It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
Mining firms targeting Brazil indigenous lands: report
As of November, the companies had a total of 225 active mining applications to Brazil's National Mining Agency (ANM) that overlap 34 indigenous lands, for a total area more than three times the size of London, it said.
Major mining companies are seeking to expand to currently protected indigenous lands in the Amazon rainforest, bolstered by billions of dollars in financing from international banks and investment firms, a report found Tuesday.
Nine mining giants including Brazil's Vale, Britain's Anglo American and Canada's Belo Sun have filed applications seeking authorization to mine on indigenous reservations in Brazil -- even though that is currently illegal, said the report by the environmental group Amazon Watch and the Association of Brazil's Indigenous Peoples (APIB).
The firms appear to be betting Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has pushed to open protected lands to mining and agribusiness, will succeed in passing legislation introduced by his government that would allow them to operate on indigenous territories, it said.
As of November, the companies had a total of 225 active mining applications to Brazil's National Mining Agency (ANM) that overlap 34 indigenous lands, for a total area more than three times the size of London, it said.
"The environmental damages and threats against the lives of forest peoples by mining activities are brutal and have only worsened under Bolsonaro's administration," Ana Paula Vargas, Brazil program director at Amazon Watch, said in a statement.
"With the rainforest at the tipping point of ecological collapse, we need to involve all the actors behind this industry."
Experts say preserving indigenous lands is among the best ways to protect the world's biggest rainforest, a vital resource in the race to curb climate change.
- Alleged violations -
The report found the mining firms, which also included Glencore, AngloGold Ashanti, Rio Tinto, Potassio do Brasil and Grupo Minsur, received a total of $54.1 billion in financing from international investors over the past five years for their Brazilian operations.
It urged banks and financial firms backing such companies to pull out of them, saying many also had a history of human rights violations and environmental destruction.
Major backers of the nine mining companies include US firms BlackRock, Capital Group and Vanguard, which invested $14.8 billion in them over the past five years, it said.
Banks including France's Credit Agricole, US-based Bank of America and Citigroup and Germany's Commerzbank are also major financiers of the companies, with a total of $2.7 billion in loans and underwriting, it said.
Many of the companies denied the report's findings.
Anglo American said it had "legacy tenure applications" for indigenous lands that it had "fully and formally withdrawn several years ago."
Vale said it had done the same last year.
Belo Sun, Peru's Minsur and Potassio do Brasil said they had no activity relating to indigenous territory, and defended their social and environmental records.
A spokesperson for Vanguard meanwhile said the firm "regularly engages with mining companies" to promote sound environmental and social practices.
And Credit Agricole said it financed no mines in the Amazon.
"We have contacted Anglo American and Vale, which both confirmed they had no exploration permits for indigenous lands," it said.
Only nine percent of plastic recycled worldwide: OECD
Plastics contributed 3.4 percent of global greenhouse emissions in 2019, the report said.
Less than 10 percent of the plastic used across the world is recycled, the OECD said Tuesday, calling for "coordinated and global solutions" ahead of expected talks on an international plastics treaty.
A new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report found that 460 million tonnes of plastics were used in 2019, the number nearly doubling since 2000.
The amount of plastic waste had more than doubled during that time to 353 million tonnes, the Paris-based OECD said.
"After taking into account losses during recycling, only nine percent of plastic waste was ultimately recycled, while 19 percent was incinerated and almost 50 percent went to sanitary landfills," it said in its Global Plastics Outlook.
"The remaining 22 percent was disposed of in uncontrolled dumpsites, burned in open pits or leaked into the environment."
The Covid-19 pandemic saw the use of plastics drop by 2.2 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year. However single-use plastics rose and overall use is "projected to pick up again" as the economy rebounds.
Plastics contributed 3.4 percent of global greenhouse emissions in 2019, 90 percent of it from "production and conversion from fossil fuels", the report said.
Graphic showing what proportion of plastic waste is recycled, incinerated, landfilled or dumped into the environment.
In the face of rampant global warming and pollution, it is "crucial that countries respond to the challenge with coordinated and global solutions", OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said in the report.
The OECD proposed a series of "levers" to address the issue, including developing the market for recycled plastics, which only represent six percent of the total—largely because they are more expensive.
It added that new technologies related to decreasing the environmental footprint of plastic represented only 1.2 percent of all innovation concerning the product.
While calling for "a more circular plastics lifecycle", the OECD said that policies must also restrain overall consumption.
It also called for "major investments in basic waste management infrastructure", including 25 billion euros ($28 billion) a year to go towards efforts in low and middle-income countries.
Plastics contributed 3.4 percent of global greenhouse emissions in 2019.
Plastic treaty talks
The report comes less than a week before the UN Environment Assembly begins on February 28 in Nairobi, where formal talks are expected to begin on a future international plastics treaty, the scope of which will be discussed.
Shardul Agrawala, the head of the OECD's environment and economy integration division, said Tuesday's report "further accentuates the need for countries to come together to start looking towards a global agreement to address this very important problem".
Asked about the priorities of the treaty to be discussed in Nairobi, she said that "there is an urgent waste management problem which is responsible for the bulk of the leakage to the environment".
"But we should not limit our focus just to the end of pipe solutions, there is a greater need in the long term to forge international cooperation and agreement towards alignment of standards," she told an online press briefing Monday.
In a survey published Tuesday by polling firm Ipsos for the World Wildlife Fund, 88 percent of respondents stressed the importance of an international treaty to combat plastic pollution.
In the 28 countries surveyed, 23 percent of the respondents said such a treaty was "fairly important", 31 percent said it was "very important" and 34 percent found it "essential".
Saudi Arabia for first time marks its founding, downplaying conservative roots
By Aziz El Yaakoubi
RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia held celebrations on Tuesday to commemorate for the first time its foundation nearly 300 years ago, choosing a date that downplays the central role played by clerics from the ultra-conservative Wahhabi school of Islam.
The government lined up events that include musical performances on Saudi modern history, fireworks, drone shows and sound effects, with 3,500 performers taking part, state media reported.
The anniversary marks the day in 1727 when Mohammed bin Saud, founder of the first Saudi state, took over the emirate of Diriyah - a remote town which now lies on the northwest edge of the Saudi capital Riyadh.
That was about 18 years before what historians generally consider as the beginning of the Saudi state when bin Saud, a tribal leader, forged an alliance with Islamic preacher Mohammed ibn Abd al-Wahhab, whose purist doctrine is often referred to as Wahhabi Islam.
The agreement with the clergy boosted the legitimacy of the Al Saud rulers in exchange for lavish funding and influence granted to the conservative religious establishment over social issues, education and public morality - powers which have recently been curbed by the country's de facto leader.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reined in the religious police, opened the country to concerts and cinemas, lifted a ban on women driving and eased the guardianship system, which gives men significant control over the lives of their female relatives.
A royal decree last month declared Feb. 22 an official holiday, known as "Founding Day", to be commemorated every year in recognition of "the commencement of the reign of Imam Muhammad bin Saud" and marking the start of the first Saudi state. "Mohammed ibn Abd al-Wahhab is being erased from Saudi history," said Kristin Diwan, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. "This is the new Saudi nationalism. It celebrates the Al Saud - tying the people directly to the royal family - and downplays the pivotal role played by religion in the founding of the state," Diwan said.
Saudi Arabia's Shura Council, an influential advisory body to the government, also approved last month a proposal to amend the law regulating the national flag and anthem. It was unclear if it will alter the content of the flag which includes the profession of Islamic faith: "There is no god but God; Muhammad is the prophet of God".
The kingdom already celebrates National Day on Sept. 23, which commemorates the victory of Al Saud over rival tribes from Hejaz region and the conquest of the two holy sites of Islam, Mecca and Medina, in 1925. The kingdom was subsequently named the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932.
(Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Dominic Evans and Nick Macfie)
Russia now has right to build military bases in eastern Ukraine under treaties
Under treaties signed by Putin, Russia has now acquired the right to build military bases in eastern Ukraine's two breakaway regions.
Russia-Ukraine crisis news: Russia has acquired the right to build military bases in Ukraine's two breakaway regions under treaties signed by President Vladimir Putin with their separatist leaders.
Russia has acquired the right to build military bases in Ukraine's two breakaway regions under treaties signed by President Vladimir Putin with their separatist leaders.
Putin on Monday officially recognised the two breakaway regions - the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and the Lugansk People's Republic - as independent statelets, defying Western warnings that such a step would be illegal and kill peace negotiations.
Under the two identical friendship treaties, submitted by Putin for ratification by parliament, Russia has the right to build bases in the separatist regions and they, on paper, can do the same in Russia.
The parties commit to defend each other and sign separate agreements on military cooperation and on recognition of each other's borders.
The border issue is significant because the separatists claim parts of the two regions that are currently under the control of Ukraine. A Russian parliament member and former Donetsk political leader told Reuters last month that the separatists would look to Russia to help them wrest control of these areas.
The 31-point treaties also say Russia and the breakaway statelets will work to integrate their economies. Both of them are former industrial areas in need of massive support to rebuild after eight years of war with Ukrainian government forces.
The 10-year treaties are automatically renewable for further five-year periods unless one of the parties gives notice to withdraw.
WE CAN ONLY HOPE SO
Will nine-to-five soon become a thing of the past?
Beijing Review, February 22, 2022
Soon after graduation, Wu Mengwei, an electronic and information engineering major, followed his passion and became a writer contributing to online novel websites. He usually works five to six hours every night and jots down some 4,000 to 6,000 words.
"I'm not really a social person. I enjoy letting my thoughts flow at night and write," Wu said. "But sitting down for too long has admittedly made me gain weight."
Wu is among China's 200 million who do not work for a company or any employer, a number recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
"Today, many people opt to work on their own or for themselves. They have more choices and can get more creative in their career pursuits, as well as can quickly respond to and change with market demand," Zhang Chenggang, a professor at the Capital University of Economics and Business, told Beijing Review, adding that the digital age has increased job opportunities and created room for more diversified development.
Job alternatives
A guideline released by the State Council in 2020 highlighted flexible employment, including individual businesses, part-time jobs, and new occupational forms, as an important way to boost employment and increase labor income, as well as to broaden new work channels and nurture new drivers of progress.
Zhang added those who don't work full-time under one employer for a relatively long period fall into the flex work category.
Some 12.69 million new urban jobs were added last year, an increase of 830,000 from 2020, Ning Jizhe, head of the NBS, told a press conference in January. The surveyed urban unemployment rate, in turn, fell under the 5.5-percent target.
Ning attributed the job market performance partly to the job creation fueled by China's continuous economic recovery and development, as well as the country's pro-employment policy which has expanded job opportunities for college graduates and rural migrant workers.
Although employment in some industries such as service, manufacturing and construction contracted, that in certain other sectors expanded, contributing to overall job market stability, Ning said.
In addition, "new business forms boost the consumer market by making service consumption more convenient, and employ a large workforce to meet the needs of a widely dispersed clientele," Zhang said.
Food delivery is one such business form. When COVID-19 put China in a bind over the first half of 2020, the number of registered couriers on food delivery giant Meituan was nearly 4 million. "The delivery service market offered income opportunities for a large number of groups with a relatively low level of education and skills, or who were temporarily unemployed due to the epidemic," Zhang said.
On platforms like Meituan, people can register to become part-time couriers, taxi drivers or manicurists who offer house calls. Fixed working hours are usually not a requirement, which means one can work more or less according to their own schedule.
Zhang said job quality of flexible employment in the digital age has improved, mainly in terms of more secure income and flexible working hours. "Flexible employees who work through the platform are mainly paid for their hours and per order, which helps avoid wage arrears," he explained.
Digital technology has driven the development of the sharing and online economies, Ma Liang, a researcher with the National Academy of Development and Strategy under Renmin University of China (RUC), believes.
Ma said content platforms such as cloud customer service, short videos, and online education have created perfect conditions for flexible employment, expanded the extension of college students' career choices in terms of time, space and form, and enriched the variety of supply-side employment positions.
China is expected to see 10.76 million new graduates pour into the job market from the country's universities and colleges this year, 1.67 million more than last year, according to the Ministry of Education.
Over the past two years, 16 percent of college graduates in China have opted for flexible employment, according to data from the China Higher Education Student Information and Career Center.
More than 1.6 million people are working in jobs related to live-streaming, an increase of nearly 300 percent between 2020 and 2021.
But some voices are saying that flexible employment is a nice way of saying you're unemployed. "I don't believe that flex work equals unemployment or taking on the odd job here and there. For me, it's a new way of life and a new way to carve out a career based on what I'm good at and interested in. This way, I can follow my heart and my passion," Huang Zixuan, a content creator with over 30,000 followers on popular platform Bilibili who mainly produces online gaming and electronic device unboxing videos, told Beijing Review.
However, Huang added he does face challenges in managing his time and striking a balance between work and life. He also gets stressed out by unstable income and unfriendly viewer comments.
Some people choose not to work at a company because they would like to manage their own schedules. Online store owner Wang Shenghui once signed up as a driver on ride-hailing platform DiDi Chuxing when business wasn't going well. "I drive to earn some extra cash whenever I want. Right now, my online store has picked up again, so I can stop driving and focus on my main business. When I'm worn-out, I can take a break and travel during the off-peak season as most people are, basically, at work. It feels great to have control over the rhythm of my life," Wang said.
"Sure, I might seek a stable job when I'm no longer able to support myself this way, but the important thing is that I do have a say in my career choice," Huang, the content creator, said.
The flex trend is not just limited to China. A document released by the International Labor Organization in 2015 read that over the past few decades, in industrialized and developing countries alike, there has been a marked shift away from standard to non-traditional employment, and the transformations in the world of work, regulatory changes and macroeconomic fluctuations and crises have all contributed to this evolution.
The transformation includes changes in economic structures, from agriculture and manufacturing to services, increased pressure from globalization, technological revolution as well as changes in entrepreneurial strategies.
Cost-effectiveness
According to the China Development Report on Flexible Employment (2022) released by researchers at RUC, 61.14 percent of Chinese companies were hiring flexible workers in 2021, an increase of more than 5 percentage points over 2020.
Compared with the traditional long-term employment model, the advantage of flexible employment lies in its less rigorous entrance and exit mechanisms. On the one hand, job seekers enjoy a lower employment threshold and the option to leave at any given time. On the other hand, companies enjoy more leeway in terms of employee selection and allocation.
"Flexible work increases the ability of enterprises to cope with uncertainty, and can meet the seasonal, cyclical and other special personnel needs of enterprises," Zhang said.
The lower human resource costs of flexible workers are also a huge attraction for companies, according to a report released by Chinese online recruitment platform Zhaopin last year. Varied job models, less social security spending and tax burdens and greater resilience to uncertainty are their other main reasons for hiring part-time labor.
"Also, if I'm not satisfied with a person I hired ad interim, I can easily find a replacement," said Du Chunyong, Vice President of online recruitment platform Zbj.com.
However, some of the above reasons in fact add a sense of insecurity for flex workers. According to Zhaopin's report, many are reluctant to stay flexible partly because of job instability, possibly lower income, as well as a lack of social recognition and welfare.
Supporting mechanisms
To address these concerns, and enable people to have more job options or even start up their own businesses, the country has rolled out several policies to protect the rights of people with non-standard occupations. In the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for Digital Economy Development released by the State Council in January, individuals are encouraged to use new online platforms such as social media, knowledge distribution, audio and video sharing websites for employment and entrepreneurship to promote flexible employment and part-time job innovation.
The guideline released in 2020 stated further efforts should focus on expanding the channels for flex working by encouraging people in this situation to establish small economic entities, with more policy support for key groups such as college graduates, migrant workers, and the unemployed.
For fresh graduates, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) announced that social security subsidies will be granted to support their flexible undertakings through multiple channels and new types of occupation.
China's social security system is made up of five different insurance types, namely pension, medical, unemployment, work-related injury and maternity insurance.
Employers are obliged to make timely payments for themselves and their employees. It is the former's responsibility to correctly calculate or withhold payments for both parties. When unemployed, people still need to foot their social insurance bill on their own dime at local public service centers or neighborhood residential committees.
For those graduates who are willing and able to start up their own business, the ministry will offer preferential backing, provide entrepreneurial training, guaranteed loans and venue support.
Some colleges and universities have introduced a series of measures such as setting innovation and entrepreneurship credits and relaxing the duration of academic studies, so that they can focus more on innovation and business strategizing. Some have also created platforms to provide business funding and cover daily living costs.
Due to difficulties in determining labor relations, high job mobility, and complications in investigating and obtaining evidence for work-related accidents, most flex workers have long been unable to enjoy work-related injury insurance benefits. The MOHRSS had already taken this into consideration and formulated policies accordingly. "The government, intermediary employment platforms and companies should all conduct their own research and prepare for future changes to protect the rights of all relevant parties," Zhang concluded.
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Canada's Largest Trade Union Boycotts Nordic Flag Carrier SAS Over 'Unacceptable Labour Practices'
In the course of the pandemic, the Scandinavian flag carrier SAS has pink-slipped 5,000 employees and, upon receiving several tranches from the Danish and Swedish states, embarked on a controversial reorganisation to alleviate the looming threat of bankruptcy.
Canada's largest trade union, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLS), has initiated a national boycott of Scandinavian flag carrier SAS, due to the company's reorganisation.
The organisation, which has 3.3 million members in a country of 38 million, and covers all jobs from pilots to teachers and nurses, is strongly critical of the airline's reorganisation, which includes a renegotiation of collective agreements and may result in staff being laid-off and re-employed on worse terms.
According to Tim Perry, president of the Canadian Pilots' Association ALPA, the company has been employing "unacceptable labour practices".
"As we understand it, pilots at SAS have lost their jobs and been asked to apply for them again, but with significantly lower wages and working conditions. And we don't think it is an acceptable way to negotiate or treat your employees", Perry said, as quoted by Swedish national broadcaster SVT. "It is unacceptable here in Canada or anywhere else in the world either, I believe", he added.
Perry emphasised that this is the first time the Canadian Labour Congress is calling for a national boycott of an airline and expressed hope that many Canadian travellers will opt out of SAS, knowing the company's working methods.
SAS, by contrast, claimed that the reorganisation in question will lead to more job opportunities.
Swedish Minister of Trade and Industry Karl-Petter Thorwaldsson said the government expects state-owned companies to act in an exemplary manner, by having a healthy and safe working environment and decent working conditions, but emphasised that working conditions are a matter for the board and management, not the owners.
The pan-Scandinavian flag carrier SAS is co-owned by the Swedish and Danish governments at 21.8 percent apiece. Before the pandemic, SAS operated 180 aircraft to 90 destinations. Its main hubs include Copenhagen Kastrup, Stockholm Arlanda, and Oslo Gardermoen.
However, as dozens of flights were grounded amid the pandemic, the company sank into the doldrums, pink-slipping 5,000 employees, or 40 percent of its workforce, and receiving a series of substantial tranches from its shareholders to stay afloat.
Most recently, a forecast by the Norwegian bank DNB claiming that the Nordic flag carrier was teetering on the verge of bankruptcy has sent the airline's shares into freefall, with a plunge of over 25 percent.
KOREAN SHIP BUILDER
HMM Reports Record Profits, Prompting Renewed Reports of Privatization
HMM added a dozen ultra-large containerships as it works to build capacity and modernize (HMM file photo)
South Korea’s HMM reported record profits for 2021 more than offsetting nearly a decade of losses and immediately prompting renewed speculation that the government will proceed with the privatization of the country’s largest container shipping company. The shipping line, whose profits were only exceeded so far for 2021 by companies including Samsung and PSCO as the largest in the country, has been controlled by the Korea Development Bank and Korea Ocean Business Corporation for nearly six years after they saved the then Hyundai Marine from bankruptcy.
“Revenue and profits reached a record high in 2021, primarily driven by high freight rates and efficient fleet operations,” said HMM reporting its results. The strong market helped the company to more than double its 2021 revenues to over $11.5 billion while net profit went from essentially flat last year to $4.6 billion, a more than 40-fold increase. The profits exceeded analysts’ estimates by 11 percent according to a report in the Korea JoonAng Daily.
"Fourth quarter is usually an off-season for the container shipping business, but increased loads for Asia-America routes, due to the major promotions like Black Friday, boosted the demand for shipping and drove up prices," the company said in its press release. Reflecting these strengths, HMM reported revenue more than doubled in the fourth quarter versus the prior year and were 10 percent ahead of the third quarter. Profits in the fourth quarter were up more than 19-fold.
The strong results led the Korean media to renew speculation of the pending privatization of the shipping company. Over the past five years, the banks have helped the company to modernize its operations and improve efficiency. HMM highlighted the addition of 12 containerships each with a capacity of 24,000 TEU and the addition of a total of 20 new ships in 2021. HMM currently has just over 800,000 TEU of total capacity and is targeting expansion to 1 million TEU. In June 2021, they announced an order for 12 new 13,000 TEU containerships.
Speculation over the timing of a privatization of the shipping company started a year ago when the chairman of KDB talked openly about exploring the possibility of selling the bank’s shares. They speculated that it would be a multi-stage deal involving the conversion of bonds into equity. Late in 2021, Korean government officials confirmed that discussions were underway to develop a plan for the privatization of the shipping company. The undersecretary of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said he expected a plan to be finalized by the first quarter of 2022.
Some of the speculation in South Korea is that the government wanted to move while the container shipping market continued near its peak. Others have warned that the government might be moving too quickly that HMM needs to stabilize and consolidate its recent gains while continuing the modernization of its fleet.
Adding to the speculation, The Korea Times reported today that the creditors have selected former Hyundai Glovis and Hyundai Wia CEO Kim Kyung-bae to take over the leadership of HMM. The current CEO’s term is set to expire in March. The newspaper reports that the government approached Hyundai Glovis in 2016 to acquire HMM and based on Kim’s close ties to the company they are speculating that he could help to renew the acquisition plan.
HMM in its earnings report cited the pressures on oil prices as one of the challenges for the year ahead. They said that about 80 percent of their capacity is on ships outfitted with exhaust scrubbers, which they predicted would give the company the ability to respond to rising oil prices.
Exploring Antarctica's Ice Rivers and Their Role in Sea-Level Rise
The team lowers camera equipment down the ice borehole, which is around 0.4m in diameter. Craig Stevens/K862/NIWA, CC BY-ND
Underneath Antarctica’s vast ice sheets there’s a network of rivers and lakes. This is possible because of the insulating blanket of ice above, the flow of heat from within the Earth, and the small amount of heat generated as the ice deforms.
This map shows rivers (white) beneath Antarctica’s ice sheets (grey). Warm colors denote regions of fast ice flow. Huw Horgan/Quantarctica3/K862, CC BY-ND
Water lubricates the base of the ice sheets, allowing the ice to slide towards the ocean at speeds of many hundreds of metres per year. When the water emerges from beneath the ice, it enters a cold and salty cavity underneath ice shelves, the floating extensions of ice sheets that fringe the continent.
Here the water mixes, releases nutrients and sediment, and melts the underside of the ice shelves, which act as buttresses and hold back the flow of the ice sheets.
How these processes play out over the next centuries is a major factor in understanding sea-level rise. Unfortunately, this is also one of the least-explored parts of our planet.
Our Aotearoa New Zealand Antarctic Science Platform project is the first direct survey of an Antarctic under-ice river, and it supports earlier research suggesting these sub-glacial rivers form estuaries as they flow into the ocean, albeit at 82.5 degrees south, hidden under 500m of ice and about 500km from the open ocean.
Exploring an under-ice river
Our team has just returned from Kamb Ice Stream on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). Kamb is a sleeping giant.
This massive river of ice lies on the other side of the WAIS from Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica’s “doomsday” glacier which has been losing ice rapidly. Kamb used to flow fast, but this ceased about 160 years ago because of changes in how water was distributed at the base of the ice.
Surveying across the surface of the under-ice river channel (in early 2016), researchers use seismic methods to determine what lies underneath the thick cover of ice. Huw Horgan/K862/VUW, CC BY-ND
While the Kamb region isn’t vulnerable to ocean warming at the present time, it currently offsets much of the ice loss happening elsewhere in Antarctica. Changes at Kamb will herald major changes for Antarctica’s ice sheets and oceans.
One challenge is that ice sheets respond to external changes, such as rising ocean temperatures, but also to difficult-to-predict internal changes, such as flood events that occur when sub-ice rivers and lakes “burst their banks”.
Getting there
The COVID pandemic has been hard on national Antarctic programmes and the field science they support. Global supply and freight delays kept our team on the edge in the lead-up to our season.
This summer, New Zealand started the rebuild of its main Antarctic station, Scott Base, and has been developing an over-snow traverse to deploy large teams across great distances. Our Kamb team was one of the first to benefit from this new capability, with a camp operating for months, more than 900km from New Zealand’s permanent station.
There’s an art to drilling through Antarctic ice. In reality, we melt our way through with recycled hot water.
Once on site, the team was able to drill through 500m of the ice shelf and keep a 0.4m-diameter hole open for nearly two weeks. This allowed us to take samples and gather observations for a diverse range of science projects.
A hidden river
Almost a decade of research paid off when the team pinpointed the exact spot to drill to hit the onset of the narrow river beneath. This was even more impressive than initially thought, with borehole surveys revealing a river more than 240m high but less than 200m wide – a much narrower target than indicated by the surface icescape.
Working from a borehole means we can only look in one spot. As an antidote to this limitation, colleagues from Cornell University deployed their ocean robot Icefin to study the space below the ice.
The camera shows corrugations on the underside of the ice. Craig Stevens/K862/NIWA, CC BY-ND
One of the discoveries that will keep the team going for some time is a dense community of likely amphipods, which we spotted when we lowered cameras to the seafloor. The swarm was so dense, we first thought there was something wrong with our equipment.
The last task the team completed was to deploy an ocean mooring beneath the ice. These instruments will continue to report back on ocean conditions over the coming years.
Apart from baseline observations, such discoveries provide strong motivation for deploying long-term monitoring equipment. The team will be watching closely over the coming years for any changes in the under-ice river flow, including flood events.
Huw Joseph Horgan is an Associate Professor of Geophysical Glaciology, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington.
Craig Stevens is a Professor in Ocean Physics, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
This article appears courtesy of The Conversation and may be found in its original form here.
Scientists Call on Canada to Reject Vancouver's Box Terminal Expansion
Roberts Bank Terminal 2, left, would expand the existing container terminal site on reclaimed land (Vancouver Fraser Port Authority)
A group of 12 scientists has asked Canada's federal government to reject a plan to expand the Port of Vancouver's Roberts Bank Terminal, citing research that suggests the new facility would harm salmon and killer whales.
In early 2020, a federal review panel determined that the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 expansion project would have "significant adverse and cumulative effects to populations of Fraser Chinook salmon" because its location would disrupt salmon out-migration in the Fraser Estuary. The estuary is a feeding ground and migration path for some of Canada's largest salmon runs. The panel also found that the increase in shipping activity to and from the terminal would worsen the existing underwater noise levels in the Salish Sea, with "significant adverse effects on endangered Southern Resident killer whales."
The previous environment minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, placed the expansion project on hold until the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority provided more information about the terminal's environmental impact, along with any possible mitigation measures. At present, according to the petitioners, there are no known methods of offsetting the effects of the terminal's construction on the affected species.
The proposed expansion would widen a causeway across the width of the Fraser Estuary and add another 270 acres to the existing Roberts Bank terminal. This would reduce the size of the estuary by infilling intertidal zone areas used by juvenile salmon for migration. In addition, ship traffic would increase in the region by about 25 percent, raising the probability of whale strikes and increasing underwater noise levels, which interfere with orcas' navigation and feeding.
"If the recovery of Canada’s endangered and iconic wildlife is a priority for the government of Canada, as stated, then it must reject the proposed Terminal 2 project," wrote the 12 scientists. "We urge the government to err on the side of caution when considering an approval that lacks scientific evidence to support it."
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has previously said that Roberts Bank Terminal 2 is of "paramount value to Canada’s trade." It has acknowledged the federal review panel's findings, and it emphasizes its region-wide harm reduction projects, like its "Echo Program" for rewarding slow-steaming ships.
NGOs Oppose Plan to Lift Bunkering Ban in S. Africa's Algoa Bay
Port Elizabeth's harbor (Frans-Banja Mulder / CC BY 3.0)
Environmentalists and conservationists in South Africa have opposed plans by the government to lift a ban on bunkering services off the coast of Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) over concerns that a return of ship-to-ship fuel transfer poses dangers to the rich marine biodiversity.
Just days after the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) announced it will lift the moratorium on new licenses for fuel ship-to-ship bunkering in Algoa Bay, several organizations have come out to oppose the move, warning that it poses risks to the environment. In late January, Samsa announced that starting February 1, bunkering services providers can start applying for bunkering services operating licenses in Algoa Bay. The moratorium on the awarding of licenses is set for lifting on April 1.
The moratorium was imposed in 2019 following bunker spills, and its removal opens the door for operators to apply for five-year bunkering authorizations in Algoa Bay and other parts of the country.
“We are confident that the reopening of the bunkering sector will bring much needed economic spin offs and relief to the region and country as a whole,” said Tsepiso Taoana-Mashiloane, Samsa acting CEO.
Environmentalists and conservationists are opposed to the lifting of the moratorium, citing the risks involved and the proximity to foraging and breeding grounds of endangered marine species like the iconic African penguin.
A coalition of environmental organizations, the Bunkering Environmental Working Group, says that judging by past cases of oil spills, the government will be endangering Algoa Bay's marine biodiversity by allowing bunkering services. Over the past six years, three oil spills have occurred as a direct result of fuel ship-to-ship bunkering.
“The impact of oil pollution on marine life must not be underestimated. Research has shown that in the long term, African penguins that were oiled, cleaned and released have lower breeding success than unoiled birds,” said the organizations in a petition.
The petition adds that Algoa Bay is a marine biodiversity haven recognized by the declaration of the Addo Elephant National Park Marine Protected Area.
The bay's St Croix Island previously held the largest African penguin breeding colony in the world, and nearby Bird Island currently holds the world’s largest Cape gannet breeding colony, with two-thirds of the global population breeding at this site.
The African penguin population is declining at an alarming rate due to anthropogenic threats, including oil pollution. A case is St Croix Island, which is the closest island to bunkering activities and has suffered an 80 percent decline in the population of African penguins over the past five years.
Over the period, vessel numbers have more than doubled in the bay, with bulk carriers having increased more than threefold. Vessel activity has been concentrated in shipping lanes and anchorages, where bunkering services are located. These sites overlap important foraging areas for penguins from St Croix Island.
Apart from the impact of oil spills, scientists are investigating the effects of marine noise pollution associated with the bunkering activities.
“It is crucial that decision-making regarding bunkering be informed by a proper understanding of the full variety of risks that the activity poses to the sensitive ecosystem and species in Algoa Bay and the potential for mitigating these risks,” noted the petition.
Surveying across the surface of the under-ice river channel (in early 2016), researchers use seismic methods to determine what lies underneath the thick cover of ice. Huw Horgan/K862/VUW, CC BY-ND
The camera shows corrugations on the underside of the ice. Craig Stevens/K862/NIWA, CC BY-ND
