May 11, 2020 By Larry Pynn Hakai Magazine
The ongoing recovery of the endangered Guadalupe fur seal is one of the feel-good nature stories of North America. Thought to have been driven extinct in the 1800s because of hunting for its fur, a remnant population survived. The species now numbers as many as 40,000—mainly off Baja Mexico and California. But jubilation over the recovery is tempered by the fact that fur seals are washing ashore dead or dying.
May 11, 2020 By Alex Davies Wired
Travel restrictions are blocking some marine workers from reaching their assigned ships. That’s forcing others on extended tours.
May 10, 2020 By Ben Taub The New Yorker
The submarine touched the silty bottom, and the pilot, a fifty-three-year-old Texan named Victor Vescovo, became the first living creature with blood and bones to reach the deepest point in the Tonga Trench. He was piloting the only submersible that can bring a human to that depth: his own.
May 8, 2020 By Jonathan Watts The Guardian
Sea-level rise is faster than previously believed and could exceed 1 metre by the end of the century unless global emissions are reduced, according to a survey of more than 100 specialists. Based on new knowledge of climate sensitivity and polar ice melt, the experts say coastal cities should prepare for an impact that will hit sooner than predicted by the United Nations and could reach as high as 5 metres by 2300.
May 8, 2020 By Mark Price Science X
A 10-foot tiger shark fitted with a satellite tracker has stunned researchers by proving the species is capable of crossing entire oceans.The nonprofit OCEARCH, which documented the trek, says the female shark named Sereia made a 4,000-mile transoceanic journey from Africa, across the Indian Ocean, to within 800 miles of Indonesia’s coast.