Oceans and Seas

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      Scientists Predict Most Extensive Coral Bleaching Event on Record

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      Rising sea temperatures around the planet have caused a bleaching event that is expected to be the most extensive on record.The world’s coral reefs are in the throes of a global bleaching event caused by extraordinary ocean temperatures, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and international partners announced Monday.It is the fourth such global event on record and is expected to affect more reefs than any other. Bleaching occurs when corals become so stressed that they lose the symbiotic algae they need to survive. Bleached corals can recover, but if the water surrounding them is too hot for too long, they die.Coral reefs are vital ecosystems: limestone cradles of marine life that nurture an estimated quarter of ocean species at some point during their life cycles, support fish that provide protein for millions of people and protect coasts from storms. The economic value of the world’s coral reefs has been estimated at $2.7 trillion annually.For the last year, ocean temperatures have been off the charts.“This is scary, because coral reefs are so important,” said Derek Manzello, the coordinator of NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch program, which monitors and predicts bleaching events.The news is the latest example of climate scientists’ alarming predictions coming to pass as the planet heats. Despite decades of warnings from scientists and pledges from leaders, nations are burning more fossil fuels than ever and greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      What to Do When You’ve Felt an Earthquake

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      And what else to know when the Earth moves.If you just felt the ground shaking, you might be wondering what happened or how to react the next time an earthquake strikes. Here are the answers to some common questions about earthquakes.What causes them?To understand earthquakes, imagine the Earth as an egg, said Mark Benthien, the communications director for the Statewide California Earthquake Center, a research organization.The egg’s shell represents the Earth’s crust, and “if you look at it from a worldwide view, there are 12 or so major egg pieces of the crust that are called plates,” Mr. Benthien said. Pieces of the egg’s shell — tectonic plates — move around slowly, about as quickly as your fingernails grow, building up pressure between them.Most earthquakes occur when the force of the moving tectonic plates exceeds the friction between them. When this happens, the pressure releases suddenly and plates move into, past or away from one another. The pressure is released as seismic waves that pass through the earth, causing the ground to shake.In rare cases, an earthquake can also occur in the interior of a tectonic plate.Earthquakes can also be caused by human action, such as the disposal of waste fluids as part of the process of oil production.Can earthquakes be predicted?No. It is not possible to predict where or when an earthquake might happen.However, national seismic hazard maps from the U.S. Geological Survey describe how many strong earthquakes are likely to happen in the next 10,000 years in the United States. More earthquakes with damaging shaking are likely to occur along the West Coast, along Alaska’s south coast and in parts of Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      It’s a Golden Age for Shipwreck Discoveries. Why?

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      More lost shipwrecks are being found because of new technology, climate change and more vessels scanning the ocean floor for science or commerce.Some were fabled vessels that have fascinated people for generations, like Endurance, Ernest Shackleton’s ship that sank in the Antarctic in 1915. Some were common workhorses that faded into the depths, like the Ironton, a barge that was carrying 1,000 tons of grain when it sank in Lake Huron in 1894.No matter their place in history, more shipwrecks are being found these days than ever before, according to those who work in the rarefied world of deep-sea exploration.“More are being found, and I also think more people are paying attention,” said James P. Delgado, an underwater archaeologist based in Washington, D.C. He added: “We’re in a transitional phase where the true period of deep-sea and ocean exploration in general is truly beginning.”So what’s behind the increase?Experts point to a number of factors. Technology, they say, has made it easier and less expensive to scan the ocean floor, opening up the hunt to amateurs and professionals alike. More people are surveying the ocean for research and commercial ventures. Shipwreck hunters are also looking for wrecks for their historical value, rather than for sunken treasure. And climate change has intensified storms and beach erosion, exposing shipwrecks in shallow water.Underwater robots and new imaging are helping.Experts agreed that new technology has revolutionized deep-sea exploration.Free-swimming robots, known as autonomous underwater vehicles, are much more commonplace than they were 20 years ago, and can scan large tracts of the ocean floor without having to be tethered to a research vessel, according to J. Carl Hartsfield, the director and senior program manager of the Oceanographic Systems Laboratory at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.Remotely operated vehicles can travel 25 miles under the ice sheet in polar regions, he said. And satellite imagery can detect shipwrecks from plumes of sediment moving around them that are visible from space.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      January Temperatures Hit Record Highs on Land and at Sea

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      On the heels of Earth’s warmest year, January was the eighth month in a row in which global temperatures blew past previous records.The exceptional warmth that first enveloped the planet last summer is continuing strong into 2024: Last month clocked in as the hottest January ever measured, the European Union climate monitor announced on Thursday. More

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      The Sunday Read: ‘The Whale Who Went AWOL’

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      Adrienne Hurst and Corey Schreppel and Listen and follow The DailyApple Podcasts | SpotifyOn April 26, 2019, a beluga whale appeared near Tufjord, a village in northern Norway, immediately alarming fishermen in the area. Belugas in that part of the world typically inhabit the remote Arctic and are rarely spotted as far south as the Norwegian mainland. Although they occasionally travel solo, they tend to live and move in groups. This particular whale was entirely alone and unusually comfortable around humans, trailing boats and opening his mouth as though expecting to be fed.News of the friendly white whale spread quickly. In early May, a video of the beluga went viral, eventually earning a spot on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” By midsummer, he had become an international celebrity, drawing large groups of tourists. All the while, marine experts had been speculating about the whale’s origin. Clearly this animal had spent time in captivity — but where?In the years since the whale, publicly named Hvaldimir, first entered the global spotlight, the very qualities that make him so endearing — his intelligence, curiosity and charisma — have put him in perpetual danger. Hvaldimir is now at the center of a dispute over his welfare. Even as he swims freely through the ocean, he is caught in a tangle of conflicting human ambitions, some noble, others misguided, nearly all distorted by inadequate understanding. Whether to intervene, and how to do so, remain contentious subjects among scientists, activists and government officials.There are a lot of ways to listen to ‘The Daily.’ Here’s how.We want to hear from you. Tune in, and tell us what you think. Email us at thedaily@nytimes.com. Follow Michael Barbaro on X: @mikiebarb. And if you’re interested in advertising with The Daily, write to us at thedaily-ads@nytimes.com.Additional production for The Sunday Read was contributed by Isabella Anderson, Anna Diamond, Sarah Diamond, Elena Hecht, Emma Kehlbeck, Tanya Pérez and Krish Seenivasan. More