Antarctic Sea Ice Cover At Record Low

Barrons – AFP, By Marlowe HOOD, March 8, 2023 

Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest extent in the 45-year satellite data record last
month. Johan ORDONEZ

Sea ice in Antarctica shrank to the smallest area on record in February for the second year in a row, continuing a decade-long decline, the European Union's climate monitoring service said Tuesday. 

On February 16, the ocean surface covered by ice around the frozen continent shrank to 2.09 million square kilometres (800,000 square miles), the lowest level since satellite records began, according to figures provided to AFP by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). 

"Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest extent in the 45-year satellite data record," said Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of C3S. 

US government scientists have also confirmed a new record last month but indicated an even lower figure of 1.79 million sq km, a difference Copernicus attributed to "different sea ice retrieval algorithms". 

Sea-ice concentrations during the southern hemisphere summer were well below average in all sectors of the Southern Ocean. 

Startlingly, the record lows this year and in 2022 are about 30 percent below the 1981-2010 average. 

"These low sea-ice conditions may have important implications for the stability of Antarctic ice shelves and ultimately for global sea level rise," said Burgess.

 "Polar ice caps are a sensitive indicator of the climate crisis." 

Melting sea ice has no discernible impact on sea levels because the ice is already in ocean water. 

But diminished ice cover is nonetheless a major concern because it helps accelerate global warming, including in the Arctic region. 

About 90 percent of the Sun's energy that hits white sea ice is reflected back into space. But when sunlight hits dark, unfrozen ocean water, nearly the same amount of that energy is absorbed instead, contributing directly to a warming planet. 

Both the North and South pole regions have warmed by roughly three degrees Celsius compared to late 19th-century levels, three times the global average.  

Antarctic sea ice at record low. Valentin RAKOVSKY

But unlike sea ice in the Arctic, which has diminished by three percent a year since the late 1970s, sea ice in Antarctica has remained relatively constant over the same period, albeit with large annual variations. 

Until recently -- over the last eight years -- minimum sea ice extent in the Southern Ocean has consistently been below the average for the 1991-2020 period. 

Antarctica encountered its first recorded heatwave in 2020, with an unprecedented 9.2C above the mean maximum. In March last year, a research centre in eastern Antarctica saw temperatures soar 30 degrees above normal. 

Recent ice cover during the austral summer has shrunk most around West Antarctica, which is more vulnerable to the impacts of global warming than the far larger East Antarctica. 

The record minimum sea ice extent in the Arctic -- 3.4 million square kilometres -- occurred in 2012, with the second- and third-lowest ice-covered areas in 2020 and 2019, respectively. 

In 2021, The UN's IPCC climate science advisory panel forecast with "high confidence" that the Arctic Ocean would become practically ice-free in September at least once by mid-century.

UN states agree 'historic' deal to protect high seas

Yahoo – AFP, Amélie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS,  5 March 2023 

UN member states finally agreed Saturday to a text on the first international treaty after years of negotiations to protect the high seas, a fragile and vital treasure that covers nearly half the planet. 

"The ship has reached the shore," conference chair Rena Lee announced at the UN headquarters in New York shortly before 9:30 pm (0230 GMT Sunday), to loud and lengthy applause from delegates.

The exact wording of the text was not immediately released but activists hailed it as a breakthrough moment for the protection of biodiversity after more than 15 years of discussions. 

The treaty is seen as essential to conserving 30 percent of the world's land and ocean by 2030, as agreed by world governments in a historic accord signed in Montreal in December. 

"This is a historic day for conservation and a sign that in a divided world, protecting nature and people can triumph over geopolitics," said Greenpeace's Laura Meller. 

EU environment commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius on Sunday called the treaty "a crucial step forward to preserve the marine life and biodiversity that are essential for us and the generations to come." 

Following two weeks of intense talks, including a marathon overnight session Friday into Saturday, delegates finalized a text that now cannot be significantly altered. 

"There will be no reopening or discussions of substance," Lee told negotiators. 

The agreement will be formally adopted at a later date once it has been vetted by lawyers and translated into the United Nations' six official languages, she announced. 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres commended the delegates, according to a spokesperson who said the agreement was a "victory for multilateralism and for global efforts to counter the destructive trends facing ocean health, now and for generations to come." 

'Critical role' 

The high seas begin at the border of countries' exclusive economic zones, which extend up to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from coastlines. They thus fall under the jurisdiction of no country. 

Even though the high seas comprise more than 60 percent of the world's oceans and nearly half the planet's surface, they have long drawn far less attention than coastal waters and a few iconic species.

 Ocean ecosystems create half the oxygen humans breathe and limit global warming by absorbing much of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities. 

But they are threatened by climate change, pollution and overfishing. 

Only about one percent of the high seas are currently protected. 

When the new treaty comes into force it will allow the creation of marine protected areas in these international waters. 

"High seas marine protected areas can play a critical role in building resilience to the impact of climate change," said Liz Karan of The Pew Charitable Trusts, which called the agreement a "momentous achievement." 

The treaty will also oblige countries to conduct environmental impact assessments of proposed activities on the high seas. 

A highly sensitive chapter on the sharing of potential benefits of newly discovered marine resources was one of the focal points of tensions before it was finally overcome as the scheduled talks, due to end Friday, overran by a day. 

'Profits' 

Developing countries, without the means to afford costly research, had fought not to be excluded from the expected windfall from the commercialization of potential substances discovered in the international waters. 

Eventual profits are likely from the pharmaceutical, chemical or cosmetic use of newly discovered marine substances that belong to no one. 

As in other international forums, notably climate negotiations, the debate ended up being a question of ensuring equity between the poorer global South and richer North, observers noted. 

In a move seen as an attempt to build trust between rich and poor countries, the European Union pledged 40 million euros ($42 million) in New York to facilitate the ratification of the treaty and its early implementation. 

The EU also announced $860 million for research, monitoring and conservation of oceans in 2023 at the Our Ocean conference in Panama that ended Friday. Panama said a total of $19 billion was pledged by countries. 

In 2017, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on nations to establish a high seas treaty. 

It originally planned four negotiating sessions but had to pass two resolutions to ensure two additional sessions. 

"We can now finally move from talk to real change at sea," said Greenpeace's Meller.

Mass stranding kills 14 whales in Australia

Yahoo – AFP, 21 September 2022 

Australian wildlife investigators were on Wednesday trying to piece together why more than a dozen young male sperm whales died in a mass stranding on a remote beach in the state of Tasmania. 

The 14 whales were discovered beached on King Island earlier this week, off Tasmania's north coast. 

Biologists and a veterinarian from the state's conservation agency have travelled to the small island to investigate, with an aerial survey finding no other stranded whales. 

The young whales' deaths may be a case of "misadventure", wildlife biologist Kris Carlyon from the state government conservation agency told the local Mercury newspaper. 

"The most common reason for stranding events is misadventure, they might have been foraging close to shore, there might have been food and possibly they were caught on a low tide," Carlyon said. 

"That's the theory at the moment." 

He said the whales likely beached themselves on Sunday, before being found dead on Monday. 

Mass strandings of whales were "infrequent but certainly not unexpected" in the region, Carlyon told The Mercury. 

In 2020, Tasmania experienced Australia's largest-ever mass stranding when 470 whales became stuck in the state's west. 

More than 300 pilot whales died during that stranding, despite the efforts of dozens of volunteers who toiled for days in Tasmania's freezing waters to free them. 

The reason for mass whale strandings remains mysterious, but some experts theorised the 2020 pod may have gotten lost after feeding close to the shoreline or by following one or two whales that strayed.

Great Barrier Reef sees fragile coral comeback

Yahoo – AFP, Andrew BEATTY, August 4, 2022 

Parts of Australia's beleaguered Great Barrier Reef now have the highest levels of coral cover seen in decades, a government report said Thursday, suggesting the aquatic wonder could survive given the chance. 

Portions of the vast UNESCO heritage site showed a marked increase in coral cover in the last year, reaching levels not seen in 36 years of monitoring, the Australian Institute of Marine Science said. 

Scientists surveying 87 sites said northern and central parts of the reef had bounced back from damage more quickly than some had expected, thanks mainly to fast-growing Acropora -- a branching coral that supports thousands of marine species. 

"These latest results demonstrate the reef can still recover in periods free of intense disturbances," said the Australian Institute of Marine Science's CEO Paul Hardisty. 

But far from declaring victory, Hardisty warned the gains could easily be reversed by cyclones, new bleaching events or crown-of-thorns outbreaks. 

He pointed to a reversal in fortunes for the southern portion of the reef, which a year ago had appeared to be on the mend, but was now in decline again. 

"This shows how vulnerable the reef is to the continued acute and severe disturbances that are occurring more often, and are longer-lasting," he said. 

Coral coverage has increased by 36 percent across sites monitored in the northern part of the reef, up from 27 percent in 2021. 

But the picture was less encouraging as the scientists moved south, with a smaller increase in cover in the reef's central belt and a marked decrease in coral cover in the south. 

The spread of coral-killing crown-of-thorns starfish has also taken a toll. 

Only fierce lobbying by the Australian government stopped the reef from being labelled "in danger" by UNESCO -- a potentially devastating blow to the country's multi-billion-dollar tourism industry. 

Many fear that the speeding rate of damage could cause the reef to be destroyed entirely. 

Marine scientist Terry Hughes said it was "good news" that coral was regrowing, but warned the species driving the recovery were very vulnerable to ocean heating. 

He added that replacing large, old, slow-growing corals that had defined the reef was likely "no longer possible. Instead we're seeing partial reassembly of fast-growing, weedy corals before the next disturbance." 

Zoe Richards a researcher at the Coral Conservation and Research Group at Curtin University also cautioned against over-optimism. 

"This recovery trend is driven by a handful of Acropora species which often grow in a boom-and-bust pattern," she said. "This means that the next thermal stress event could easily decimate these coral communities once again." 

"We are already finding evidence that each mass bleaching event leads to local extinctions of rarer species, so the short-term success of a handful of fast-growing coral species masks the full story about the largely hidden losses of biodiversity."

Related Article:

“2011 and Beyond” - What you are seeing, and why - Jan 16, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Text version)

"....The Prediction: The Renewal of the Life Cycle

When you change the temperature strata of the oceans of the earth, things start to change, for the life cycle of the food in the ocean depends upon that which is the smallest. The plankton of the planet survive in certain temperatures, and that's changing. Throw away what you think you know about how it's all supposed to work, and instead think "renewal" or "how did it begin." This will serve you to understand what is happening now. This cycle is built to replenish the ocean with life and not always by sustaining the kind that was there.

Let us just talk about the ocean for a moment. We won't even get to what's happening in the air and what mammals might experience. Let's just speak of the ocean. Have you heard about the salmon? What has your science warned you against? You're overfishing! The sea is dying. The coral is dying. The reefs are going away. You're not seeing the food chain that used to be there. You've overfished everything. Fishing quotas have been set up to help this. Oh, all those little people in the red room - they don't know about the purple. Red people only know about the red paradigm.

Did you hear about the salmon recently? There's too many of them! In the very place where quotas are in place so you won't overfish, they're jumping in the boats! Against all odds and any projections from environmentalists or biologists, they're overrunning the oceans in Alaska - way too many fish.

What does that tell you? Is it possible that Gaia takes care of itself? That's what it tells you! Perhaps this alignment is going to keep humanity fed. Did anybody think of this? What if Gaia is in alliance with you? What if the increase in consciousness that raised your DNA vibration has alerted Gaia to change the weather cycle and get ready to feed humanity? Are you looking at the ocean where the oil spill occurred? It's recovering in a way that was not predicted. What's happening?

The life cycle itself is being altered by the temperature change of the ocean and much of what you have believed is the paradigm of life in the sea is slowly changing. A new system of life is appearing, as it has before, and is upon you in your lifetime. It will compliment what you know and expose you to a new concept: Gaia regularly refreshes the life cycle on Earth.

Within this process, there will be the extinction of certain plants and animals, birds and fish. My advice to you, especially to those environmentalists, is to understand the cycle of life so that you may relax with what nature has always done. It puts life on the planet to serve the planet for a time. When certain life no longer serves the planet in the ways it used to, it takes it away. The extinction of life, especially through weather change, is normal for Gaia. It is honored, appropriate and normal, even if you don't think so. Don't try to save all the disappearing animals, fish and birds! Some are supposed to go away. And, dear ones, don't assign all this activity to something you did to cause it!

The red people are stressing. The purple is here, and they are trying to figure out what they did wrong. They don't know they are in the Rainbow Room. They think they are in the RED ROOM. This is what the Rainbow Room does; it changes colors. So as the room does what it has always done, the red people are sitting there in fear trying to figure out what it is that they did that possibly could have caused the purple to appear.

The Rainbow Room is beautiful. The color purple is significant. Going from red to purple has metaphysical significance within this parable, but I'll let you figure it out. For those who are into colors, there's a reason why I gave those two. The earth is becoming more sacred than it's ever been before. Gaia is with you in this. It's cooperating in ways you never thought it could, in the way biologists said it would not. You think you're killing it? Instead, it's giving birth to an altered ecological system. ...."

Mystery mega yacht impounded by Italian authorities

Yahoo – AFP, May 6, 2022 

'Scheherazade' worth an estimated $700 million, is the subject of a probe
into its ownership by Italy's financial police (AFP/Federico SCOPPA)

The Italian authorities on Friday impounded a mega yacht at the centre of a mystery over its ownership as speculation swirled it might even belong to the Russian president. 

"Scheherazade", worth an estimated $700 million, has been the subject of a probe into its ownership by Italy's financial police. 

The Italian probe has helped "establish significant economic and business links between the person who officially possesses the Scheherazade and eminent people in the Russian government," as well as Russian figures sanctioned by the West following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Italian ministry of economy and finance said in a statement. 

Following the probe, "the minister of Economy and Finance, Daniele Franco, has signed a decree impounding" the yacht, the statement added. 

It had been berthed for several months for maintenance work at a shipyard at the Marina di Carrara, within the western seaside town of Massa. 

But the yacht was back on the water and seemed about to set sail on Friday, an AFP photographer said before the Italian government statement was issued. 

The 140-metre yacht features two helipads, a swimming pool and a movie theatre,
according to the SuperYachtFan website (AFP/Federico SCOPPA)

But the mystery remains unresolved: who does "Scheherazade" belong to? A Russian oligarch? Vladimir Putin? 

Built by Germany's Luerssen in 2020, the 140-metre yacht features two helipads, a swimming pool and a movie theatre, according to the SuperYachtFan website, which researches yachts and their owners. 

Italian police had said they were doing their best to identify the owner. 

"It's not always easy to attribute ownership" of a yacht, a source close to the Italian probe told AFP in late March. 

The same source said earlier Friday there was "nothing new" in the investigation. 

Researchers at the anti-corruption foundation of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny link the yacht to Putin. 

They cited a crew list in their possession that included several members of Russia's federal protective service, charged with Putin's security. 

But the Italian Sea Group said in a statement the yacht was "not attributable to the property of Russian President Vladimir Putin". 

The shipyard's owner said its assessment was based on "the documentation in its possession and following the findings of the checks carried out by the relevant authorities".

Antarctica hits record temperatures, say experts

France24 – AFP, Saturday 19 March 2022

Handout picture released by Chile's National Antarctic Institute (INACH)showing
a view of Union Glacier in Antarctica, on September 14, 2017 Felipe TRUEBA
 INACH/AFP/File

Paris (AFP) – Eastern Antarctica has recorded exceptionally high temperatures this week, more than 30 degrees Celsius above normal, say experts. 

The Concordia research base at Dome C of the Antarctic, which is at an altitude of 3,000 metres (9,800 feet), on Friday registered a record -11.5 degrees Celsius (11.3 Fahrenheit), Etienne Kapikian, a meteorologist from France-Meteo tweeted. 

Normally, temperatures fall with the end of the southern summer, but the Dumont d'Urville station on Antarctica registered record temperatures for March with 4.9C (40.82F), at a time of year when normally temperatures are already sub-zero. 

Gaetan Heymes of France Meteo described the unseasonably mild weather as a "historic event". 

And geoscientist Jonathan Wille wrote on Twitter: "And there it is, Concordia broke its all time record temperature by 1.5°C. 

"This is when temperatures should be rapidly falling since the summer solstice in December.

 "This is a Pacific Northwest 2021 heat wave kind of event," he added. "Never supposed to happen." 

The unprecedented temperatures come after the National Snow and Ice Data Center in the United States said Antarctica's sea ice fell below two million square kilometres (772,204 sq miles) in late February for the first time since 1979.

‘A bridge too far’: local anger at dismantling of historic bridge for Bezos boat

DutchNews, February 3, 2022, Senay Boztas

The Hef is an iconic part of Rotterdam’s skyline. Photo: elm3r via Wikimedia Commons

The Rotterdam branch of political party GroenLinks has called an emergency council debate over the fact that an iconic bridge will be temporarily taken apart to allow passage for a mega-yacht for Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos. 

The news that a section of national monument De Hef would be dismantled (and then put together again) to allow passage for the 127m long, three-masted, aluminium and steel schooner swiftly voyaged the world. 

But the story, broken on Wednesday by local broadcaster Rijnmond, sparked fury amongst history lovers, the Dutch public and some local councillors. 

GroenLinks councillor Stephan Leewis told Rijnmond that he took a dim view of the permission, particularly in the light of Amazon personnel policies and tax andregulation avoidance battles. 

‘Now, we have to break apart our beautiful listed monument?’ he reportedly said, in calling an emergency debate. ‘This really is a bridge too far.’ 

Heritage 

According to Dutch media, next week Rotterdam city council will debate the planning permission given to dismantle the middle section of the 1927 bridge, and reconstruct it – reportedly, at the cost of shipbuilder Oceanco and Bezos. 

Project leader at Rotterdam city council Marcel Walravens previously defended the decision as a pragmatic one. ‘It is about a ship with high masts which cannot pass through the bridge. The only alternative is to take out the middle section,’ he told Rijnmond. 

Walravens hoped that with proper preparation, the middle section of the bridge would only be removed for a day and pointed out the economic and jobs benefit to the region, plus the boost to its international shipbuilding reputation. 

However, some history experts were unimpressed. ‘Jobs are important, but there are limits with what you can and should do with our industrial heritage,’ said Ton Wesselink of the local history society Historisch Genootschap Roterodamum to Rijnmond. 

‘Inequality’ 

On social media, commentators also pointed out the apparent inconsistency in strict, Dutch listed building policy and the privilege apparently afforded to an American billionaire to take apart a bridge which the council had previously promised would no longer be touched. 

On social media, the story inspired humorous comment as well as outrage, particularly in the light of the bridge’s historical destruction during the 1940 Nazi bombardment. A commenter called ‘Marky Mark’ suggested: ‘Can’t we simply dismantle Jeff Bezos and have Rotterdam pass through him?’ 

Jeroen Stet commented: ‘Mega-yachts are a symbol of greed, inequality, and all that is bad about capitalism and the impact it has on the world. If you think you need something like this, it says a lot about you.’ 

Ophef 

Others pointed out that the bridge would be repaired again, and that the shipyard was a huge local employer. Meanwhile, Paul Peeters, podcast host at DutchNews.nl, noted that this was a scandal, or ophef, with a ring about it: ‘De Hef/Jeff-ophef.’ 

At 127 metres long, Bezos’ yacht is set to be the largest sailing yacht in the world when delivered at some point this year, according to Boat International. It is reportedly being moved from one shipyard to another for final fitting. 

A spokesman for Rotterdam council told DutchNews.nl. ‘The municipality of Rotterdam only gives permission to the maritime sector to take a ship to sea. The municipality does not build ships, so we have no further information about this.’

King opens largest sea sluice in the world at IJmuiden

 DutchNews, January 26, 2022

Zeesluis IJmuiden is open for shipping. Photo: ANP/Robin van Lonkhuijsen

King Willem-Alexander opened the largest sea sluice in the world at IJmuiden on Wednesday afternoon, concluding a project that finished over time and over budget. 

The new sluice replaces the smaller Noordersluis which was built in 1929. The construction of the new sluice, which was started in 2016 and expected to be finished in 2019, was plagued by mishaps, causing delays and rising costs. 

A construction error made by builders BAM and VolkerWessels cost the companies hundreds of millions of euros to rectify. 

A public contest to name the new landmark sparked hilarity online when Velsen municipality sifted through 5,000 entries before opting for the prosaic ‘Zeesluis IJmuiden’. Infrastructure minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen said: ‘The name Zeesluis IJmuiden is exactly what it is.’

 Alternative suggestions included De Irma Sluis, after the sign language interpreter who became a household name during the coronavirus press conferences, but the idea was rejected because public infrastructure projects cannot be named after living people, except for royalty. 

The sluice, which is 500 metres long, 70 metres wide and 18 metres deep, has been put through its paces since the summer and is now ready to accommodate today’s ever-larger sea vessels, waterways agency Rijkswaterstaatsaid.

‘Amsterdam has just been given a bigger front door,’ Jaap Zeilmaker of Rijkswaterstaat said. ‘The new sluice will not just benefit the economy but thanks to the technical expertise involved sea level rise and the influx of salt water have also been taken into account.’ 

Monster iceberg released 'billions of tonnes' of fresh water into ocean

MSN - AFP, 20 January 2022

The A-68 iceberg was one of the largest ever observed

A giant iceberg that detached from Antarctica in 2017 released the equivalent of 61 million Olympic-sized swimming pools of fresh water as it melted, according to research published Thursday, raising questions over the impact on the marine ecosystem. 

The monstrous iceberg was twice the size of Luxembourg when it separated from the Larsen ice shelf, which has warmed faster than any other part of Earth's southernmost continent. 

At 5,719 square kilometres (2,200 square miles) it was the biggest iceberg on Earth when it formed and the sixth-largest on record, according to the British Antarctic Survey. 

For two years, the trillion-tonne giant known as A-68, drifted close to home in the cold waters of the Weddell Sea before travelling northwards and menacing the British island of South Georgia, some 4,000 kilometres (2,500 miles) from its starting point. 

The iceberg, by then known as A-68a after a piece snapped off, came dangerously close to the island in late 2020, raising fears that it would become stuck on the seabed, block ocean currents and obstruct the passage of thousands of penguins and seals. 

But the new study found that while it did briefly graze the seabed, the iceberg melted quickly once in the warmer region around South Georgia and had already lost a significant amount of its bulk by the time it reached shallower waters. 

Researchers who tracked its journey via satellites calculated that from late 2020 until it melted away in 2021, A-68 released an estimated total of 152 billion tonnes of nutrient-rich fresh water into the sea. 

That is equivalent to 20 times the water in Scotland's Loch Ness, or 61 million Olympic-sized swimming pools, said the BAS in a press release, adding it was "a disturbance that could have a profound impact on the island's marine habitat". 

"This is a huge amount of melt water," said Anne Braakmann-Folgmann, a researcher at the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM), who led the research published in the journal Remote Sensing of Environment. 

"The next thing we want to learn is whether it had a positive or negative impact on the ecosystem" around South Georgia, she said. 

'Classic' route 

Researchers said the cold fresh meltwater and nutrients released as icebergs melt can influence local ocean circulation and spark biological production. 

Braakmann-Folgmann said A-68 had taken a "classic" route for icebergs in the region, adding that further research would look to learn more about how these icebergs are affecting the polar oceans. 

Icebergs form when hunks of ice break off from ice shelves or glaciers and begin to float in open water. 

Their formation is part of a natural process, although one which can be accelerated by warming air and ocean temperatures due to human-caused climate change. 

Earth's average surface temperature has gone up by one degree Celsius since the 19th century, enough to increase the intensity of droughts, heat waves and tropical cyclones. 

But the air over Antarctica has warmed more than twice that much. 

Ice sheets atop Greenland and West Antarctic hold enough frozen water to lift oceans a dozen metres (40 feet), drowning cities and redrawing the planet's coastlines. 

Icebergs are traditionally named after the Antarctic quadrant in which they were originally detected, then a sequential number. 

If they break apart more letters are added to differentiate the fragments.

South Africa court suspends Shell seismic survey plan

France24 – AFP, 28 December 2021

The ruling is a temporary victory for green groups who said seismic exploration
would harm whales, seals and other fragile species RODGER BOSCH AFP

Johannesburg (AFP) – A South African court on Tuesday blocked Shell from using seismic waves to explore for oil and gas in the Indian Ocean, in a victory for environmentalists worried about the impact on whales and other species. 

Backing a suit filed by conservationists, the High Court in the Eastern Cape town of Makhanda ruled that Shell was "hereby interdicted from undertaking seismic survey operations." 

The fossil fuel giant had announced plans to start exploration over more than 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 square miles) of ocean off South Africa's Wild Coast region. 

The Wild Coast is a 300-kilometre (185-mile) stretch of natural beauty, dotted with marine and nature reserves. 

The area of interest lies 20 kilometres (12 miles) off the coast, in waters 700 to 3,000 meters deep (2,300 to 10,000 feet). 

Shell's scheme entails using seismic shockwaves which bounce off the sea bed, and whose signature can point to potentially energy-bearing sites. 

"Many sea creatures will be affected, from whales, dolphins, seals, penguins to tiny plankton that will be blasted," said Janet Solomon, of the environmental group Oceans Not Oil in the runup to the hearing. 

Exploration had been scheduled to start on December 1 and last up to five months. 

A Shell spokesperson said Tuesday: "We respect the court's decision and have paused the survey while we review the judgement. 

'Huge victory'

"Surveys of this nature have been conducted for over 50 years with more than 15 years of extensive peer-reviewed scientific research." 

The campaigners were jubilant at the ruling, but stressed that the relief was only temporary. 

"It's a huge victory," said Katherine Robinson of the NGO Natural Justice. 

"But the struggle is not over -- this decision is just the interdict. We understand that the proceedings will continue." 

A petition against the project had gathered nearly 85,000 signatures. 

Campaigners said the scheme would entail "one extremely loud shock wave every 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, for five months at a time." 

Shell argued that it took "great care to prevent or minimise" the impact on wildlife, and promised that the work would strictly follow the guidelines of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, a UK government adviser on nature conservation. 

On Tuesday, it also stressed what it described as the benefits for South Africa if oil and gas were found. 

"South Africa is highly reliant on energy imports for many of its energy needs," the company's spokesperson said. 

"If viable resources were to be found offshore, this could significantly contribute to the country’s energy security and the government’s economic development programmes." 

South Africa's energy ministry had backed the scheme, and lashed those who opposed it as thwarting investment in the country's development. 

The High Court's ruling comes after a lower court rejected the conservationists' suit in early December. 

Several fishermen and local groups were also part of the petition.

Big cruise ships banned from Venice centre from August: govt

MSN – AFP, 13 July 2021 

Scenes like this will soon be a thing of the past in Venice (Miguel Medina)

Large cruise ships will be banned from sailing into the centre of Venice from August 1 amid fears they are causing irreparable damage to the lagoon city, Italy's government said Tuesday. 

a large ship in the water: Scenes like this will soon be a thing of the past in Venice© Miguel MEDINA Scenes like this will soon be a thing of the past in Venice

"The decree adopted today represents an important step for the protection of the Venetian lagoon system," said Prime Minister Mario Draghi in a statement following a cabinet minister that approved the law. 

Instead they will be diverted to the city's industrial port of Marghera, although this is viewed as only a temporary solution, with ministers calling for ideas on a new permanent terminal. 

Campaigners have for years been calling for cruise ships to be banned from sailing past the iconic St Mark's Square, saying they cause large waves that undermine the city's foundations and harm the fragile ecosystem of its lagoon. 

The debate was reignited by the return last month of cruise ships after months of quiet in the city during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The UN's cultural agency UNESCO late last month recommended Venice be put on a list of "World Heritage in Danger" sites ahead of a meeting of its World Heritage Committee in China starting Friday. 

Infrastructure minister Enrico Giovannini said the ban was a "necessary step to protect the environmental, landscape, artistic and cultural integrity of Venice". 

The ban will apply to ships which fulfil any of four criteria: weighing more than 25,000 tonnes, measuring more than 180 metres long, more than 35 metres high or producing more than 0.1 percent sulphur. 

Ships that do not fulfil one of these criteria -- notably smaller cruise ships with around 200 passengers -- are "considered sustainable" and will continue to be able to dock in Venice centre.