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pacific ocean
World's Largest Coral Found in Pacific, Unharmed by Planetary Heating
"While the nearby shallow reefs were degraded due to warmer seas, witnessing this large healthy coral oasis in slightly deeper waters is a beacon of hope."
Nov 14, 2024
Scientists announced on Thursday their discovery of the largest coral ever documented off the coast of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific Ocean and celebrated the fact that the massive underwater ecosystem appears to be unharmed by planetary heating—but said the discovery underscores the need to urgently protect marine environments.
Scientists and filmmakers from National Geographic's Pristine Seas research program, which aims to push governments to protect the oceans, visited a remote site near the Solomon Islands in mid-October, and initially thought the large object just below the ocean's surface was part of a shipwreck.
Cinematographer Manu San Félix dove into the water to examine the object and found that it was actually a huge network of coral polyps.
The coral was found to be 34 meters (111 feet) wide and more than five meters (16 feet) high—larger than a blue whale and big enough to be viewed from space.
The mega coral, or pavona clavus, is thought to be about 300 years old, and scientists said it could provide insight into historical conditions in the world's oceans.
"Protecting the reef cannot make the water cooler, cannot prevent the warming of the ocean. We need to fix that, we need to reduce carbon emissions."
Enric Sala of the Pristine Seas project compared the discovery to "a big patch of old growth forest," telling New Scientist that the coral, which is not showing signs of the bleaching observed in a growing number of reefs around the world, is providing shelter and sustenance to fish, shrimp, worms, and crabs.
"Large adult coral colonies like this contribute significantly to the recovery of coral reef ecosystems due to their high reproductive potential," Eric Brown, a coral scientist toldEuronews. "While the nearby shallow reefs were degraded due to warmer seas, witnessing this large healthy coral oasis in slightly deeper waters is a beacon of hope."
But Sala told Euronews that the coral is not necessarily "safe from global warming and other human threats."
Record-breaking ocean temperatures have caused coral bleaching events across the planet over the past two years, impacting biodiversity in the world's oceans as well as increasing the risk of sea-level rise and impacting tourism industries in coastal areas.
Sala said the discovery should push governments to protect more of the world's oceans. About 8.4% of the Earth's ocean is under a marine protected area (MPA) designation, and the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction treaty was finalized in 2023, pledging to protect the biodiversity of the oceans.
Establishing more MPAs alongside climate action, Sala said, will help shield coral like the one found near the Solomon Islands from pollution and the effects of planetary heating.
"Protecting the reef cannot make the water cooler, cannot prevent the warming of the ocean," Sala told New Scientist. "We need to fix that, we need to reduce carbon emissions. But MPAs can help us buy time by making the reefs more resilient."
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Migrant Drownings in Pacific Soared 3,200% After Trump Raised Border Wall: Study
The Trump administration nearly doubled the height of the border barrier as part of its "zero tolerance" immigration agenda.
Mar 08, 2024
The number of migrants drowning in the Pacific Ocean while attempting to enter the United States from Tijuana, Mexico skyrocketed by 3,200% after the Trump administration dramatically increased the height of the border barrier extending into the southern California sea, a study published Thursday revealed.
The study—published in JAMA, the American Medical Association's journal—found that 33 people drowned while trying to swim across the southern border between 2020-23, compared with just one death in the previous four years. Researchers tied the soaring fatalities to the Trump administration's decision to raise the height of the border wall from 17 feet to 30 feet as part of its "zero tolerance" immigration agenda.
"This height change has been associated with an increased rate of severe injuries seen by trauma surgery departments in San Diego, California," the paper notes.
The study also reported an increase in fatal accidents and a 400% spike in serious injuries caused by migrants falling from the wall.
Study co-author Anna Lussier, a student at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, told the Times of San Diego that the idea for the paper came amid a dearth of data on migrant drownings in the Pacific.
"Lifeguards showed us a presentation on migrant rescues they were performing because of potential human smuggling," she explained. "Their stories weren't showing up in the news, and the numbers struck me as odd."
Study co-author Peter Lindholm, a professor-in-residence at the UCSD School of Medicine, said he and Lussier are conducting further research to determine exactly how migrants drowned.
"Drowning is the endpoint of death in the water, but we're trying to determine the actual cause of death: Hypothermia? Hypoxia? Swimming-induced pulmonary edema?" he told the Times of San Diego.
The study also found that migrant drownings in the Rio Grande decreased from 97 in 2016-19 to 96 in the following four years.
Higher walls and other barriers including the razor-wrapped buoys installed by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in the Rio Grande have not deterred migrants from attempting the perilous border crossing. Unlawful crossings of the southern frontier have shot up in recent years.
U.S. President Joe Biden—a Democrat facing a tough reelection campaign in which immigration is a key issue—has responded to the border surge with an unrequited willingness to work with Republicans and adopt some of their anti-migrant policies to stem the flow.
Last year, the Biden administration waived more than two dozen environmental laws in order fast-track construction on Texas sections of the border wall championed by former President Donald Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee.
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Locals Alarmed as Japan Plans to Discharge Water From Fukushima Nuclear Plant This Week
"Nothing about the water release is beneficial to us," said a Japanese fisherman who lost his brother in the 2011 tsunami. "There is no advantage for us. None. It's all detrimental."
Aug 22, 2023
Local fishers, Greenpeace, and others shared fresh concerns Tuesday as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear facility into the Pacific Ocean may start as soon as Thursday, more than a dozen years after an earthquake caused a tsunami that triggered reactor meltdowns.
Over the next three decades, Japan plans to discharge about 1.34 million gallons of water—or enough to fill over 500 Olympic swimming pools—into the ocean after using an advanced liquid processing system (ALPS) to remove most radionuclides.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company said Tuesday that "as the entity responsible for the safe and steady decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, TEPCO is strictly abiding by the government's decision and request, and shall quickly make preparations to commence discharge with the utmost vigilance in accordance with the implementation plan."
Greenpeace Japan project manager Hisayo Takada declared that "we are deeply disappointed and outraged by the Japanese government's announcement," and stressed that the discharge decision has been made "despite concerns raised by fishermen, citizens, Fukushima residents, and the international community, especially in the Pacific region and neighboring countries."
Haruo Ono, a 71-year-old fisherman from Shinchimachi who lost his brother in the 2011 tsunami, toldAgence France-Presse: "Nothing about the water release is beneficial to us. There is no advantage for us. None. It's all detrimental."
"Fishermen are 100% against," Ono continued. "The sea is where we work. We make a living off of the sea, we're at the mercy of the sea. So if we don't protect the sea, who would?"
Takashi Nakajima, a 67-year-old who runs a supermarket in Sōma, Fukushima Prefecture that sells local seafood, said of the discharge plan, "It's like a scheme to release the water before public opposition can flare up."
Recalling when customers refused to sample local octopus in 2012, just after trial fishing began near the site of the nuclear disaster, Nakajima told Kyodo News, "Catch from the area won't sell, it will be a repeat of before."
As The Japan Times reported:
Tuesday's decision follows Kishida's meeting with the head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, or Zengyoren, at the prime minister's Office on Monday in an attempt to gain the association's approval for the plan.
Zengyoren Chairman Masanobu Sakamoto confirmed the group's continued opposition to the plan, although he added that the proposal had obtained a certain degree of understanding within the fishing industry.
Japan's prime minister vowed Tuesday that "the government will take responsibility to deal with negative publicity and concerns among fishermen about whether their livelihoods can continue as before, even if the process takes decades until the discharge of the treated water is completed."
"We have taken every step to ensure a safety net is in place," said Kishida, whose government has allocated about 80 billion yen ($548 million) to aid local fishers and mitigate negative attention. "I want the relevant ministries to continue implementing measures while staying on the side of the fishermen."
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gave the plan a green light last month, after concluding that TEPCO "has demonstrated its capabilities for accurate and precise measurements of the radionuclides" in the plant's water, and "the approach and activities to the discharge of ALPS treated water taken by Japan are consistent with relevant international safety standards."
The United Nations nuclear watchdog said Tuesday that Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi "has committed to the IAEA continuing its impartial, independent, and objective safety review during the discharge phase," so the agency "will maintain an onsite presence at Fukushima Daiichi" and "publish available data for use by the global community."
The release plan has long generated global criticism, including from the Chinese government. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Wenbin, decried Japan's approach as "an extremely selfish and irresponsible act."
"China strongly insists that Japan should rectify this wrong decision and abandon its plan to discharge radioactive water into the sea," the diplomat added. "The Chinese side will take all necessary measures to protect marine ecology, safeguard food safety, and public health."
According toThe Associated Press:
In Seoul, Park Ku-yeon, first vice minister of South Korea's Office for Government Policy Coordination, told a briefing that officials confirmed Japan would discharge the wastewater in line with its initial plan.
If it does not stick to the plan, Park said, South Korea will request Japan to immediately stop the discharge which could threaten safety of South Koreans. Opposition lawmakers and activists protested vehemently, demanding Japan immediately scrap the plan.
Hong Kong and Macau announced that they are banning products from Fukushima and nine other prefectures in response to Tokyo's announcement Tuesday.
"The myth is being perpetuated that discharges are necessary for decommissioning. But the Japanese government itself admits that there is sufficient water storage space in Fukushima Daiichi," Greenpeace East Asia senior nuclear specialist Shaun Burnie noted Tuesday. "Long-term storage would expose the current government decommissioning roadmap as flawed, but that is exactly what needs to happen. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear station is still in crisis, posing unique and severe hazards, and there is no credible plan for its decommissioning."
"Instead of engaging in an honest debate about this reality, the Japanese government has opted for a false solution—decades of deliberate radioactive pollution of the marine environment—during a time when the world's oceans are already facing immense stress and pressures," added Burnie. "This is an outrage that violates the human rights of the people and communities of Fukushima, and other neighboring prefectures and the wider Asia-Pacific region."
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