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☆ Billionaire investor Ray Dalio says deep-sea exploration is no riskier than driving a car if safety standards are met
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Joseph Wilkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Deep-sea expeditions are "very safe" as long as established safety protocols are followed, Ray Dalio said. "Diving in a classed submersible is no more risky than taking a commercial flight or driving in a car," he said. The billionaire investor is the founder of nonprofit initiative OceanX, which is currently planning explorations in Norway's fjords, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. But billionaire investor Ray Dalio, also the founder of the nonprofit ocean exploration initiative OceanX, has pushed back against the paranoia. As author of 'Principles', a guide to his management and investment philosophy, Dalio often weighs in on financial and economic matters.

Persons: Ray Dalio, —, Hamish Harding, Dalio, OceanX, Dalio's, Mark Dalio Organizations: Service, Bridgewater Associates, OceanGate, Stockton Rush, Bridgewater, Forbes Locations: British, Azores, India, China

☆ Last month was the planet’s hottest June on record by a huge margin
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The analysis from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service found that last month was the planet’s hottest June by a “substantial margin” above the previous record, which was set in 2019. The nine hottest Junes have all occurred in the last nine years, according to the agency – evidence the human-caused climate crisis is driving temperatures to unprecedented levels. This is exactly what global warming looks like.”Scientists have warned that these record temperatures bear the fingerprints of the climate crisis. Northwest Europe experienced record-breaking temperatures last, including the UK, which logged its hottest June on record, according to the UK Met Office. “The ocean warming is even more concerning because as the oceans warm, they expand, which means higher sea levels, larger storms surges and more flooding of coastal communities,” Marlon said.

Persons: Copernicus, ” Jennifer Marlon, “, Greenlee Beal, El Niño, ” Marlon, — Organizations: CNN, Southern, Yale School of Environment, Northwest, UK Met Office, Reuters, Climate, Atlantic Locations: Southern US, Mexico, El, Pacific, Northwest Europe, Canada, United States, Asia, Australia, Texas, Central America, Ireland, Baltic, Europe, Iceland, Russia, Turkey, Kosovo, Romania, Scandinavia, America, Horn of Africa, South America, Antarctica

☆ El Niño is here and the world must prepare for more extreme heat, UN weather agency warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The WMO said there was a 90% probability of El Niño continuing during the second half of 2023 at moderate strength. Along with increased ocean warming, El Niño events are usually associated with increased rainfall in parts of southern South America, the southern United States, the Horn of Africa and central Asia. In India, a major rice producing nation, El Niño can weaken the monsoon that brings the rainfall the country relies on to fill aquifers and grow crops. El Niño this year could also dent US economic growth, potentially impacting everything from food prices to winter clothing sales, a recent study found. The study attributed $5.7 trillion in global income losses to the 1997-98 El Niño and $4.1 trillion in losses to the 1982-83 El Niño.

Persons: El Niño, El, ”, Petteri Taalas, Niño, Chris Hewitt, “ Organizations: CNN, World Meteorological Organization, WMO, United Nations, El Locations: El, South America, United States, of Africa, Asia, Australia, Indonesia, Central America, Pacific, India, Paris, Europe, Americas

☆ ‘Ghost particle’ portrait of the Milky Way revealed
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —For the first time, astronomers have assembled a glowing portrait of the Milky Way galaxy using cosmic “ghost particles” detected by a telescope embedded in Antarctica’s ice. Over the years, astronomers have showcased stunning images of the Milky Way through electromagnetic radiation from visible light or radio waves. These tiny, high-energy cosmic particles are often referred to as ghostly because they are extremely vaporous and can pass through any kind of matter without changing. The IceCube detector is seen under a starry night sky, with the Milky Way appearing over low auroras in the background. Cosmic rays are mostly made up of protons or atomic nuclei that have been stripped from atoms, according to NASA.

Persons: “, ’ ”, Naoko Kurahashi Neilson, Amundsen, Scott, Kurahashi Neilson, Yuya Makino, Steve Sclafani, Mirco, IceCube, ”, Chad Finley, ” Sclafani, Victor Hess, ” Kurahashi Neilson Organizations: CNN, Drexel University, National Science, Pole, NSF, Germany’s TU Dortmund University, Stockholm University, NASA Locations: Antarctica, Germany’s

☆ Money Can Buy a Visit to Space or the Deep Sea, but It Can’t Guarantee Safety
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Christine Chung | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mountaineers have long climbed atop Mount Everest, and scientists in submersibles have descended into the Antarctic Ocean. In recent decades, travelers with deep pockets and little expertise have joined these explorers or even ventured further, paying to visit the bottom of the ocean or the edge of space, touching the literal bounds of Earth. But as the deaths of five people aboard the Titan submersible make evident, there are no clear safeguards in place when something goes wrong. It also raises questions about when risk is too great and dangers too immense for rescue. This all comes at a time when an increasing number of thrill seekers are undertaking risky — and riskier — adventures and expeditions.

Persons: ”, Anthony Berklich Organizations: Mountaineers, Titan, Citizen Locations: Everest, submersibles

☆ Who is on the missing Titanic sub?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Courtesy of Jannicke Mikkelsen/via REUTERS/File PhotoJune 20 (Reuters) - A five-person submersible vessel taking wealthy adventurers on a $250,000 trip to see the wreckage of the 1912 Titanic disaster 12,500 feet (3,800m) undersea is missing in the Atlantic off Canada. The British billionaire and chairman of aviation consultancy Action Aviation is among those missing, according to his stepson. The 77-year-old French explorer, whom media say is one of the five on board, is director of underwater research at a company that owns the rights to the Titanic wreck. The founder and CEO of the vessel's U.S.-based operating company OceanGate is also on the submersible, according to media reports. "It is an amazingly beautiful wreck," Rush told Britain's Sky news of the Titanic earlier this year.

Persons: Hamish Harding, Jannicke Mikkelsen, HAMISH HARDING, Harding, Buzz Aldrin, Aldrin, SHAHZADA DAWOOD, SULEMAN, Shahzada, PAUL, HENRI NARGEOLET, Rush, Britain's, OceanGate, Ariba Shahid, Kate Holton, Dominique Vidalon, Yousef Saba, Andrew Cawthorne, Christina Fincher, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Titanic, WHO, Action Aviation, Engro Corporation, SETI, French Navy, France Bleu, STOCKTON RUSH, Britain's Sky, Reuters, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Atlantic, Canada, British, Dubai, Newfoundland, fertilisers, California, Britain, U.S, Everett, Washington State, Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, Karachi, London, Paris

‘Living on top of each other’Mission Antarctica: Each year, the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust sends a crack team to run one of the world's most remote post offices. UK Antarctic Heritage Trust Shovel your way in: It was a tough start. UK Antarctic Heritage Trust Food reserves: Unsurprisingly, fresh food is in short supply, other than what comes their way via visiting cruise ships. UK Antarctic Heritage Trust Kitted out: Those sunglasses are crucial if you don't want to risk snow blindness. UK Antarctic Heritage Trust The post office at the end of the world Prev NextThe chosen candidates beat out odds of one in a thousand – but this is not a cozy posting.

Persons: They’d, Clare Ballantyne, it’s, Ballantyne, Lucy Bruzzone, Mairi Hilton, Natalie Corbett, Camilla Nichol, Nichol, “, ”, Vicky Inglis, ‘ Cheeriness, Cheeriness, They’ll, aren’t, Says Nichol Organizations: CNN, Britain’s Royal Navy, Port, Antarctic Heritage Trust, Base, Antarctic Heritage Trust Food, Antarctic Heritage, British Antarctic Survey, International Association of Antarctica Locations: there’s, Antarctica, Inglis, Montreal, Antarctic

☆ The future of medicine may lie in space
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Days after I got my first taste of working at a lab bench, a company set forth to prove scientific research can be successfully done in orbit without any humans present. Look upVarda Space Industries plans to use a small capsule, shown in the rendering above, to conduct pharmaceutical research in space. Varda Space industriesThe future of medicine may take flight in space. Unearthed in Ethiopia in 1974 and representing 40% of a skeleton, the remains revealed an early human relative who lived millions of years before Homo sapiens. Meanwhile, other, more recent fossil discoveries are shaking up what we know about early human migration.

Persons: Varda, Lucy, Dave Einsel, paleoanthropologist Dr, Ashleigh L.A, Wiseman, waddle, Frank Postberg, Jochen Brocks, —, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Logan Science Journalism, Marine Biological, Space Industries, Research, British Antarctic Survey, Sky, University of Cambridge, ATP, Freie Universität Berlin, Australian National University, CNN Space, Science Locations: Woods Hole , Massachusetts, California, Antarctica, Weddell, Ethiopia, Barney Creek, Northern Australia, Australia, New England

☆ Four alarming charts that show just how extreme the climate is right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Record high levels of carbon pollution in the atmosphere and record low levels of Antarctic ice. Several all-time heat records were also broken earlier this month in Siberia, as temperatures shot up above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In 2022, the world’s oceans broke heat records for the fourth year in a row. In late February, Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest extent since records began in the 1970s, at 691,000 square miles. The decline in sea ice also poses severe harm to the continent’s species, including penguins who rely on sea ice for feeding and hatching eggs.

Persons: Brian McNoldy, vZ9eKEs22b, we’re, ” Jennifer Marlon, “ We’ve, – we’ve, Ted Scambos, “ We’re, Phil Reid, El, Climatologist Maximiliano Herrera, “, El Niño, ” Herrera, ” Scambos, Reid, Scambos, there’s, Rick Spinrad, ” Organizations: CNN, University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Yale School of, University of Colorado -, National Weather Service, Australian, of Meteorology, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Atlantic, NOAA, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, Industrial Locations: University of Colorado - Boulder, Canada, United States, Siberia, Central America, Texas, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Asia, China, El, California, Pacific, San Diego

☆ Scientists discover duck-billed dinosaur roamed Chile 72 million years ago
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Scientists have dubbed the dinosaur Gonkoken nanoi and say it weighed up to a metric ton and could grow to 4 meters (13.12 feet) in length according to the study published in Science Advances. In 2013, an expedition led by the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH) discovered fragments of yellowish bones at the bottom of a hillside close to the major tourist destination Torres del Paine in Patagonia. "(The) Gonkoken nanoi is not an advanced duck-billed dinosaur, but rather an older transitional duck-billed lineage: an evolutionary link to advanced forms," said Alexander Vargas, another study author. "Gon" means similar or similar to and "koken" means wild duck or swan. Reporting by Fabian Andres Cambero; Writing by Alexander Villegas; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Torres del, Read, del, Jhonathan Alarcon, Alarcon, Alexander Vargas, Mario, Fabian Andres Cambero, Alexander Villegas, Sandra Maler Organizations: El valle del rio, Torres del Paine, Chilean Antarctic Institute, del Paine, Thomson Locations: Chilean, El valle del, Chinas, Torres, Magallanes, Antarctic, Chile, SANTIAGO, Patagonia

☆ The planet's coldest, saltiest ocean waters are heating up and shrinking, new report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Deep ocean water in the Antarctic is heating up and shrinking, with potentially far-reaching consequences for climate change and deep ocean ecosystems, according to a report. They also found that ocean waters deeper than 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) have warmed four times faster than the rest of the global ocean. They are a vital part of global ocean circulation, transporting human-caused carbon pollution into the deep ocean where it remains for centuries, said Silvano. If this deep circulation weakens, “less carbon can be absorbed by the deep ocean, limiting the ability of the ocean to mitigate global warming,” Silvano told CNN. This cold, dense water also has a vital role in supplying oxygen to deep ocean waters.

Persons: Povl, ” Alessandro Silvano, ” Silvano, ”, Holly Ayres, ” Ayres, Zhou Organizations: CNN, British Antarctic Survey, Weddell, University of Southampton, Reading University Locations: Weddell, Antarctica

☆ Australia to triple size of Macquarie Island Marine Park to protected area larger than Germany
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Australia plans to triple the size of an ecologically important marine park and close off an area larger than Germany to fishing and mining, the government announced Monday, protecting millions of vulnerable seabirds and animals. The remote Macquarie Island Marine Park, located off Australia’s southeastern coast between Tasmania and Antarctica in the Southern Ocean, is set to expand to 475,465 square kilometers (about 184,000 square miles). The wind-swept World Heritage-listed Macquarie Island and its surrounding waters is a site of outstanding geological and natural significance. The plan to expand the marine park was released in February and Monday’s announcement comes after two months of public consultations with more than 14,700 submissions that were 99% in support, according to the government. Darren Kindleysides, chief executive of the Australian Marine Conservation Society, said sanctuaries are vital for marine wildlife, healthy ocean ecosystems and sustainable commercial fisheries.

Persons: Tanya Plibersek, ”, Fiona Maxwell, “, Darren Kindleysides Organizations: CNN, Pew, Albanese Government, UNESCO, Heritage, Australian Marine Conservation Society Locations: Australia, Germany, Macquarie, Tasmania, Antarctica

☆ Opinion | The Ocean Is Looking More Menacing
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

What do you call the arrival of events that have been predicted but, when predicted, were described as distressing or even terrifying? But some news from ocean science may prove more surprising still — perhaps genuinely paradigm-shifting. This key part of the circulation of the Southern Ocean “looks headed towards collapse this century,” study coordinator Matthew England told Yale Environment 360. “And once collapsed, it would most likely stay collapsed until Antarctic melting stopped. At current projections that could be centuries away.”Then, last week, some of the same researchers confirmed that the process was already unfolding — in fact, that the Southern Ocean overturning circulation had already slowed by as much as 30 percent since the 1990s.

Persons: Matthew England, ”, Steve Rintoul, who’d Organizations: Yale Environment Locations: Pacific Northwest, Canada, El

☆ Comparing an orca's brain to a human's explains why killer whales are the ocean's ultimate apex predator
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Emily Swaim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Orcas also have very wrinkly brains, which enables them to think and process information quickly. Orca and human brains are very similarHuman brains and orca brains have similar regions that make both animals highly sociable, empathetic, and intelligent. Joel W. Rogers/Getty ImagesAn orca's brain is five times larger than a human's, but it has many of the same structures that ours do. In fact, the paralimbic system in orca brains has much more intricate folding and detail than human brains do. Now imagine an orca's brain which is five times larger and has way more wrinkles.

Persons: Orcas, —, They've, Joel W, Lori Marino, Serge Melesan, orcas, Gerard Soury, It's, Marino, South Africa —, Matthew Horwood Organizations: Service, Rogers, The, Sanctuary, Orca Network Locations: South Africa

☆ I lived and worked in Antarctica for 5 months without WiFi or running water. It didn't feel as remote as I expected.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Lucy Bruzzone is one of several women who spent the last five months working in Antarctica. Bruzzone found it surprisingly easy to adjust to life on the peninsula and said it didn't feel as remote as she expected. Historically, Antarctica has been an extremely male-dominated place; Port Lockroy didn't have its first female team member until 2001. The team spent five months in Antarctica through the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust. Between ship visits, we'd grab a quick lunch, restock the shop, cancel stamps on any postcards we'd received, and monitor the penguins on alternate days.

☆ 5 things you think you know about killer whales that are actually wrong
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But killer whales, or orcas, are actually members of the dolphin family. Killer whales aren't whalesKiller whales are not actually whales, but dolphins. The name "killer" whale isn't from killing humansOrcas are not called killer whales because they're whales that kill humans. Killer whales don't eat just anything that comes their wayContrary to popular belief, orcas are actually pretty picky eaters. Though killer whales may be misunderstood, you definitely shouldn't get a closer look at them.

☆ I lived and worked in Antarctica for 5 months without WiFi or running water. Here's what surprised me.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Lucy Bruzzone is one of several women who spent the last five months working in Antarctica. I've always been fascinated by ice and the polar regions and I'd been exploring opportunities to visit Antarctica for many years. At the same time, changes in Antarctica affect our lives at home, destabilizing systems we depend on for food, water, and security. Lucy Bruzzone spent five months in Antarctica. Work was more physical day-to-day, but I still spent a lot of time working at a laptop for someone in Antarctica!

☆ Ocean temperatures are off the charts right now, and scientists are alarmed
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Ocean surface heat is at record-breaking levels. Since La Niña ended in March, ocean temperatures seem to be on a rebound, scientists say. Worrying impacts of ocean warmingWhatever the reasons behind the increase in ocean heat, the impacts are potentially catastrophic if temperatures continue to head off the charts. For now, ocean surface temperatures have started to fall, even if they remain high for this time of year. As scientists continue to analyze the reasons for record ocean warming, they are clear records will continue to be smashed as the climate crisis intensifies.

☆ Fact Check-Ocean pulled to Earth by force of gravity
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The ocean is pulled down to Earth due to gravity, despite a viral post shared online falsely claiming that the planet’s oceans are held inside a “container,” with Antarctica forming the external ridge. The posts allude to flat earth conspiracies. OUR CONTAINER.”The ocean is pulled down to the irregular ellipsoid-shaped Earth due to gravity (here), however, and is not held together by containers on a flat surface. On Earth, per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “gravity pulls all objects ‘downward’ toward the center of the planet” (bit.ly/41XcxYq). The ocean is pulled to Earth due to gravity.

☆ World could face record temperatures in 2023 as El Nino returns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Issei KatoBRUSSELS, April 20 (Reuters) - The world could breach a new average temperature record in 2023 or 2024, fuelled by climate change and the anticipated return of the El Nino weather phenomenon, climate scientists say. During El Nino, winds blowing west along the equator slow down, and warm water is pushed east, creating warmer surface ocean temperatures. "El Nino is normally associated with record breaking temperatures at the global level. Climate models suggest a return to El Nino conditions in the late boreal summer, and the possibility of a strong El Nino developing towards the end of the year, Buontempo said. The world's hottest year on record so far was 2016, coinciding with a strong El Nino - although climate change has fuelled extreme temperatures even in years without the phenomenon.

☆ Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are melting rapidly and driving sea level rise, new satellite data finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The Earth’s ice sheets lost enough ice over the last 30 years to create an ice cube 12 miles high, according to new research. They found that ice sheet melting has increased six-fold over the past 30 years, as record levels of planet-heating pollution push up global temperatures. The worst year for ice sheet loss was 2019, the report found, when the ice sheets lost around 675 billion tons of ice. Ice sheet melting now accounts for a quarter of all sea level rise – a fivefold increase since the 1990s. Otosaka expects the Greenland ice sheet to continue losing ice, but said it’s not yet clear what might happen to the Antarctic ice sheet.

CNN —China is making “significant progress” building the country’s fifth research facility in Antarctica after a several years-long lull in construction, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The site – a research station China has hailed as a means to expand its scientific investigation in the Antarctic – could also be used to enhance the country’s intelligence collection, according to CSIS. In February 2020, a team of US inspectors visited the station, where they were hosted by station leader Wang Zhechao of the Polar Research Institute of China. China has established four scientific research bases in Antarctica since 1984, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Under the 1959 treaty Antarctic Treaty, to which China is party, activities on the continent are restricted to “peaceful purposes.”Military personnel are allowed to conduct scientific research, but may not set up bases, test weapons of carry out maneuvers.

☆ China ramps up construction on new Antarctic station –report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Michael Martina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A satellite view with overlays shows areas to be developed at the new Chinese station under construction, on Inexpressible Island, Antarctica, January 2, 2023. CSIS told Reuters that while the U.S. still maintains a larger research presence in Antarctica – including the biggest facility in its McMurdo station – China's footprint is growing faster. China's fifth station will be 200 miles (320 km) from the McMurdo station, it said. Under the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, to which China is party, activities on the continent are restricted to "peaceful purposes." A 2022 Pentagon report said China's new Antarctic infrastructure was likely intended in part to strengthen its future claims to natural resources and maritime access and improve PLA capabilities.

☆ China ramps up construction on new Antarctic station, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Michael Martina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

☆ Fact Check-Images purporting to show ancient alien artifacts unearthed during World War Two are AI-generated
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Images created through AI of ancient alien artifacts alongside Nazi soldiers have been shared online, with some claiming they show secret discoveries in Antarctica or Egypt. Similar posts were shared on Facebook (here) and (here). The images, however, can be traced back to the Instagram page of Infinite Odyssey, an online magazine that claims to be “the first fully A.I. The post sharing the images carries a disclaimer that reads “WRITTEN BY A.I. Images purporting to show ancient alien artifacts were generated through AI.

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