June 13, 2014
Ocean News: Great White Shark Records Updated, Ex-BP Engineer Gets a New Trial, and More
– A former BP engineer won a new trial on Thursday. A U.S. District judge concluded Mix—who was originally convicted for obstructing justice related to the 2010 spill—didn’t have an impartial jury. The New York Times
– An oceans-worth of water is locked up in the Earth’s mantle in tiny minerals called ringwoodite, according to new research. The discovery will help scientists understand more about the Earth’s water cycle, and how plate tectonics moves water between the Earth’s surface and internal reservoirs, say scientists. Discovery News
– Extreme Arctic sea ice melt has called for major changes to the tenth edition of the National Geographic Atlas of the World. National Geographic Geographer Juan José Valdés is calling it “the biggest visible change other than the breakup of the U.S.S.R.” National Geographic
– Officials rescued an entangled humpback whale from two lobster trawls on Tuesday in the Bay of Fundy. Officials say the whale was clearly in distress upon arrival, and was towing about 60 lobster traps. CBC Radio-Canada
– NOAA scientists confirmed on Wednesday that 649 great white sharks records have been made between 1800 to 2010 in the western North Atlantic Ocean, according to the researchers. This study is the most comprehensive of the elusive white shark to date, and gives scientists an idea of their abundance and distribution patterns. Science Daily
– On Thursday, the Philippine’s Department of Agriculture stressed that it would continue to prevent illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUUF) in an effort to keep its fish exports a part of the European Union’s trading bloc. The department has issued vessel monitoring systems, mission patrol crafts, and instituted an agency to work on IUUF, among other actions. The Philippine Star