#ocean

#ocean

The Damage a Ship's Anchor Can Do to the Sea FloorShips have been sailing the world's oceans for hundreds of years, dropping anchor anywhere they stop for any length of time. Anchors keep the ships from drifting away while at port, and we've never put much thought into what marks they left at the bottom of the bay. But ships today are different from what we envision as "sailing." Massive container ships that are bigger than aircraft carriers have anchors that strain credulity. A container ship anchor weights between 5,000 and 30,000 pounds, and rely on chains with 3-foot links weighing 200 to 500 pound each! It's not just those heavy anchors that damage the sea floor. Those huge chains are laid out a long way against the sea bed, but are still no match for the heavy ship drifting. Get a look at the effects this may have on ocean floors and their ecosystems at Real Clear Science.(Image credit: Bahnfrend) #marineecosystem #ocean #oceanfloor #anchor

The Winners of the 2021 Ocean Photography AwardsThe image above, of a green turtle surrounded by glass fish, was taken at Ningaloo Reef off the coast of western Australia. It won Aimee Jan the title of Ocean Photographer of the Year. The Ocean Photography Awards have been bestowed for 2021, and the winners are magnificent. Eight photographs were recognized as winners different categories.

This Undersea Volcano Near Christmas Island Looks Like the Eye of SauronResearchers from Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have discovered a previously unknown undersea volcano that look like the 'Eye of Sauron' from the Lord of the Rings trilogy.The researchers, who were aboard the ocean research vessel RV Investigator, used multibeam sonar to map the sea bed 280 km (174 miles) southeast of Christmas Island.From Tim O'Hara and the research team's post at The Conversation:Previously unknown and unimagined, this volcano emerged from our screens as a giant oval-shaped depression called a caldera, 6.2km by 4.8km across. It is surrounded by a 300m-high rim (resembling Sauron’s eyelids), and has a 300 m high cone-shaped peak at its the centre (the “pupil”)....Our volcanic “eye” was not alone. Further mapping to the south revealed a smaller sea mountain covered in numerous volcanic cones, and further still to the south was a larger, flat-topped seamount. Following our Lord of the Rings theme, we have nicknamed themBarad-dûr (“Dark Fortress”) and Ered Lithui (“Ash Mountains”), respectively.Image: Phil Vandenbossche & Nelson Kuna/CSIRO#ocean #LordoftheRings #LOTR #EyeofSauron #ChristmasIsland #caldera #underwatervolcano #volcano #seabed #sonar

Surfing with a Giant Sumo Suit Instead of a SurfboardFrench surfer Guillaume Mangiarotti jumped off his surfboard and rode the wave with an inflatable Sumo wrestler body suit! Mangiarotti stated that he wore a Sumo and Splash Guard inflatable suit by Sportsstuff, and posted the video clip to Instagram. View the full clip below:

Glass Octopus and Other Strange Marine Creatures Captured on Camera During a Scientific Deep-Sea DiveScientists aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor went on a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dive in the Phoenix Islands Archipelago in the Pacific Ocean and found this beauty: a glass octopus.The glass octopus or Vitreledonella richardi is a rare species of octopus that gets its name from its ability to being almost completely transparent. The only parts that aren't transparent are its optic nerve, eyeballs and digestive tract. It is one of the least studied octopus, with most specimens known to scientists being found in the stomachs of predators.The yellow dots in the glass octopus' skin between its arms are chromatophores, or pigmented organs that let the octopus change colors for camouflage.via Schmidt Ocean

Huge Antarctic Lake Disappeared in Just 3 Days, Dumped 26 Billion Cubic Feet of Water Into the OceanIt took only 3 days for a huge lake in the Antarctic to disappear! In June 2019, the ice shelf beneath the lake collapsed, sending an estimated 21 to 26 billion cubic feet (736 million cubic meter) of water into the ocean.Glaciologist Roland Warner of the University of Tasmania was monitoring the wildfires in Australia when he decided to take a look at satellite imagery to the south. "Looking down to Antarctica, for a break from watching the destruction, I noticed a spell of several clear days on Amery Ice Shelf and decided to see how the summer surface melt season was progressing," he tells Vice. "The collapsed surface feature caught my eye."Just to give you an idea of the scale, 21 to 26 billion cubic feet of water is twice the volume of the San Diego Bay, or is about 295,000 Olympic size swimming pool!#Antarctica #iceshelf #satelliteimagery #ocean #lake #ClimateChangeImage: Geophysical Research Letters

'Eye of Fire': The Ocean is on Fire After a Pipeline Leak in the Gulf of MexicoThere's an 'eye of fire' in the ocean when an underwater pipe valve off the Ku Charly platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The platform, operated by Petróleos Mexicano (Pemex), is located off the coast of Ciudad del Carmen in the state of Campeche, Mexico.The fire was said to have started when fuel was leaked from a control valve of a gas pipeline 260 feet (80 m) underwater.Three firefighting boats battled the fire, which was reported to be under control.#fire #GulfofMexico #gaspipeline #ocean #MexicoVideo: Manual Lopez San Martin