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Scuba's diving news service: Eco/bio edition Oceans warming in unusual way. Britain's James Rennell Center for Ocean Circulation reported recently in the journal Nature that deep water hydrographic temperature samples taken along the same route Columbus sailed over 500 years ago (52 Degs N-from W Africa to Florida) has revealed a warming trend since the 1950's in the N Atlantic. The effect is not seen in the upper layers of the water as expected by global warming theories, but in the middle layers, as though a microwave oven where causing the effect. An underwater Scripps $35million global warming study project involving powerful undersea hydrophones is currently being hotly debated. Temperature variations across the entire Pacific ocean can be tracked by differing travel speed of underwater sounds through variable water temperatures. Concerns of Cetacean hearing damage may stop the project. More dolphins and sperm whales have been washing ashore in California's Central Coast (Santa Barbara & San Luis Obispo) in May of this year, with 24 in a 5 week period (only 30 occurred in the whole Calif. coast last year) and more since. No obvious causes of death have been found, and morbillivirus, which killed 25,000 dolphins in the late '80's has not been detected. Sea Turtles may receive some protection by a lawsuit filed by Earth Island Institute and others against the US Government. The suit asks to ban shrimp imports from countries that do not reduce turtle incidental kill by 97%, as required of US shrimpers, who use special trap door configured nets. 150,000 sea turtles are estimated to perish each year in shrimp nets. It is an $1.8 billion industry by some 80 nations. In Northern California - Monterey's legendary and long dead Sardine fishery may be on the comeback. In 1936 this city handled 633,859 metric tons of sardines, which collapsed in the late '40's - harvested nearly to extinction. Power politics prevented any catch limits from being enacted until to late. These fish are known as a "transboundry stock" living of multiple nations coasts, and vulnerable to several fishing fleets. An international scientific panel known as the Regine Group believes the pop. may rise and fall with some unknown environmental rhythm, possibly due to large scale ocean circulation/currents. The Calif Pacific pop. appears to be rebounding, but it will be several years before this is certain. The US is signing U.N. International Water Treaty after 11 year opposition. The law know as the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea was started in '73 and finished in '82, and the US gov. and mining companies didn't like seabed mining limits. These limits were amended and included mandatory technology transfer, production limits and financial obligations on mining firms. Sec. of State Christopher agreed to sign the law July 29, but Senate ratification will be needed. Mark "The truth of a proposition has nothing to do with its credibility. And vice versa." - Lazarus Long (Robert A. Heinlein)
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