#warmingoceans — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #warmingoceans, aggregated by home.social.
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NOT so harmless...
Excerpt: "Introducing #KareniaMikimotoi
"The species responsible for recent events in #SouthAustralia beaches, #KMikimotoi, causes harmful #algal blooms in #Asia, #Europe, #SouthAfrica and #SouthAmerica, as well as #Australia and #NewZealand. These blooms all caused fish deaths, and some also caused #breathing difficulties among local #beachgoers.
"The most drastic of these K. mikimotoi blooms have occurred in China over the past two decades. In 2012, more than 300 square kilometres of abalone farms were affected, causing about A$525 million in lost production.
Explaining the toxic effects
"Microalgae can damage the gills of fish and shellfish, preventing them from breathing. This is the main cause of death. But some studies have also found damage to the gastrointestinal tracts and livers of fish.
"Tests using fish gill cells clearly show the dramatic toxic effect of K. mikimotoi. When the fish gill cells were exposed to intact K. mikimotoi cells, after 3.5 hours more than 80% of the fish cells had died.
"Fortunately, the toxin does not persist in the environment after the K. mikimotoi cells are dead. So once the bloom is over, the marine environment can recover relatively quickly.
"Its toxicity is partly due to the algae’s production of 'reactive oxygen species', reactive forms of oxygen molecules which can cause the deaths of cells in high doses. K. mikimotoi cells may also produce lipid (fat) molecules that cause some toxic effects.
"Finally, a very dense bloom of microalgae can sometimes reduce the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water column, which means there is less oxygen for other marine life.
"The human health effects are not very well known but probably relate to the reactive oxygen species being an irritant.
"K. mikimitoi cells can also produce 'mucilage', a type of thick, gluey substance made of complex sugars, which can accumulate #bacteria inside it. This can cause 'sea foam', which was evident on beaches last week.
"A question for many people is whether increasing water temperatures make blooms of K. mikimotoi more likely.
"Another concern is whether nutrient runoff from farms, cities and #aquaculture could cause more harmful algal blooms.
"Unfortunately, for Australia at least, the answer to these questions is we don’t know yet. While we know some harmful algal blooms do increase when nutrient runoff is higher, others actually prefer fewer nutrients or colder temperatures.
"We do know warmer water species seem to be moving further south along the Australian coastline, changing #phytoplankton species abundance and distribution.
"While some microalgal blooms can cause bioluminescence that is beautiful to watch, others such as K. mikimotoi can cause skin and respiratory irritations.
If you notice discoloured water, fish deaths or excessive sea foam along the coast or in an estuary, avoid fishing or swimming in the area and notify local primary industry or environmental authorities in your state."
#OceanHealth #Beaches Algae #SeaFoam #HABs #HarmfulAlgaeBlooms #KareniaMikimotoi #WarmingOceans #Radioactivity #NutrientRunoff #OceansAreLife #ROS #SkinIrritations #RespiratoryIrration #ReactiveOxygenSpecies #DeadZones
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NOT so harmless...
Excerpt: "Introducing #KareniaMikimotoi
"The species responsible for recent events in #SouthAustralia beaches, #KMikimotoi, causes harmful #algal blooms in #Asia, #Europe, #SouthAfrica and #SouthAmerica, as well as #Australia and #NewZealand. These blooms all caused fish deaths, and some also caused #breathing difficulties among local #beachgoers.
"The most drastic of these K. mikimotoi blooms have occurred in China over the past two decades. In 2012, more than 300 square kilometres of abalone farms were affected, causing about A$525 million in lost production.
Explaining the toxic effects
"Microalgae can damage the gills of fish and shellfish, preventing them from breathing. This is the main cause of death. But some studies have also found damage to the gastrointestinal tracts and livers of fish.
"Tests using fish gill cells clearly show the dramatic toxic effect of K. mikimotoi. When the fish gill cells were exposed to intact K. mikimotoi cells, after 3.5 hours more than 80% of the fish cells had died.
"Fortunately, the toxin does not persist in the environment after the K. mikimotoi cells are dead. So once the bloom is over, the marine environment can recover relatively quickly.
"Its toxicity is partly due to the algae’s production of 'reactive oxygen species', reactive forms of oxygen molecules which can cause the deaths of cells in high doses. K. mikimotoi cells may also produce lipid (fat) molecules that cause some toxic effects.
"Finally, a very dense bloom of microalgae can sometimes reduce the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water column, which means there is less oxygen for other marine life.
"The human health effects are not very well known but probably relate to the reactive oxygen species being an irritant.
"K. mikimitoi cells can also produce 'mucilage', a type of thick, gluey substance made of complex sugars, which can accumulate #bacteria inside it. This can cause 'sea foam', which was evident on beaches last week.
"A question for many people is whether increasing water temperatures make blooms of K. mikimotoi more likely.
"Another concern is whether nutrient runoff from farms, cities and #aquaculture could cause more harmful algal blooms.
"Unfortunately, for Australia at least, the answer to these questions is we don’t know yet. While we know some harmful algal blooms do increase when nutrient runoff is higher, others actually prefer fewer nutrients or colder temperatures.
"We do know warmer water species seem to be moving further south along the Australian coastline, changing #phytoplankton species abundance and distribution.
"While some microalgal blooms can cause bioluminescence that is beautiful to watch, others such as K. mikimotoi can cause skin and respiratory irritations.
If you notice discoloured water, fish deaths or excessive sea foam along the coast or in an estuary, avoid fishing or swimming in the area and notify local primary industry or environmental authorities in your state."
#OceanHealth #Beaches Algae #SeaFoam #HABs #HarmfulAlgaeBlooms #KareniaMikimotoi #WarmingOceans #Radioactivity #NutrientRunoff #OceansAreLife #ROS #SkinIrritations #RespiratoryIrration #ReactiveOxygenSpecies #DeadZones
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NOT so harmless...
Excerpt: "Introducing #KareniaMikimotoi
"The species responsible for recent events in #SouthAustralia beaches, #KMikimotoi, causes harmful #algal blooms in #Asia, #Europe, #SouthAfrica and #SouthAmerica, as well as #Australia and #NewZealand. These blooms all caused fish deaths, and some also caused #breathing difficulties among local #beachgoers.
"The most drastic of these K. mikimotoi blooms have occurred in China over the past two decades. In 2012, more than 300 square kilometres of abalone farms were affected, causing about A$525 million in lost production.
Explaining the toxic effects
"Microalgae can damage the gills of fish and shellfish, preventing them from breathing. This is the main cause of death. But some studies have also found damage to the gastrointestinal tracts and livers of fish.
"Tests using fish gill cells clearly show the dramatic toxic effect of K. mikimotoi. When the fish gill cells were exposed to intact K. mikimotoi cells, after 3.5 hours more than 80% of the fish cells had died.
"Fortunately, the toxin does not persist in the environment after the K. mikimotoi cells are dead. So once the bloom is over, the marine environment can recover relatively quickly.
"Its toxicity is partly due to the algae’s production of 'reactive oxygen species', reactive forms of oxygen molecules which can cause the deaths of cells in high doses. K. mikimotoi cells may also produce lipid (fat) molecules that cause some toxic effects.
"Finally, a very dense bloom of microalgae can sometimes reduce the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water column, which means there is less oxygen for other marine life.
"The human health effects are not very well known but probably relate to the reactive oxygen species being an irritant.
"K. mikimitoi cells can also produce 'mucilage', a type of thick, gluey substance made of complex sugars, which can accumulate #bacteria inside it. This can cause 'sea foam', which was evident on beaches last week.
"A question for many people is whether increasing water temperatures make blooms of K. mikimotoi more likely.
"Another concern is whether nutrient runoff from farms, cities and #aquaculture could cause more harmful algal blooms.
"Unfortunately, for Australia at least, the answer to these questions is we don’t know yet. While we know some harmful algal blooms do increase when nutrient runoff is higher, others actually prefer fewer nutrients or colder temperatures.
"We do know warmer water species seem to be moving further south along the Australian coastline, changing #phytoplankton species abundance and distribution.
"While some microalgal blooms can cause bioluminescence that is beautiful to watch, others such as K. mikimotoi can cause skin and respiratory irritations.
If you notice discoloured water, fish deaths or excessive sea foam along the coast or in an estuary, avoid fishing or swimming in the area and notify local primary industry or environmental authorities in your state."
#OceanHealth #Beaches Algae #SeaFoam #HABs #HarmfulAlgaeBlooms #KareniaMikimotoi #WarmingOceans #Radioactivity #NutrientRunoff #OceansAreLife #ROS #SkinIrritations #RespiratoryIrration #ReactiveOxygenSpecies #DeadZones
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NOT so harmless...
Excerpt: "Introducing #KareniaMikimotoi
"The species responsible for recent events in #SouthAustralia beaches, #KMikimotoi, causes harmful #algal blooms in #Asia, #Europe, #SouthAfrica and #SouthAmerica, as well as #Australia and #NewZealand. These blooms all caused fish deaths, and some also caused #breathing difficulties among local #beachgoers.
"The most drastic of these K. mikimotoi blooms have occurred in China over the past two decades. In 2012, more than 300 square kilometres of abalone farms were affected, causing about A$525 million in lost production.
Explaining the toxic effects
"Microalgae can damage the gills of fish and shellfish, preventing them from breathing. This is the main cause of death. But some studies have also found damage to the gastrointestinal tracts and livers of fish.
"Tests using fish gill cells clearly show the dramatic toxic effect of K. mikimotoi. When the fish gill cells were exposed to intact K. mikimotoi cells, after 3.5 hours more than 80% of the fish cells had died.
"Fortunately, the toxin does not persist in the environment after the K. mikimotoi cells are dead. So once the bloom is over, the marine environment can recover relatively quickly.
"Its toxicity is partly due to the algae’s production of 'reactive oxygen species', reactive forms of oxygen molecules which can cause the deaths of cells in high doses. K. mikimotoi cells may also produce lipid (fat) molecules that cause some toxic effects.
"Finally, a very dense bloom of microalgae can sometimes reduce the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water column, which means there is less oxygen for other marine life.
"The human health effects are not very well known but probably relate to the reactive oxygen species being an irritant.
"K. mikimitoi cells can also produce 'mucilage', a type of thick, gluey substance made of complex sugars, which can accumulate #bacteria inside it. This can cause 'sea foam', which was evident on beaches last week.
"A question for many people is whether increasing water temperatures make blooms of K. mikimotoi more likely.
"Another concern is whether nutrient runoff from farms, cities and #aquaculture could cause more harmful algal blooms.
"Unfortunately, for Australia at least, the answer to these questions is we don’t know yet. While we know some harmful algal blooms do increase when nutrient runoff is higher, others actually prefer fewer nutrients or colder temperatures.
"We do know warmer water species seem to be moving further south along the Australian coastline, changing #phytoplankton species abundance and distribution.
"While some microalgal blooms can cause bioluminescence that is beautiful to watch, others such as K. mikimotoi can cause skin and respiratory irritations.
If you notice discoloured water, fish deaths or excessive sea foam along the coast or in an estuary, avoid fishing or swimming in the area and notify local primary industry or environmental authorities in your state."
#OceanHealth #Beaches Algae #SeaFoam #HABs #HarmfulAlgaeBlooms #KareniaMikimotoi #WarmingOceans #Radioactivity #NutrientRunoff #OceansAreLife #ROS #SkinIrritations #RespiratoryIrration #ReactiveOxygenSpecies #DeadZones
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NOT so harmless...
Excerpt: "Introducing #KareniaMikimotoi
"The species responsible for recent events in #SouthAustralia beaches, #KMikimotoi, causes harmful #algal blooms in #Asia, #Europe, #SouthAfrica and #SouthAmerica, as well as #Australia and #NewZealand. These blooms all caused fish deaths, and some also caused #breathing difficulties among local #beachgoers.
"The most drastic of these K. mikimotoi blooms have occurred in China over the past two decades. In 2012, more than 300 square kilometres of abalone farms were affected, causing about A$525 million in lost production.
Explaining the toxic effects
"Microalgae can damage the gills of fish and shellfish, preventing them from breathing. This is the main cause of death. But some studies have also found damage to the gastrointestinal tracts and livers of fish.
"Tests using fish gill cells clearly show the dramatic toxic effect of K. mikimotoi. When the fish gill cells were exposed to intact K. mikimotoi cells, after 3.5 hours more than 80% of the fish cells had died.
"Fortunately, the toxin does not persist in the environment after the K. mikimotoi cells are dead. So once the bloom is over, the marine environment can recover relatively quickly.
"Its toxicity is partly due to the algae’s production of 'reactive oxygen species', reactive forms of oxygen molecules which can cause the deaths of cells in high doses. K. mikimotoi cells may also produce lipid (fat) molecules that cause some toxic effects.
"Finally, a very dense bloom of microalgae can sometimes reduce the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water column, which means there is less oxygen for other marine life.
"The human health effects are not very well known but probably relate to the reactive oxygen species being an irritant.
"K. mikimitoi cells can also produce 'mucilage', a type of thick, gluey substance made of complex sugars, which can accumulate #bacteria inside it. This can cause 'sea foam', which was evident on beaches last week.
"A question for many people is whether increasing water temperatures make blooms of K. mikimotoi more likely.
"Another concern is whether nutrient runoff from farms, cities and #aquaculture could cause more harmful algal blooms.
"Unfortunately, for Australia at least, the answer to these questions is we don’t know yet. While we know some harmful algal blooms do increase when nutrient runoff is higher, others actually prefer fewer nutrients or colder temperatures.
"We do know warmer water species seem to be moving further south along the Australian coastline, changing #phytoplankton species abundance and distribution.
"While some microalgal blooms can cause bioluminescence that is beautiful to watch, others such as K. mikimotoi can cause skin and respiratory irritations.
If you notice discoloured water, fish deaths or excessive sea foam along the coast or in an estuary, avoid fishing or swimming in the area and notify local primary industry or environmental authorities in your state."
#OceanHealth #Beaches Algae #SeaFoam #HABs #HarmfulAlgaeBlooms #KareniaMikimotoi #WarmingOceans #Radioactivity #NutrientRunoff #OceansAreLife #ROS #SkinIrritations #RespiratoryIrration #ReactiveOxygenSpecies #DeadZones
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Earth’s oceans just broke a heat record. The implications will be massive
By Anthony Edwards, Aug 23, 2026
"Earth’s oceans were warmer than any day in recorded history Friday due to a combination of long-term human-caused global warming and short-term effects of #ElNiño.
The average sea surface temperature of 21.1 degrees Celsius, or 70 degrees Fahrenheit, breaks the old record of 21.09 degrees Celsius set many times in early 2024 during the most recent El Niño.
" 'There is quite a big certainty that sea surface temperatures globally are now higher than even the last warm period before the last ice age,' #LeonSimons, a climate systems analyst and executive director of the #ClubOfRome Netherlands, said during a webinar Sunday.
"Measurements are based on data from satellites, buoys and ships between 60 degrees south and 60 degrees north latitude and analyzed by the Copernicus Climate Change Service. Daily measurements date back to 1979, though July sea surface temperatures were the warmest month globally since at least 1854."
Read more:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/climate/article/ocean-heat-record-el-nino-22400114.php#OceanHeat #ClimateChange #BigOilKnew #GlobalWarming #ClimateCrisis #WarmingOceans #WarmingSeas #HumanInducedClimateChange #BigOilAndGas #OceansAreLife #WaterIsLife
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Ocean surface temperatures hit record high as world enters 'uncharted territory,' scientists warn
by Chantal Da Silva
July 1, 2026"Temperatures on the #ocean surface hit a record high in June, European scientists warned Wednesday, fueling fears of more dangerous heat waves this summer and fanning concerns over the escalating global #ClimateCrisis.
"Two separate services under the European Union’s #CopernicusEarth observation program — the Copernicus #ClimateChange Service and the Copernicus Marine Service — announced they had both independently confirmed the record temperatures.
"Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Copernicus Climate Change Service, warned that the rising temperatures could mark the 'beginning of a new phase.'
" 'With OceanTemperatures at these levels and #ElNiño on the horizon, we are likely to see more temperature records fall in the coming months,' Buontempo said in a statement Wednesday. El Niño is a naturally occurring climate cycle that sees the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean become warmer than usual for months at a time.
"The world could be heading into 'uncharted territory,' Buontempo warned.
"According to Copernicus Climate Change Service and the Copernicus Marine Service, global ocean temperatures outside the polar regions hit record levels on June 21, surpassing levels for the time of the year observed in both 2023 and 2024.
"The Copernicus Climate Change Service said temperatures reached 20.86 degrees Celsius, or 69.54 degrees Fahrenheit, that day, climbing above the 20.83 degrees Celsius, or 69.49 degrees Fahrenheit observed in 2023 and 2024.
"The Copernicus Marine Service meanwhile recorded temperatures at 21 degrees Celsius, or 69.8 Fahrenheit, beating previous records from 2023 and 2024 by 0.1 degree Celsius.
" 'It’s consistent with what we’ve known for a long time — that the planet is warming because we’re emitting vast quantities of #GreenhouseGasses, primarily from #FossilFuel burning, into the atmosphere and that’s stifling the ability of the planet to lose its heat to space,' Richard Allan, a professor of climate science at the University of Reading in the U.K., said in a phone interview."
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/vKHY2#BigOilAndGas #MarineHeatWave #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ElNino #WarmingOceans #Heatwaves #Heatwave
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😢 A #MarineHeatWave caused seabird deaths off California. El Nino could worsen the die-off
‘We don’t know how bad this is going to get’
By JULIE WATSON
Updated 1:25 PM EDT, July 1, 2026SAN DIEGO (AP) — "Within minutes of walking on a #SanDiego beach, marine ornithologist Tammy Russell found the feathered carcasses — one after another.
Some were mixed in with washed up kelp. Others were under rocks."Each month, scientists and volunteers conduct surveys of dead #seabirds and find what Russell describes as a grim assessment of the impact of a massive marine HeatWave that has lingered for months off parts of the California coast.
"The surveys that have been carried out by various organizations for decades help build a baseline of information on beached sea life to detect threats and their impact.
"Many seabirds, including California #BrownPelicans, #loons and #grebes, starved to death in recent months as record-setting ocean temperatures decreased the band of cold, nutrient-rich surface water where #krill, #anchovies and #sardines thrive near the shore, said Russell, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
"We’ve been seeing #cormorants walk to shore and then just die within the hour. I mean one time it happened within 15 minutes, and I’ve never seen that before,” Russell said. 'That has been heartbreaking for me and we’re seeing this happening across the whole coast.'
"Scientists fear the die-off could worsen with the recently formed El Nino, the natural warming of parts of the central Pacific that alters weather worldwide and spikes global temperatures."
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/jsx3D#ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #PacificOcean #ElNino #WarmingOceans #OceanDieOff #Seabirds
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From #Arctic heat to #megafires, #WMO report shows climate change completely reshaping #Europe
By Andrei Ionescu, 6/2/2026
"In the far north, climate change is not some distant warning anymore. It is already reshaping the landscape.
"Across Alaska and Canada, Arctic and boreal regions are warming up to four times faster than the global average.
"That puts a huge amount of pressure on #ecosystems that have long helped slow climate change by pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and storing it in #trees, #shrubs, and #soil.
When forests stop helping"The trouble is, those ecosystems do not always stay helpful under stress.
"As wildfires grow more intense, drought becomes more common, and other disturbances spread, parts of the north may start giving #carbon back to the atmosphere instead of locking it away.
"Once that happens, the whole climate system becomes harder to stabilize.
"That is why scientists care so much about #biomass, the total amount of living plant material across these landscapes."
Read more:
https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-forests-could-be-hiding-a-major-climate-surprise/#BorealForests #ArcticForests #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #WarmingOceans #Heatwaves
#ArcticEcosystems #OceansAreLife -
#SeaIce loss in the #Arctic has triggered a critical #TippingPoint that's destroying the food chain
Story by Sascha Pare, June 8, 2026
"The Arctic Ocean has crossed a tipping point that is wreaking havoc on the region's food chain, with potentially dire consequences for commercial fishing and the ocean's capacity to soak up carbon, a new study reports.
"Scientists found that vast areas of melting sea ice in the Arctic are leading to a significant reduction in nitrate, a key nutrient that forms the base of the marine food web and thus underpins important regional fisheries. As the ice disappears, more light hits the water's surface, promoting the growth of microscopic, plant-like organisms called phytoplankton. When phytoplankton die, their cells sink to the seafloor and are decomposed by nitrate- and oxygen-consuming bacteria.
"The new study, published May 28 in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, found that the bacteria are consuming more nitrate than the Arctic ecosystem can withstand.
"This effect, known as 'denitrification,"' is irreversible under current climate conditions because we have passed a threshold where so much sunlight reaches the ocean that it's supercharging phytoplankton's productivity, said Marta Santos-García, a doctoral student of Arctic marine biogeochemistry at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the first author of the study.
" 'Even if sea ice were to increase temporarily, the Arctic nutrient system responds over much longer timescales,' Santos-García told Live Science in an email. 'Short-term increases in sea ice would be unlikely to rapidly reverse the decline in nitrate inventories, which may take much longer to recover.'
"Dropping nitrate levels may eventually come back to bite phytoplankton, because these tiny organisms need nitrate to carry out photosynthesis. As a result, the transition to a low-nitrate regime could accelerate #ClimateChange, as nitrate plays an essential role in the ocean's biological pump, which takes #CarbonDioxide from the atmosphere via photosynthesis and locks it away at depth when #phytoplankton and the animals that eat it die.
" 'With nutrients such as nitrate in limited supply this mechanism cannot work effectively,' Santos-García said.
"To understand ecosystem changes in the Arctic, the researchers analyzed two decades of data from the Fram Strait, a passage between Greenland and Svalbard, Norway, that is the main gateway through which Arctic waters flow into the Atlantic Ocean. They found a sharp decline in nitrate levels in this region after 2009, which coincided with a dramatic reduction in Arctic sea ice and a gradual shift in phytoplankton communities toward smaller species that can cope with low nutrient levels.
" 'Shifts towards smaller phytoplankton have already been observed in parts of the Arctic, although these changes have not previously been linked to nitrate losses,' Santos-García said. 'This matters because smaller phytoplankton are generally less efficient at transferring energy up the food web. More of the energy is recycled within microbial communities rather than being passed on to larger zooplankton, fish, seabirds, and marine mammals.'
"Phytoplankton sit at the very bottom of the marine food chain, so the impacts of nitrate depletion will ripple through the Arctic ecosystem, impacting species at the highest levels. This could also affect fisheries in regions that depend on Arctic nutrient exports, such as the North Atlantic. But pinpointing what will happen in ecosystems downstream of the Arctic Ocean requires more research, Santos-García said.
"For years, researchers thought the long-term impact of sea ice loss in the Arctic would be an increase in phytoplankton, because more organisms can bathe in sunlight and multiply when the sea ice extent is small. However, the increase in phytoplankton since 2009 has depleted nitrate levels enough to limit future phytoplankton growth.
"Whereas phytoplankton proliferation used to be limited by how much sunlight reached surface waters, it is now controlled by nitrate levels. Therefore, nitrate must be considered as a key driver of future changes in the Arctic, Santos-García said.
" 'As nitrate is the nutrient that limits Arctic productivity, understanding these changes is therefore important not only for Arctic communities and ecosystems, but also for improving projections of future climate change,' she said."
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/E1Dlw#ClimateChange #TippingPoint #GlobalWarming #WarmingOceans #ArcticEcosystems #SeaIce #OceansAreLife
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Ummmm, I'm thinking my days of wading in the ocean are over... "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water" -- tagline from Jaws2.
‘Only a matter of time’: Warming ocean water will make #FleshEatingBacteria that infected #CapeCod swimmer more common
By Sabrina Shankman Globe
August 15, 2025
"News that a Cape Cod swimmer contracted an infection from a bacteria that can cause a flesh-eating disease earlier this month has stunned many across #Massachusetts, but it was no surprise to David Hamer, an infectious disease expert at Boston University." 'It’s been sort of only a matter of time,' said Hamer, who helps lead work on #ClimateChange and emerging diseases at the university.
"The infection was caused by a #VibrioVulnificus — a bacteria that thrives in warm water and is more commonly found in areas like the Gulf Coast. Other bacteria in the Vibrio family, including those that cause cholera and acute gastroenteritis, similarly thrive in warm water.
"That’s where climate change comes in, making #NewEngland waters friendlier for the potentially deadly bacteria. 'With warmer water temperatures moving further north, it allows Vibrios to survive, during summer months in particular, at higher latitudes than it had previously,' said Hamer.
"And the water is warmer. Midsummer ocean temperatures were about 2.75 degrees warmer in the period from 2021 to 2025 than they were 20 years ago, according to data from an ocean temperature monitor in #WoodsHole, near where the swimmer contracted the virus."
Read more:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/15/science/flesh-eating-bacteria-cape-swimmer-climate/Archived version:
https://archive.ph/fYq6R#WarmingOceans #Vibrio #GlobalWarming #OceansAreLife #WaterIsLife #ClimateCrisis #ADayAtTheBeach?
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#Jellyfish Shut Four French #NuclearReactors as #HeatWave Builds
By Eamon Farhat
August 11, 2025" #ElectriciteDeFrance SA [#EDF] was forced to shut four #AtomicReactors after a swarm of jellyfish clogged up filter drums at its #Gravelines power plant.
"The 'massive and unforeseen' [um, not if you read my posts -- very much FORESEEN] presence of jellyfish in the filter drums of pumping stations closed four out of six reactors at Gravelines on the north coast of France, EDF said in a statement on Monday. Pumping stations for coastal #NuclearPlants usually draw in sea water for cooling, sometimes exposing them to marine life.
"A #MarineHeatWave is intensifying off the west coast of France, with unusually warm waters in the English Channel near Gravelines, data from #Copernicus Marine Service show. Jellyfish populations can 'bloom' at such times, and France has closed several beaches in recent weeks due to invasions of the eight-legged molluscs, according reports compiled by the beach information app Meduseo."
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/bahil#EuropeHeatWaves #France #Jellyfish #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #NuclearPowerNoThanks #NuclearWasteIsForever #NuclearPowerPlants #ExtremeHeat #RenewablesNow #RenewableEnergy #RethinkNotRestart
#LeNucléaireNonMerci #ClimateChange #WarmingOceans -
#Jellyfish Keep Attacking #NuclearPowerPlants
By Gabriel Geiger
November 2, 2021"Jellyfish are continuing to clog the cooling intake pipes of a nuclear power plant in Scotland, which has previously prompted a temporary shutdowns of the plant.
"The #TornessNuclearPowerPlant has reported concerns regarding jellyfish as far back as 2011, when it was forced to shut down for nearly a week—at an estimated cost of $1.5 million a day—because of the free-swimming marine animals.
"In a short comment to Motherboard, #EDFEnergy, which runs the Torness plant, said that 'jellyfish blooms are an occasional issue for our power stations,' but also said that media reports claiming the plant had recently been taken offline because of jellyfish are 'inaccurate.' '[There were] no emergency procedures this or last week related to jellyfish or otherwise,' a spokesperson said. [Um, did they previously work for #TEPCOLies?]
" 'Like many other seaside power plants, the Torness plant uses seawater to prevent overheating. While there are measures in place to prevent aquatic life from entering the intake pipes, according to the #BulletinOfTheAtomicScientists, they are no match for the sheer number of jellyfish that come during so-called 'jellyfish blooms.'
" 'Usually, screens prevent aquatic life and similar debris from being drawn into the power plants’ cooling system,' the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists wrote in a 2015 blog post. 'But when sufficiently large volumes of jellyfish or other aquatic life are pulled in, they block the screens, reducing the volume of water coming in and forcing the reactor to shut down.'
"While the case in Scotland has once again spotlighted concerns regarding the jellyfish and potential power plant shutdowns, these concerns are far from new. In 2008, a swarm of jellyfish shut down a nuclear power plant [#DiabloCanyon -- which had another incident in 2024] in #California, and three years later the same occurred at a plant in Japan [#Shimane]. In 2017, jellyfish clogged a power plant in Israel [#Hadera]."
Source:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/jellyfish-keep-attacking-nuclear-power-plants/#GlobalWarming #WarmingOceans
#ChangingOceans #OceansAreLife #OceanTemperatures #ClimateCrisis #Overfishing #NoDeepSeaMining #NoNewNukes #NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #Oskarshamn #Torness #RethinkNotRestart -
#Jellyfish are taking over the world – and #ClimateChange could be to blame
Jan 8, 2019
by Sean Fleming
Senior Writer, Forum Stories"For 500 million years, jellyfish have been part of the maritime #ecosystem, but now they’re poised to take over the earth.
"They have no brain, no eyes, no spine, not even blood, but they have a remarkable capacity to reproduce and can pack an impressive sting, both literally and figuratively.
"Most recently, vast numbers of bluebottle jellyfish were pushed ashore by unusually strong winds and spells of hot weather in #QueenslandAustralia, stinging thousands of people and forcing the closure of popular swimming spots. About 13,000 stings were recorded in the past week.
"In June last year, over the course of just one week, over 1,000 people were stung in Volusia County, #Florida, following a period of exceptionally prolific jellyfish blooms. The explosion in their numbers has been attributed to warming seas and even increased pollution; unlike many other marine creatures, jellyfish can cope with reduced oxygen levels.
Small but deadly – at least some of the time
"Typically, jellyfish range in size from 1cm to 40cm. But they can be significantly larger – the #LionsManeJellyfish, for example, can reach 1.8 metres wide, with tentacles over 15 metres long.
"For the most part, the sting of a jellyfish is more unpleasant than it is harmful. The pain comes from venom delivered via millions of microscopic barbs in the creatures’ tentacles. Most jellyfish stings will only have a localized effect on the victim – redness, swelling, and discomfort where the barbs make contact with the skin.
"Some, however, will prompt a systemic, whole body, reaction. These may take several hours to emerge and can include symptoms such as headaches, nausea and drowsiness.
"In rare cases, the sting can be fatal. This is true of the #BoxJellyfish, which is spreading into waters that had previously been too cool to support it; its venom causes a severe reaction that can cause death within minutes.
A force of destruction
"But these booming jellyfish populations are doing far more harm than ruining people’s trips to the beach. In fact, the scope of their disruption has extended far beyond the water’s edge.
"In 2011, both reactors at the #TornessNuclearPowerPlant in #Scotland were shut down after an invasion of jellyfish started blocking the cooling filters. Two years later, the jellyfish struck again – this time in #Sweden. They forced the closure of the #OskarshamnNuclearPowerPlant, which contains the world’s largest boiling-water reactor.
"The island of Luzon, home of the Phillippines’ capital Manilla, suffered a blackout in 1999 due to jellyfish, and in 2006 the #USSRonaldReagan, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was brought to a standstill by thousands of the little creatures. And while these events may stand out as exceptions, they are increasing in both scale and frequency.
"From sea-bed diamond mining in Namibia to salmon farming in Ireland, even jeopardising the sustainability of beluga caviar farming in the Caspian Sea, jellyfish are as destructive as they are abundant. And that abundance is being caused by a variety of factors, many of which are related to human activity.
Some like it hot
"Over the last hundred or so years, the average surface temperature of the world’s seas has risen by about 0.9°C. As the oceans get warmer, marine animals are able to spread into areas that had historically been too cold. Oxygen levels in the sea have fallen by around 2% over the last 50 years, due to rising temperatures and #pollution [including #NuclearOceanDumping, which reduces oxygen levels]
"Jellyfish can thrive in areas with lower oxygen levels, where other animals suffer. But there are other factors at work, too. Fishing has depleted the global stocks of some of the jellyfish’s natural predators – such as #tuna and #swordfish – and some they compete with for food – such as anchovies. With more food and fewer predators, some jellyfish populations can grow unchecked.
"In the #BlackSea, unchecked population growth is precisely what’s happened. #AnchovyFishing in the region had caused harm to the Black Sea’s ecosystem by the time stowaway jellyfish made the journey there from the eastern seaboard of the USA. Most likely transported in the ballast water of ships that made the crossing, 1982 saw the arrival of the warty comb jelly. By 1990, there were 900 million tons of them in the Black Sea.
"There are believed to be around 200 different species of jellyfish, not all of which can sting, and some are considered edible. This could offer one potential, and creative, approach toward dealing with an over-abundance of jellyfish – co-opting them onto our dinner plates." [That's one way to deal with invasive species -- eat them into extinction!]
Source:
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2019/01/how-an-explosion-of-jellyfish-is-wreaking-havoc/#GlobalWarming #WarmingOceans
#ChangingOceans #OceansAreLife #OceanTemperatures #ClimateCrisis #Overfishing #NoDeepSeaMining #NoNewNukes #NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #Oskarshamn #Torness -
Why the #GulfOfMaine Surface Ocean Waters are Warming Faster than Elsewhere
Posted on July 23, 2024Written by Rob Moir, Ph.D. No Comments
"None of us are strangers to the reports of the Gulf of Maine heating 97% faster than the world’s oceans. However, the actual reasons for this can be lost in the constant headlines about global warming and rising greenhouse gases. To explain this extraordinary phenomenon, let’s look closely at four factors: surface seawater temperatures, heat severity, air temperature, and rainfall, monthly for five years."
#WarmingOceans #ClimateCatastrophe #Climate #Maine #NewEngland #AlgalBloom #HABs #ToxicAlgae
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Half of all #eelgrass in #CascoBay has died within last four years, experts say
Eelgrass, according to Friends of Casco Bay, is home to juvenile lobster and fish. Without eelgrass, much of Maine's seafood economy loses its base, they said.
By Jack Molmud
March 29, 2023SOUTH PORTLAND, #Maine — According to a report from Friends of Casco Bay, 54 percent of all eelgrass meadows in Casco Bay have died off since 2018.
"This comes as the 2022 to 2023 winter saw water temps reach four degrees above average.
"'My first response was it's heartbreaking,' Will Everitt, the executive director of Friends of Casco Bay said. 'My second response was now is the time we have to do more than ever to protect the bay.'
"Everitt said eelgrass is dying due to a combination of consequences from the warm water.
"Warm water attracts more invasive #GreenCrabs, which cut the eelgrass and eat softshell crabs, he said. This disturbs the naturally-occurring species, he said.
"'When we have a really cold winter it can kill back the green crabs,' Everitt said.
"He added a warm winter won't kill as many green crabs, allowing them to reproduce and spawn more green crabs for summer and fall.
"'The loss of this is tragic and could have a huge impact on our coastal waters,' Everitt said.
"Everitt added the #WarmingOceans in Maine also result in more frequent #AlgaeBlooms, which prevent the eelgrass from accessing proper sunlight to grow.
"Fewer eelgrass meadows mean fewer lobsters in inshore waters, he added.
"'A number of critters in the bay depend on this... the warming waters are going to do a number on this if it continues,' Everitt said.
"If the situation continues to worsen, Everitt suggested experts would recommend planting eelgrass from more southern states so that subspecies can handle the warmer temperatures Maine is set to experience."
#FriendsOfCascoBay #SaltMarshes #SaveTheWetlands #EelGrass #SaveTheWetlands
#SaveTheMarshes #ProtectNature #NewEngland #GulfOfMaine