Tag - oceans

 
 

OCEANS

The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology's deep-sea scientific research vessel Chikyu
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2024
Kagoshima caldera took 9,000 years to form magma for ancient eruption
A research team analyzed sediments from the eruption extracted from a seabed near the huge Kikai Caldera.
A view of new Bering Sea ice just formed off of Nome, Alaska, in 2018
WORLD / Politics
Jul 30, 2024
China and Russia challenge legality of new U.S. claims to seabed floor
The U.S. has filed claims to extend its continental shelf by about 1 million square kilometers in the Bering Sea, Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.
The Maersk Launcher, a ship chartered by The Metals Company, carries seabed samples from the remote Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean on June 7, 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jul 30, 2024
The future of deep sea mining hinges on a contentious election
The vote will determine whether companies can begin strip-mining the world’s oceans for critical metals despite concerns about the impacts.
A loggerhead sea turtle hatches eggs on a beach in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, in May.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional voices: Chubu
Jul 29, 2024
Aichi sea turtle researchers assess risks of warmer nesting sites
The warmer the nest is, the more likely hatchlings will be female — that bodes ill for the survival of the marine species.
Stilt houses at the village of the Bajau sea nomads in Pulau Papan in Sulawesi, Indonesia
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jul 29, 2024
Indonesia's sea nomads forced into finding jobs on land
For many Bajau people living in Pulau Papan in Indonesia, their ancestors' way of life at sea has all but died out.
A Shinto priest leads prayers for safety before the opening of Kitaizumi beach in the city of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 13, 2024
Fukushima beach opens for first time since treated water release
The Fukushima Prefectural Government said last month that no tritium was detected in seawater at eight beaches in the prefecture set to open this year.
International talks on Pacific bluefin tuna catches began in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2024
International talks on bluefin tuna catches begin in Japan
Japan is seeking to more than double the annual quota for large bluefin tuna in the central and western Pacific and increase the quota for smaller fish by 30%.
The Philippine-occupied Thitu Island, locally known as Pag-asa, in the contested Spratly Islands of the South China Sea in March 2023
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 9, 2024
Philippines rejects China's claim it has damaged coral in South China Sea
Manila has called for an independent, third party marine scientific assessment of the causes of damage to coral reef ecosystems in the South China Sea.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks during a news conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 6, 2024
Japan criticizes China over buoy in Pacific Ocean
The Chinese side said that the buoy is for tsunami observation and not intended to violate Japan's sovereign rights over its continental shelf.
Fish swim near recovering coral reefs after bleaching in late December 2023 due to extreme weather, in Bondalem village, Buleleng regency, Bali, Indonesia, on June 20.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 5, 2024
Coral bleachings devastate Bali reefs as sea temperatures rise
Indonesia, which had its most severe dry season last year since 2019, has roughly 5.1 million hectares of coral reefs and accounts for 18% of the world's total.
Nannalin "Fleur" Pornprasertsom, 14, surveys bleached corals during her coral conservation and citizen science course at Black Turtle Dive, around Koh Tao island in the southern Thai province of Surat Thani, on June 14.
ENVIRONMENT
Jun 27, 2024
Divers become conservationists as corals bleach all over the world
Coral bleaching has been recorded in more than 60 countries since early 2023.
An ingot of a rare earth metal used to make components for technology products at a factory in China. The country is the world’s top exporter of rare earth elements, but that may change if deep-sea mining gains traction in nations like Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 25, 2024
We’ve got to get deep-sea mining right
Seabed mining could muddy the waters of critical minerals' supply chains by tapping into new sources. But will environmental and legal concerns sink the project?
Seaweed in the ocean off Hayama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Local residents aim to restore seagrass and seaweed beds suffering from marine desertification, and their project has also been certified to receive "blue carbon" credits.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Jun 23, 2024
Japan looks to 'blue carbon' to cut emissions — and restore its coasts
The nation's net zero goal has driven interest in these ecosystems, but verifying the amount of carbon stored by seaweed presents a challenge.
Professor Yasuhiro Kato of the Graduate School of the University of Tokyo (center right) and Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of the Nippon Foundation (left), hold manganese nodules, a seafloor resource found in the waters surrounding Minamitorishima, Tokyo, on Friday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 22, 2024
Over 200 million metric tons of rare metals found near remote Tokyo island
The sea-bottom mineral concentrations abundantly contain rare metals such as cobalt and nickel — both essential for lithium-ion batteries.
The contested Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 16, 2024
Philippines submits U.N. claim to extended continental shelf
Manila claimed it was entitled to "establish the outer limits of its continental shelf" up to 350 nautical miles (648 kilometers) off the western island of Palawan.
Kali Adem port, north of Jakarta, is flooded due to rising sea levels and land subsidence. Climate change has a dire impact on the lives and livelihoods of coastal communities, therefore exacerbating maritime security challenges.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 12, 2024
Climate change threatens security in the Indo-Pacific
Leaders need to recognize that climate change is a maritime security challenge due to its impact on coastal regions, which exacerbates old problems and creates new ones.
Takashi Tonegawa, a senior researcher at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2024
Japanese agency observes tsunami with submarine optical cable
The cable extends some 100 kilometers southward from an area near Cape Muroto in Kochi Prefecture.
Water tanks used to cultivate seaweed on land by Three Lines in Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jun 3, 2024
Poor seaweed harvest prompts Kyushu University team to look toward land
The team has found some success with on-land farming, although increasing production yields for commercialization remains a challenge.
Japan's saury catches fell to roughly 18,000 tons in 2022, hitting a record low for the fourth straight year, before picking up slightly to around 25,000 tons last year.
JAPAN
May 25, 2024
Saury fading from Japan's dining tables amid poor catches
Catches of saury are mired in a prolonged slump with no signs of recovery in sight, and those that are caught are often lean and expensive.
Photographer Toko Jinno is passionate about documenting the lives of Japan’s fishermen.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
May 11, 2024
Toko Jinno: 'Eating fish is common in Japan, but the lives of fishers are not so well-known'
Photographer goes behind-the-scenes of the fishing industry in hopes to inspire and educate people to support its workers.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?