Tracing the lineage of North America's native Blackfoot Confederacy

by Bob Yirka , Phys.org

Genomic lineages of the Americas that evolved in the Late Pleistocene. Nomenclature

 follows from (22) with USR1 (2) representing ANC-C, Big Bar (3) representing ANC-D 

and Historic Blackfoot representing ANC-E. 

Credit: Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adl6595

A team of researchers with varied backgrounds and affiliated with multiple organizations (including the Blackfoot Confederacy) in the U.S. and Canada has conducted a genetic study focused on tracing the lineage of North America's native Blackfoot Confederacy.

In their study, published in the journal Science Advances, the group collected tissue samples from several living members of the Blackfoot Confederacy, genetically sequenced them and then compared the data with the results from samples collected from the remains of Confederacy members exhumed from several ancient burial sites.

The Blackfoot Confederacy comprises linguistically related groups of Native Americans who make up the Blackfoot or Blackfeet people—they include the Siksika, the Kainai and two sections of the Peigan or Piikani—the Northern Piikani and the Southern Piikani. Historically, they were bison hunters and sometimes fishermen. They occupied large sections of the North American plains, in both Canada and the U.S.

By the late 19th century, most members had been consigned to reservations. More recently, tribe members have been suing the government and corporations to reclaim some of their original land. Part of that effort has involved proving that they have historical rights through their lineage. This new study supports such attempts.

In comparing the genetic evidence, the researchers found that modern Blackfoot people are descendants of a lineage that goes back approximately 18,000 years. They also found that the genetic data supports Blackfoot lore, passed down by word of mouth over generations, claiming that the Blackfoot people have been living in North America for at least 10,000 years.

The Blackfoot lineage has become a contentious issue over the past several years as members of the Blackfoot Confederacy contend that some of that land near the Rocky Mountains' eastern edges, now being tested for drilling by oil companies, is ancestral and therefore protected by treaties covering Blackfoot territory. The results of this effort bolster such claims.

The research team also found evidence that a major lineage split occurred among the people who migrated to North America approximately 18,000 years ago, giving rise to all present-day Indigenous people in North, Central and South America.

More information: Dorothy First Rider et al, Genomic analyses correspond with deep persistence of peoples of Blackfoot Confederacy from glacial times, Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adl6595

Journal information: Science Advances 

 2024 Science X NetworkChromosomal study suggests people were living in South America as far back as 18,000 years ago

 

Why European colonization drove the blue antelope to extinction

by University of Potsdam

The specimen from which the high-coverage blue antelope nuclear genome was extracted: a young male fr

The specimen from which the high-coverage blue antelope nuclear genome was 

extracted: a young male from the Swedish Museum of Natural History. 

Source: Hempel et al. 2021. Identifying the true number of specimens of the extinct blue

 antelope (Hippotragus leucophaeus). Credit: Swedish Museum of Natural History

The blue antelope (Hippotragus leucophaeus) was an African antelope with a bluish-gray pelt related to the sable and the roan antelope. The last blue antelope was shot around 1800, just 34 years after it was first described scientifically.

The research team, which included Potsdam evolutionary biologists led by Prof. Dr. Michael Hofreiter, has now succeeded in obtaining a 40-fold high-coverage genome from a specimen at the Swedish Museum of Natural History. This is one of only five DNA-validated historical museum specimens of the blue antelope.

Low genomic diversity and population size are often considered a disadvantage, as they can lead to a reduction in the fitness and adaptability of a species. "However, the blue antelope had a small population size for many millennia before it became extinct around 1800," Hofreiter explains.

"The fact that no inbreeding and only a few detrimental mutations were detected indicates that the species was adapted to long-term low population size," adds Elisabeth Hempel, who studied the blue antelope as part of her doctoral thesis at the University of Potsdam and the Museum of Natural History Berlin.

The analysis of the long-term population size also shows that ice-age climate fluctuations did not influence it. This is unexpected for a large herbivorous mammal, as these cycles should have led to changes in habitat availability. This result suggests that current models of long-term ecosystem dynamics in the region may need to be refined.

Drawing of a blue antelope. Source: P. L., Thomas, O. The Book of Antelopes, vol. 4. – London: 1899–1900. Pl. LXXVI. Credit: Biodiversity Heritage Library

The researchers concluded from their results that species can survive for a long time with a small population size as long as they are not exposed to fast-acting disturbances. Consequently, the sudden human influence during European colonization of southern Africa in the 17th century likely played a central role in the extinction of the species.

In the course of the DNA analyses, two genes were also identified in the genome that could be responsible for the species' blue pelt color, to which the blue antelope owes its name. This was made possible with the help of state-of-the-art computational analysis software from the biotechnology company Colossal Bioscience, with which the researchers collaborated.

"As part of Colossal's ongoing focus on ancient DNA, genotype to phenotype relationships, and ecosystem restoration, we were honored to collaborate on the groundbreaking work of Professor Hofreiter and his team," said Ben Lamm, co-founder and CEO of Colossal Bioscience.

"The research objectives for the project allowed our teams to work together applying some of the latest Colossal ancient DNA and comparative genomic algorithms to learn what truly made the blue antelope the unique species it was."

The study is published in the journal Current Biology.

More information: Elisabeth Hempel et al, Colonial-driven extinction of the blue antelope despite genomic adaptation to low population size, Current Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.051

Journal information: Current Biology 

Provided by University of Potsdam

Oldest paleogenome from the African continent tells of the extinction of the blue antelope

 

Lynx found at bottom of Roman era pit, along with four dogs, mystifies archaeologists

by Bob Yirka , Phys.org

(a) The horizontal arrangement of the four dogs and the lynx underneath in Pit 370. 

Note the separate location for dog 1. (b) The west–east vertical section of the pit. D

epths are measured from the excavation surface. E, east; W, west. The lynx skeleton is 

marked with red in both views. Credit: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology (2024). DOI: 10.1002/oa.3289

A team of archaeologists at the Institute of Archaeology, HUN-REN Research Center for the Humanities, in Hungary, working with a colleague from Stockholm University, has revisited a mystery: a Roman era lynx skeleton buried in a pit with four dog skeletons, all layered above it.

In their paper published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, the group describes the circumstances surrounding the find and offers some theories as to why it came to be.

The lynx is a type of cat, one that is known for its tufted ears and bobbed tail. Four species are known to exist, all in the Northern Hemisphere: Iberian, Canadian and Eurasian—the fourth type is known as a bobcat and lives in North America. The Eurasian lynx once had a very large population, but in modern times, due to human encroachment, it has become endangered.

Finding old lynx remains, the researchers note, is uncommon because over the course of their history, they have had limited contact with human beings. Thus, the finding of one in a pit is rare, but finding one intentionally buried in the same pit as domesticated dogs, is unheard of.

The pit was found at a dig site in Zamárdi-Kútvölgyi-dűlő, Hungary in 2002. Archaeologists have been digging up human skeletons and associated artifacts there, dated back to the Roman era—approximately 1,500 years ago.

In the 1.4-meter-deep pit, four dogs were found; two male, two female, all roughly the size of a German shepherd—and a lynx skeleton. The lynx remains were found at the bottom of the pit, with the dog skeletons above it. The animals had a 20 to 40 cm layer of dirt between each of them.

The research team fully acknowledges that they are mystified by the find, but offer some possible theories. One is that the dogs and the lynx all wound up in a fight, and all wound up dead, and were then buried together. Another is that it was a ritualistic burial, though they note, that seems unlikely because of the lack of ritualistic symbols or other materials. They conclude that the real reason for the burial will probably never be found.

More information: Erika Gál et al, A fifth‐ to sixth‐century CE lynx (Lynx lynx L., 1758) skeleton from Hungary 2: Stature and archaeological interpretations, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology (2024). DOI: 10.1002/oa.3289

© 2024 Science X Network

Ancient DNA study finds Iberian lynx hybridized with Eurasian lynx over the last few thousand years

 

Seed ferns experimented with complex leaf vein networks 201 million years ago, paleontologists find

by University of Vienna

Fossilized leaves of Furcula granulifer from the Late Triassic of Greenland,

 scale bar = 5cm. Credit: Mario Coiro, Leyla Seyfullah

According to a research team led by paleontologists from the University of Vienna, the net-like leaf veining typical for today's flowering plants developed much earlier than previously thought, but died out again several times. Using new methods, the fossilized plant Furcula granulifer was identified as an early forerunner. The leaves of this seed fern species already exhibited the net-like veining in the late Triassic (around 201 million years ago). The study was recently published in the journal New Phytologist.

Mario Coiro and Leyla Seyfullah of the Department of Palaeontology at the University of Vienna, in collaboration with colleagues from the National Museum of Natural History in Stockholm and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have investigated an almost 100-year-old mystery that illuminates the origin of the most successful group of plants on Earth.

"Looking within old collections with novel methods and concepts, we were able to identify a plant from the Late Triassic period that showed a unique set of leaf characters, as a member of a much larger group that evolved similar traits with flowering plants without experiencing the same evolutionary success," explains paleobotanist Coiro.

"Although the 201 million year old fossil leaves of Furcula granulifer show the net-like hierarchical veining of leaves typical for most plants today, we found out that it is actually part of the now extinct group of seed ferns, so it seems that this typical leaf-form that allows efficient photosynthesis, has evolved several times during earth history," confirms Seyfullah, head of the research group "Paleobotany and terrestrial paleoecology" at the University of Vienna.

Plant revolution driven by leave evolution

Flowering plants, more specifically known as angiosperms, are the most important group of plants on Earth today, dominating most of the terrestrial ecosystems and being indispensable for human survival. Their appearance during the Cretaceous (145–66 million years ago) revolutionized terrestrial biodiversity, leading to the radiation of other groups such as mammals, insects, and birds, and leading to an increase of overall diversity on Earth.

This Angiosperm Terrestrial Revolution was in part driven by a unique innovation in angiosperm leaves: these present a netted hierarchical venation, which allows angiosperm to fix carbon dioxide in a much more efficient way.

"Among the few other fossil plants having similar venation to angiosperms, the fossil leaf Furcula granulifer from the Late Triassic of Greenland bears such striking similarities that it was originally described as an angiosperm leaf, predating the oldest record of the group by more than 50 Million years," says Coiro. Although this claim was not widely supported by the scientific community, the real affinities of Furcula were not reinvestigated for almost 100 years.

A speculative artistic reconstruction of Furcula granulifer. Credit: Dolev Fabrikant

Based on both historical material and newly investigated material, the team re-evaluated the affinities of Furcula based on both micromorphology and the anatomy of the impermeable coating surrounding leaves (the cuticle). By combining traditional microscopy and novel methods (Confocal Laser Scanning Miscroscopy), they suggest that Furcula was a relative of an extinct group of seed plants with fern-like leaves ("seed ferns"), the Peltaspermales, and that its angiosperm-like venation is a result of convergent evolution. Moreover, unlike angiosperms, the leaves of Furcula did not reach high densities of veins, and thus were not as efficient as angiosperm leaves in fixing carbon.

Failed experiments during the Triassic and Permian

The authors suggest that Furcula represented a failed attempt during the Late Triassic at convergence towards the efficient leaves that angiosperm will later evolve in the Cretaceous, since Furcula and its relatives went extinct probably during the Jurassic without reaching even a fraction of the angiosperm diversity.

The authors also identified another group of mysterious seed plants, the Gigantopteridales, as another failed attempt during the Permian period (approx. 300 million–250 million years ago).

"Through these natural experiments we have the opportunity to understand the true reason of the flowering plant success, which probably lie in the evolution of multiple traits rather than a single key innovation," explains Seyfullah from the University of Vienna.

More information: Parallel evolution of angiosperm-like venation in Peltaspermales: a reinvestigation of Furcula, New Phytologist (2024). DOI: 10.1111/nph.19726

Journal information: New Phytologist 

Provided by University of Vienna Flowers may be more ancient than dinosaurs, but scientists can't agree on when they evolved

Researchers discover new clues to how tardigrades can survive intense radiation

by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

SEM image of Milnesium tardigradum in active state. Credit: PLoS ONE 7(9): e45682. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0045682

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers have discovered that tardigrades—microscopic animals famed for surviving harsh extremes—have an unusual response to radiation.

Led by UNC-Chapel Hill researcher Bob Goldstein's lab, the new research paper published in Current Biology reveals new details on tardigrades' responses to radiation. Radiation has long been known to damage DNA, and in humans, DNA damage from excessive radiation exposure can lead to diseases. But the tardigrades have an unexpected way to correct the damage.

"What we saw surprised us," said Goldstein. "The tardigrades are doing something we hadn't expected."

Goldstein's lab has developed lab methods for studying tardigrades for the past 25 years. The lab has identified several tricks that tardigrades have for surviving conditions that would be life-threatening for humans and most animals.

Sixty years ago, researchers discovered that tardigrades could survive radiation about 1,000 times more intense than humans are known to survive. Courtney Clark-Hachtel, a former postdoctoral scholar in the lab, joined the group to examine how tardigrades can survive intense radiation. She found that a species of tardigrade is not immune to DNA damage—irradiation does damage their DNA—but the tardigrades can repair extensive damage.

Clark-Hachtel and Goldstein were surprised to find that tardigrades can increase the volume of production from DNA repair genes. Unlike humans, tardigrades can ramp up the level of DNA repair genes' products to such an extreme extent that they become some of the most abundant gene products in animals.

"These animals are mounting an incredible response to radiation, and that seems to be a secret to their extreme survival abilities," said Clark-Hachtel. "What we are learning about how tardigrades overcome radiation stress can lead to new ideas about how we might try to protect other animals and microorganisms from damaging radiation."

As the UNC-Chapel Hill scientists completed the work, researchers in France found similar results in independent experiments. Museum of Natural History Paris researchers Jean-Paul Concordet and Anne de Cian and their coworkers also found a new tardigrade protein that could protect DNA. Their results are reported in the journal eLife.

"We were thrilled to see that each lab's results could independently confirm each other," Goldstein adds.

More information: Courtney M. Clark-Hachtel et al, The tardigrade Hypsibius exemplaris dramatically upregulates DNA repair pathway genes in response to ionizing radiation, Current Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.019

Journal information: Current Biology , PLoS ONE , eLife 

Provided by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 

Tardigrades survive impacts of up to 825 meters per second

 

America's Ports Want to Decarbonize, But Cost & Grid Power Remain Hurdles

A zero-emissions hydrogen truck pilot project at Port of Los Angeles, 2021 (Port of LA)

PUBLISHED APR 15, 2024 7:26 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

The American Association of Port Authorities has completed a survey of its members' decarbonization efforts, in cooperation with ABS. The responses reveal that most U.S. ports have plans to reduce their emissions, often driven by internal commitment to change their operations - but challenges remain. 

All of AAPA's member ports were surveyed, and 29 ports and terminals responded to the questionnaire. Two out of three respondents said that they have formal goals to decarbonize their operations; many in the remaining one-third were small ports, with fewer resources to make plans for such a large-scale change. 

The biggest hurdles identified in the survey were the expense of decarbonization, low readiness of new technology, and limits on the performance of green equipment. "Compared to traditional equipment, decarbonized alternatives require significant investments to pilot, demonstrate proof of concept and certify operational viability," the survey found. 

Federal grant funding has helped to bridge some of the cost gap. Diesel Emissions Reduction Act grants, Port Infrastructure Development Program, the Marine Highway Program and other funding sources have all been used to support decarbonization projects in seaports. More than 70 percent of respondents also tapped state and local funding programs to help support green improvements. 

Each port's working relationship with its local electric utility has a great deal of bearing on cost, since the grid power supply infrastructure is among the most expensive parts of decarbonizing a seaport through electrification. Most respondents expect that their power needs will increase more than fivefold within a decade.

Shore power is a big part of that power demand picture, and about 40 percent of all respondents said that they plan to have cold-ironing connections for some or all vessel classes in the future. The supply generally has to come from the grid, and only about 25 percent of respondents said that they plan to make the majority of their own power locally, using renewables like solar. 

"The relationship between utility and port is absolutely critical to building out new electrification projects," found AAPA. The association recommends establishing formal relationships between seaports and local utilities, including official policies on net metering to incentivize renewables installation. Utility operators also need to understand that ports do not yet know their future electrical demand with high precision, AAPA said. Many utilities will not start construction or even begin planning for grid improvements until they have an exact number for the customer's future power needs, and this will need to change if decarbonization is to move ahead at pace, according to AAPA. 

Space constraints are also a significant challenge: square footage is at a premium at a busy cargo terminal, and charging locations take up more room. More than half of all the respondents reported that spare space was a barrier to adoption of electric or alternative-fueled vehicles.

"The port and maritime industries are advancing at a rate not seen perhaps since the advent of containerization. If one thing is clear, America’s port professionals are dedicating immeasurable hours and attention to port decarbonization, and the future of this field contains immense opportunities," AAPA concluded.

 

First US Cable Layer Planned to Fill Gap in Offshore Wind Sector Capability

Kalypso plans a dedicated cable vessel for the U.S. offshore wind sector (Kalypso)

PUBLISHED APR 15, 2024 7:27 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

Looking to fill another gap in the capabilities needed for the U.S. offshore wind energy sector, a startup called Kalypso Offshore Energy announced plans to build the first U.S. cable vessel. The company reports it will be an innovative Cable Lay Vessel that will be Jones Act compliant for the offshore wind market.

Kalypso was launched in 2023 and looks to develop to meet the opportunities in the emerging offshore wind market. Their first step is a letter of intent with Dutch shipbuilder Royal IHC for the development of the cable vessel. Royal is a specialized building with broad experience in the dredge and offshore energy sectors. Together, the two companies will collaborate to finalize the contract, engineering, and construction details for the cable vessel. The company is targeting to introduce the vessel by 2028.

The 8,000 dwt cable vessel will be equipped with two carousels with dual product lay lines as well as customized storage and handling. It will also be equipped for cable splicing and repairs. It will have a crane with 100 metric tons capacity as well as onboard jet trencher capability. The vessel is slated to measure 376 feet (115 meters).

“Kalypso is thrilled to partner with Royal IHC to design and deliver America’s first Cable Lay Vessel built on U.S. soil dedicated to offshore wind,” said Colin Smith, Managing Director of Kalypso who joined the company from DEME. “Kalypso’s CLV will enhance the nation's offshore energy prospects and foster local economic growth.”

 

 

Kalypso highlights that it will be the first dedicated vessel of its kind in the U.S. market. They said it will fill a key gap in the nation’s vessel capabilities.

“Cable installation and repair are critical, but often overlooked, functions to the offshore wind industry and the U.S. must upgrade our capabilities for state and federal deployment targets to be met,” said John Begala, Vice President of State and Federal Policy at the Oceantic Network, a nonprofit working to advance offshore wind and other ocean renewable industries. “This investment and partnership demonstrate the attractiveness of the U.S. market and represent a significant maturation of our domestic supply chain.”

The announcement of the vessel came on the same day as Dominion announced the launch of the first wind turbine installation vessel built in the United States. The offshore wind energy industry is contributing to the shipbuilding sector. Last year, President Joe Biden during the start of construction for the first U.S. rock installation vessel highlighted that companies have announced 18 offshore wind shipbuilding projects as well as investments of nearly $3.5 billion across 12 manufacturing facilities and 13 ports to strengthen the American offshore wind supply chain. Other projects include a SOV and crew transfer vessels. 

Kalypso on its website reports it is also preparing designs for an OSV, which will be specially designed to meet the demands of wind farm construction. They said the vessel with a comprehensive range of features including heavy-lift cranes, spacious deck space, and specialist accommodation facilities, will offer support for every stage of offshore wind farm construction.

 

BOEM Imposes Stricter Cleanup Bond Requirements for Offshore O&G

Extensive sheen near the abandoned MC20 well, 2018. The U.S. Coast Guard stepped in after the operator walked away and organized the cleanup (USCG file image)

PUBLISHED APR 15, 2024 9:15 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

For the first time in 20 years, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has changed the rules on how offshore oil and gas operators guarantee that they will clean up after a platform is decommissioned. These costs are high, and BOEM says that it wants to ensure that the expense does not fall on the federal government. 

Before the change, the agency had financial assurance coverage for less than a tenth of an estimated $38 billion in potential decommissioning liabilities. A wave of aging platform shutdowns will be coming soon, according to the Government Accountability Office, and it may be accompanied by a wave of small-company failures and platform abandonments. 

"The American taxpayer should not be held responsible when oil and gas companies are unable to clean up after their own operations. The Interior Department is committed to ensuring that the federal oil and gas leasing program is implemented fairly, with accountability and transparency,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland in a statement.  

BOEM says that the offshore oil and gas business has changed since the rules were last updated, and that stronger requirements for security bonds are required. The practice of large oil majors selling their spent oil field leases to smaller, less-well-capitalized firms is of particular concern to BOEM, since these small independents may simply go out of business when its cleanup costs get too high, leaving the taxpayer on the hook. (The U.S. Coast Guard had considerable legal difficulty with one independent platform operator in particular, and ended up taking over the response itself after 14 years of leakage. The firm was forced to liquidate to pay for decommissioning.) 

The new rules are calibrated to the financial health of a company and the value of its oilfield assets. The less firmly-established the firm, and the less valuable its assets, the bigger the supplemental assurance they will have to post to make sure that they pay for decommissioning. Oil companies that do not have an investment-grade credit rating will have to set aside extra money to cover the cost of cleanup, without relying on the previous owner of the end-of-life oil field. Even companies that do have a high credit rating will have to post supplemental financial assurance if their proven reserves are worth less than three times as much as their decommissioning liability. (As a phase-in measure, current lessees only have to satisfy one of these two criteria.)

BOEM estimates that the changes will affect about 400 companies - mostly small businesses - and will prompt the industry to put up about $7 billion in new financial guarantees. The compliance cost will probably come to about $400 million a year at a seven-percent discounting rate for the time value of money; To smooth the transition, BOEM will phase in the requirements over the span of three years for current lessees. 

 

Under Heavy Sanctions Pressure, Putin Orders Review of Russian Shipyards

Russian President Vladimir Putin (center) tours Zvezda Shipyard, before the invasion (file image courtesy of the Kremlin).

PUBLISHED APR 15, 2024 10:53 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Western sanctions have been delaying Russia's civilian shipbuilding industry since the invasion of Ukraine began, and the problem is not getting any better for Russian shipping interests, according to state-owned media. 

Government-controlled Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports that about eight out of ten Russian ships currently on order might not deliver in the foreseeable future. Out of the 49 that will likely deliver in the year ahead, more than half will need to be redesigned in order to work around the lack of European parts. 

Russia's fisheries minister, Ilya Shestakov, illustrated the depth of the problem in a readout of a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Less than a quarter of the 105 fishing vessels in Russia's planned fleet modernization program have been built to date, thanks in large part to the difficulty of accessing European-built vessel technology.

In response, Putin has ordered his ministers to come up with a new shipbuilding plan to fix the bottlenecks and prepare for the next 10 years of production. His prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, is leading the review and has until June 15 to deliver. 

Previous attempts at adaptation include handing control of the top Russian shipbuilder and about 80 percent of Russian production to state-owned bank VTB; retooling for "Shipbuilding 4.0" digitalized production; increasing state subsidies for shipbuilders; hiring an Indian shipyard to handle small cargo-vessel orders; launching another new shipyard at the port of Korsakov, on Sakhalin Island; and soliciting help from China, the world's biggest shipbuilder and Russia's most important ally.  

“We are coming to China because it is number one shipbuilder globally. We need cooperation with China," VTB chief Andrey Kostin told SCMP at a Beijing conference last year. "We might even look to build a new shipyard with China."

These measures may not be enough to reverse the fortunes of the icebreaking LNG carrier program that Russia needs to export gas from its Arctic shores. Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean have both backed out of the lucrative orders that support the program, leaving Russia without key technological partners. Hanwha is holding six completed ships that it will not deliver, and it is said to be looking for a new buyer. 

 

A New Global Coral Bleaching Event is Under Way, and May Be the Worst Yet

Coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef during the last global bleaching event, 2016 (Oregon State University file image / CC BY SA 2.0)

PUBLISHED APR 16, 2024 12:35 AM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

Reports of serious coral bleaching at Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the coast of Florida, and the South Pacific have been building for months, and NOAA scientists have now declared a global bleaching event. It is the second in ten years and the fourth on record.

The event spans from February 2023 until the present, starting at about the same time that global sea surface temperatures began to set new daily records every day. Widespread bleaching has been reported on both sides of the equator in each major basin (Indian Ocean, Pacific and Atlantic). At some point in the past 14 months, bleaching has been reported across the expanse of the South Pacific, the Caribbean, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and along the full width of the Indian Ocean.

A mass of red covers the tropics in this depiction of peak marine heat stress levels seen in 2023-2024. The alert level is calculated based on length of time spent at sea surface temperatures that are high enough to cause bleaching (NOAA) 

While this is concerning to conservationists, it has implications for all nations that depend on ocean resources. Coral reefs are nurseries for some of the world's most important commercial fisheries, and the estimated economic value that they provide is roughly equal to the GDP of France. 

“As the world’s oceans continue to warm, coral bleaching is becoming more frequent and severe,” said Derek Manzello, Ph.D., NOAA Coral Reef Watch coordinator. “When these events are sufficiently severe or prolonged, they can cause coral mortality, which hurts the people who depend on the coral reefs for their livelihoods.”

The agency's criterion for a "global" bleaching event is that every major ocean basin has been affected within the last year, including 12 percent of the coral within each basin.  At present, a total of about 54 percent of the world's coral is affected, and that number is going up by about one percent weekly. 

At this rate, the current bleaching event is on track to become the worst on record, and soon. The previous record from 2014-17 stands at 56 percent of all coral affected. The Great Barrier Reef is already in the midst of its most significant bleaching event on record. 

Climate scientists have been warning about the likelihood of climate-linked severe bleaching events for decades. But not all is lost: NOAA says that reefs can recover from bleaching if the severe heat recedes. Scientists are also actively stockpiling viable specimens of coral and storing them cryogenically, so that any extinguished populations can be re-seeded with samples in years to come. NOAA has also experimented with novel interventions, like putting sunshades over a few reefs to ensure survivors, or moving manmade coral nurseries to deeper, cooler waters. 

Those techniques will be needed in the years ahead, says Manzello. "Current climate models suggest that every reef on planet Earth will experience severe, annual bleaching sometime between 2040 and 2050," he told The Guardian.