole (the point at the top of the globe) should be renamed the Pole of Public Speaking. We feel that this new name properly enforces the importance of this pole in the careers of many of our great adventurers.

The 1996 Magnetic North Pole (the point of focus of the magnetic field in the northern hemisphere in 1996) should be renamed the Pole of Convenience. We feel that this pole has been of great help to adventure racers, ‘ocean’ rowers and Top Gear presenters, and should be recognized as such.

The North Pole of Inaccessibility (the furthest point from land in the Arctic Ocean) should be renamed the Pole of Inconvenience. This new moniker reflects that this point lies a long way from anywhere with a warm bed and hot shower.

The Magnetic North Pole (the point of focus of the magnetic field in the northern hemisphere now) should be renamed the Pole of Perpetual Motion. Members of the panel are still searching for the pole, last seen somewhere near Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic, and heading for Siberia at about 55-60 kilometres a year.

The Tribunal hopes that this new naming convention will help to save confusion in the future. All feedback is gratefully received.

We must protect not only what we understand

Marine protection is immensely important. Human society depends on the seas and the life in them being healthy for the fishing industry and so much more.

We are only beginning to understand these links and so we must protect not only what we understand.

I commend this plan for striking a good balance and note the important fact that the government now has a legal duty to protect our seas.

Interesting comment thrown up by Richard Black’s article on the latest bid to extend the marine protected areas around the UK from less than 1% to about 20%.

100 potential Marine Conservation Zones have been mapped out around the UK and will be officially designated as such, or not, within a year or so.

There is much work to do – but it can, and will, be done.

There is much more to oceans than fish.

There must be value before there is momentum to ‘protect,’ yet as the concerned member of the public mentions above, ‘we must protect not only what we understand.’

This is the challenge! Get out and about and explore the oceans!

So much to learn about the oceans from sand

Rob Holman has collected over 860 sand samples from around the world. See the differences from St. Andrews to Samoa for yourself on the interactive map.