IOC/UNESCO: Addressing Nutrient Over-Enrichment

I recently had the pleasure of spending the New Year in the Pacific Northwest.  During my time there, I traveled along the Pacific coast just south of the Canadian border.  In a region renowned for natural beauty, the rocky shores didn’t disappoint.  Mile after mile of conifers edged waters that looked cold, calm, and clear.

It’s hard to imagine that waters like these could be anything but healthy.  But marine ecologist Dr. Joan Kleypas of the National Center for Atmospheric Research notes that changing CO² levels are already impacting the shellfish industry in the Pacific Northwest.  “This is not a problem in the far distant future,” Kleypas warns.  “This is a problem now.”

In addition to rising CO² levels, marine environments at large have seen substantial increases in nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen.  This uptick in nutrients can be traced in part to human activities such as food production, fossil fuel burning, and wastewater generation from people and industries alike.   In coastal waters, skyrocketing levels of nutrients are leading to ecosystem responses like eutrophication – think dense blooms of phytoplankton – and the ensuing chaos of depleted oxygen levels, i.e., hypoxia.  These changes in the tiny and unseen end in visible damage; the resulting low-oxygen “dead zones” cannot support most marine life.  Five hundred of these hypoxic dead zones have been identified globally already.  Although the world’s oceans are vast, the collective dead zones already cover a total global surface area roughly the size of the United Kingdom.  From sea-grasses to fish, marine ecosystems lose their overall resilience, and human activities that rely on coastal and marine health – fishing, tourism, etc. – suffer as well. 

In order to protect coastal areas, scientific partners have been working to address the root causes of this nutrient over-enrichment.  Earlier this month, an examination of nutrient/ecosystem dynamics was published in Biogeosciences, an interactive open-access journal of the European Geosciences Union.  The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC/UNESCO) was an executing partner for this project, coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).  The paper may be found here.

Finding Space for All in Our Crowded Seas

The Washington Post, in its weekly science column, discusses the need to manage the space at sea accommodating the many users in a way to maximize the benefits. The articles mentions:

While a few states are leading the way in the United States, the Europeans and Australians have done this for years. Charles Ehler, a Paris-based consultant who is drafting a manual on the subject for UNESCO, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said the demand for offshore wind farms and other activities has spurred countries such as Belgium, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands to establish specific marine boundaries.

The new issue of A World of Science

The January-March 2008 edition of UNESCO's A World of Science has just been published.

The contents include:

• Arctic sea ice a record low
• Ocean observing flotilla hits 3000 mark
• Report confirms science still dominated by men
• Children follow in gorilla’s footsteps
• 23 new biosphere reserves in countdown to Congress
• Water institute to train 2100 iranians
• Environment prized at Forum

There is also an editorial by Walter Erdelen, Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences

Safeguarding the oceans and tackling climate change

Safeguarding the oceans and tackling natural disasters and climate change will top the agenda of the Assembly of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), when it meets at UNESCO Headquarters from 19 to 28 June.

The Assembly is the IOC’s supreme decision-making body and meets once every two years. During the forthcoming session, representatives from its 136 Member States will work on guidelines for the management of coastal and ocean environments as well as future action to limit the impact of natural hazards, adapt to climate change and preserve the oceans.

Read more about the meeting.

Session of the Integrated Global Observing Strategy Partners

The 14th Session of the Integrated Global Observing Strategy Partners is to take place 30 May 2007 in Paris. The meeting will take place at the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO.

Check out the meeting website and the documents associated with the meeting.

Congressional Interest in Tsunamis in 2005

In December, 2004 a massive earthquake in Indonesia triggered tsunamis that swept across the Indian Ocean, doing enormous damage and causing great loss of life. The event triggered the creation of an Indian Ocean tsunami warning system by UNESCO's International Oceanographic Commission and its partners. It also triggered interest by the U.S. Congress in other tsunami warning systems, especially those that might protect the United States. Given the key role of UNESCO in catalyzing networks of international cooperation in oceanography and seismology, it is not surprising that its programs came up for discussion in the hearings.

• Read the 109th Congress House Hearings: TSUNAMIS: IS THE U.S. PREPARED?
• Read the 109 Senate Hearings: U.S. TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM AND S. 50, ``THE TSUNAMI PREPAREDNESS ACT OF 2005''

2007-2008: The International Polar Year

The International Polar Year is a large scientific programme focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic from March 2007 to March 2009.

IPY, organized through the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), is actually the fourth polar year, following those in 1882-3, 1932-3, and 1957-8. In order to have full and equal coverage of both the Arctic and the Antarctic, IPY 2007-8 covers two full annual cycles from March 2007 to March 2009 and will involve over 200 projects, with thousands of scientists from over 60 nations examining a wide range of physical, biological and social research topics. It is also an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate, follow, and get involved with, cutting edge science in real-time.

Go to the International Polar Year website.

Check out the U.S. Government's International Polar Year activities.

Read about UNESCO's International Oceanographic Commissions plans for the International Polar Year.

Breakthrough on continuous seismic coverage to detect tsunamis in Europe

At a meeting organized by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission last month, Italy announced that it will provide non-stop processing and coverage of seismic data in the seas around Europe. This data is essential for the detection of earthquakes that potentially generate tsunamis, and could significantly boost protection of Europe’s heavily developed and populated coastlines.