Q GLOBAL NEWS CURRENTS


Study finds low ocean oxygen ‘suffocating’ marine life


surface waters making it difficult for oxygen to reach the ocean interior. As the ocean heats up, it is also less capable of holding oxygen. In coastal waters, nutrient pollution acts as a


fertilizer and promotes the excessive growth of algal blooms. The algae then drain oxygen from the surrounding area as they die and subsequently decompose. The GO2NE scientists suggest that the


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The number of open ocean ‘dead zones’ — in which oxygen levels are too low to support marine life — has quadrupled in the past 50 years. And the only way to stop this phenomenon, according to a paper recently published in the journal Science, is to curb climate change and nutrient pollution. The study comes from a team of researchers at the Global Ocean Oxygen Network (GO2NE), a working group created in 2016 by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. Their results also


show that low-oxygen sites have increased more than 10-fold in coastal water bodies, including seas and estuaries, since 1950. In these so-called dead zones, oxygen concentrations fall so significantly that marine animals suffocate. As fish come to avoid these locations, their habitats shrink and they become increasingly vulnerable to predation and fishing. Even small oxygen reductions can result in stunted growth and disease in wildlife. Climate change is the key contributing factor to oxygen loss in the open ocean, with warmer


issue of low oxygen can be solved using a three-pronged approach. As low oxygen becomes inevitable, vulnerable marine life must be protected and oxygen monitoring enhanced worldwide. Most importantly, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions must be addressed. “This is a problem we can solve,” says


Denise Breitburg, the study’s lead author and marine ecologist with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. “Halting climate change requires a global effort, but even local actions can help with nutrient-driven oxygen decline.” As proof, Breitburg highlights the recovery


of the Chesapeake Bay on the East Coast of the United States, where better sewage treatment, improved farming practices, and successful environmental legislation have led to a 24% reduction in nitrogen pollution.


US exploration firm deploys vessel in new search for missing aircraft MH370


Ocean Infinity, a Texas-based seabed exploration company, has moved a vessel into place to resume the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. The plane disappeared in


March 2014 while flying to Beijing from Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport. There were a total of 12 crew members and 227 passengers from 15 countries on


board the Boeing 777 aircraft when it fell off radar less than an hour after take off. The search that followed was


the most expensive in aviation history and involved ships and aircraft from nine different nations. The Australian-led effort was officially suspended in January of last year following a search of a 46,000 square mile area. Ocean


Infinity entered into a “no find, no fee” search agreement with the Malaysian government in October. “With a relatively narrow


weather window, we are moving the vessel, Seabed Constructor, towards the vicinity of the possible search zone. This is designed to save time should the contract award be forthcoming, as hoped,” said an Ocean Infinity


spokesperson in early January. Seabed Constructor is owned


by the Norwegian surveying firm Swire Seabed and is being leased to Ocean Infinity. The vessel will deploy eight autonomous underwater vehicles – known as HUGINs – to collect data from the deep ocean. Reuters shipping data showed


that Seabed Constructor left Durban, South Africa on 2 January. The vessel is bound for a new search area off the coast of Perth, Australia.


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