Sea Technology

DEC 2012

The industry's recognized authority for design, engineering and application of equipment and services in the global ocean community

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Around 226,000 species have been described by science and up to 72,000 more have yet to be described. The rate of discovery for new species is increasing, with an unprecedented 20,000 new marine species described in the past decade, suggesting that most marine species will be discovered this century, the Herald reported. Many of the species yet to be discovered will come from among the smaller crustaceans, molluscs, algae, worms and sponges. man activity were added could the observed salinity trends and temperature changes be explained. Ocean salinity changes are driven by global evaporation and rainfall patterns, which are also changing. Observations over recent decades have found a general intensifcation of salinity differences, with salty ocean regions experiencing more evaporation of surface waters and relatively fresh regions becoming more diluted with precipitation.  UK Antarctic, Oceanography Centers Will Remain Part of NERC Humans, Not Natural Phenomena Linked to Ocean Salinity Changes Changes in ocean salinity over the second half of the 20th century are consistent with the infuence of human activities and inconsistent with natural climate variations, according to a study published in Geophysical Research Letters in November. The study builds on previous analyses in the last decade that demonstrated that rising temperatures in the upper 700 meters of the ocean can only be explained by anthropogenic climate change, caused mostly by an accumulation of carbon dioxide created by fossil-fuel use. This study used the detection and attribution method, with observed trends in ocean salinity being compared to the effects of various historical phenomena such as volcanic eruptions or solar fuctuations and to climate cycles such as El Niño. When the computer climate models were run, the infuence of those phenomena did not replicate the salinity or temperature patterns that researchers have observed since 1955. Only when the warming trends associated with hu- The British Antarctic Survey and National Oceanography Centre will remain centers of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). NERC met in November to discuss the proposed merger of the British Antarctic Survey and the National Oceanography Centre. After considering feedback from the public, government, polar affairs community, scientists and NERC staff, the council decided not to proceed with the proposal for merger. NERC has already committed to maintain the funding of the British Antarctic Survey at £42 million a year for the rest of this spending review period. "Looking to the future—though without pre-empting the timing and size of the next spending review settlement—I consider that NERC should have a discrete funding line for Antarctic infrastructure and logistics from within the ringfenced science budget to ensure a visible U.K. commitment to maintaining Antarctic science and presence," David Willetts, minister of state for universities and science, said in a statement. NERC will consider ways forward in light of this comment. n www.sea-technology.com DECEMBER 2012 / st 75

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