Transocean claims record sea depth for oil drilling
Offshore oil drilling group Transocean claimed Tuesday that it had a set a world record for deep water drilling at an ocean depth of 3,107 metres (10,194 feet) off the coast of India.
Cuba to begin oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico This Summer
Experts say the country might have 20 billion barrels oil reserves along Cuba’s north coast. Ocean scientists warn that a well blowout similar to the BP disaster could send oil spewing onto Cuban beaches and then the Florida Keys in as little as three days. If the oil reached the Gulf Stream, a powerful ocean current that passes through the region, oil could flow up the coast to Miami and beyond.
Nags Head beach nourishment approved
With the blessing of a state oversight commission secured last week, the project to nourish Nags Head’s eroded beaches will officially get under way as early as mid-June. The total cost of the project is between $36 million and $37 million
New Strong Earthquake hits Japan as evacuation zone widens
Japan on Monday widened the evacuation zone around a stricken nuclear plant exactly a month on from a huge natural disaster as another strong quake and tsunami alert strained nerves anew.
After the Quake: Japan’s Balance of Technology and Nature
As Japan marks the first month after the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the country’s struggle between its technological heart and natural soul continues. In a country where technology is omnipresent, the unpredictability of nature, with its mercurial seasons or weather patterns, can seem like a reprieve. And even if it is not always welcomed, nature will still inflict itself on a country that has tried in vain to rise above it.
World’s Winds Getting Stronger, Creating Taller Ocean Waves
A first-of-its-kind analysis of this data could help coastal communities and ocean ships brace for windier waters, which push waves higher.
Ozone Layer Faces Record 40 Percent Loss Over Arctic
Observations from satellites and ground stations suggest that atmospheric ozone levels for March in the Arctic were approaching the lowest levels in the modern instrumental era. The thinning ozone shifts away from the pole and covers Greenland and Scandinavia. Mostly the concern, for the Arctic ozone depletion, is for people that live in northern regions, more towards Iceland, northern Norway, the northern coast of Russia.
It’s Official: There’s Plastic in All of the Subtropical Ocean Gyres
Journalists and 5 Gyres Institute sail to the South to study plastic pollution in the South Pacific. Despite the lack of a theatrical spectacle, it’s still a surreal thing to see some of the results of the sampling.
River Water and Salty Ocean Water Used to Generate Electricity?
Stanford researchers have developed a battery that takes advantage of the difference in salinity between freshwater and seawater to produce electricity.