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International stakeholders sound out about ocean noise

It was once a popular belief that the ocean was “the silent realm.” This was largely due to the fact that humans are poorly adapted to hearing underwater, and marine animals don’t appear to have “ears” that look anything like the ears of terrestrial animals. We are now finding that the ocean is anything else but silent. In the dark depths of the sea animals have evolved a panoply of adaptations to underwater sound. Some animals use high frequency “bio-sonar” to “see” their surroundings, others use acoustically-generated ‘particle motion’ to sense the proximity of prey and predators; some use long wavelength sounds to navigate over long distances, others chorus with conspecifics like crickets do to keep tabs on their “acoustic communities.”…

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Fracking, Gas and Coal Projects to Push Great Barrier Reef’s Sea Turtles Closer to the Brink of Extinction

Turtle Island Restoration Network (TIRN) and The Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) are warning that the massive fracking gas, coal and other industrial projects planned for Australia’s Great Barrier Reef will push globally significant species of turtles closer to the brink of extinction.
The industrialization of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area will destroy and degrade critical nesting, feeding or migration habitat for six marine turtle species of international value.
“The Great Barrier Reef is home to some of the most amazing and vulnerable sea turtle species in the world who rely on a healthy reef for their future,” said Teri Shore, program director for Turtle Island Restoration Network, which has taken legal action over U.S. funding of massive Liquefied Natural Gas facilities in sea turtle habitat. 

…

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A Few Words from Google Earth founder John Hanke on Sylvia Earle

“I first met Sylvia in Spain when she publicly goaded me at a press conference for not giving the ocean fair treatment in Google Earth. From the moment I met her I was inspired by her conviction and energy. I have met very few people who can compare to Sylvia in terms of her velocity of work, travel, and speaking. She can move from an underwater dive to an international red-eye to a stage on the other side of the world in front of thousands of people without batting an eye. In fact she does this dozens of times per year. And she’s always perfectly composed and passionately articulate about saving the world’s oceans from environmental destruction. She’s remarkable and is truly one of my heroes.”…

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Stakeholders Gather in Panama to Discuss Protections for the Central American Dome

By Lance Morgan, Marine Conservation Institute for Mission Blue
Originally published at National Geographic Ocean Watch
Last week an alliance of conservation organizations took a big step forward towards protecting the Central American Dome. Also referred to as the Costa Rica Dome, this highly productive region of the eastern tropical Pacific is home to abundant marine life including critically endangered leatherback sea turtles and blue whales.
The term Dome refers to an oceanographic feature that results from cold, deep ocean water rising near the surface. The water itself doesn’t dome, but a cold water band shaped like a dome comes up from the bottom. As this nutrient rich water enters depths where sunlight can penetrate it unleashes enormous plankton blooms, fueling the entire ecosystem. …

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DOER’s Sub-Ice Rover Tested in Tahoe

It almost feels like science fiction: a 28-foot long, 2,200-pound robotic submarine that can fit through a 30-inch ice borehole. But observers in Tahoe this past week can attest to the realness — and world-class engineering — of the Sub-Ice Rover (SIR) created by DOER Marine of Alameda for North Illinois University. The craft is designed to explore the ocean underneath the half mile of frozen water known as the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. To clear the borehole, SIR is designed to collapse to a diameter less than 30 inches. 

Once beneath the ice, SIR expands and produces an array of high tech sensors and cameras which blast terabytes of data up the 2-mile cable to the control center. These instruments will ultimately seek to collect data about ice melt beneath the Ross Ice Shelf to better understand conditions at the interface between seawater and the base of the glacial ice, as well as investigate the sea floor and layers of sediment beneath. …

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Bremerhaven Didn’t Go Our Way, But Hope is Alive

What a shame that proposals at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) meeting in Bremerhaven for the two largest ocean sanctuaries in the world in the Antarctic Ocean were blocked by the Russian delegation. Instead of losing hope, let’s redouble our efforts and fortify the belief that we can protect these pristine waters for future generations. Our next big opportunity to apply positive pressure to the fate of the Antarctic will be in Hobart this October. Let’s pounce on the opportunity.
We at Mission Blue were blown away by the energy and dedication of the Antarctic Ocean Alliance (AOA) in their campaign to influence CCAMLR to create this important Marine Protected Area — Hope Spot — to build a healthy Antarctic Ocean for the future.…

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BRINK: It’s About Love

By Wallace J. Nichols, LivBlue.org
Feature Photo: Troy Mayne, OceanicImagery
The producer of the new Weather Channel series called BRINK asked about our team’s work over the past three decades to save Pacific sea turtles. 
I told him that it’s about love. Love for animals, special places, and people. That’s what makes the difference.
 
He listened, and nodded. In that New Yorker sort of way (as a native New Yorker, I can say that). But I could tell he knew exactly what I meant.
 
I guess it’s no surprise that they named their sea turtle episode “It’s About Love”.
 
Have a look, and check out the other 3 minute films about fellow scientists and advocates who love big cats, rhinos, bears, dolphins and seals.
 

Warning: Some of the footage in this short film dates back to nearly two decades ago when Lisa Landers joined us in Baja for a documentary she was making.…

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Will Antarctica Soon Become the Largest Marine Protected Area on Earth?

This month, CCAMLR, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, will meet in Bremerhaven, Germany to again debate whether or not to establish a large marine protected area in one of Mission Blue’s Hope Spots, the Ross Sea. The 25 participating nations will ultimately decide the fate of what has been called the most pristine ocean wilderness on earth. And it’s by no means a done-deal.
It’s critical that our voices continue to be heard loud and clear – all the way to Bremerhaven. One of the things you can do is to sign the petition from the Antarctic Ocean Alliance on this page, and also ask to receive their newsletter for updates so that you can continue to support each stage of the campaign.…

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Tweeting our way to #AntarcticOcean Protection!

The next few weeks represent a turning point for key marine ecosystems around Antarctica, including Mission Blue’s Ross Sea Hope Spot. You can play a part in this historic moment by simply tweeting! And today is the day to begin playing your part in the twitterstorm! 
Mission Blue partners at Greenpeace will project your #AntarcticOcean tweets on a wall outside the meeting, so that the world leaders from 24 countries plus the EU who are making these critical decisions will see your messages of support. What a great way for you to be heard!
Greenpeace has made it easy for us with a page of pre-written tweets to chose from here!  Use as they are, or customize your own!
So remember, tweet #antarcticocean for the next week!…

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On Assignment in Antarctica with Google Ocean

By Mission Blue Young Explorer, Yoland Bosiger
There’s no traffic, no factories, no fast food dispenser and no bright flashy movie theaters to tantalize and entertain. Here under the starry sky there is nothing but stillness – a crisp, clear environment, both clean and uncontaminated. Yet if you strain your ears hard enough you might just hear it. Far off in the distance a glacier is giving rise to new life – a freshly carved iceberg begins its journey adrift.  

Photo (c) Duncan Young

Antarctica is like no other place on this planet. It’s here that the driest desert and the coldest temperatures combine to produce an inhospitable landscape, a windswept frontier of untamed wilderness. Yet compared with Antarctica’s relative desolation, the southern ocean teems with life.…

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