Latest Indian ocean Stories
Technical setup of the early warning sysem completedSix years after the tsunami disaster of 26/12/2004, the set-up of the German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System for the Indian Ocean (GITEWS) has been completed. The project ends on 31 March 2011. After that, Indonesia accepts the sole responsibility for the overall system."The innovative technical approach of GITEWS is based on a combination of different sensors, whose central element is a fast and precise detection and analysis...
A new large species of squid has been discovered among several dozens of other types gathered during exploration of the Indian Ocean, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said Monday. The 27-inch-long new species is part of the "chiroteuthid" family. It has light emitting organs that attract prey in the darkness thousands of feet deep along the craggy seabed, according to the IUCN. More than 7,000 samples of lifeforms were gathered during last year's Seamounts cruise...
A female humpback whale has broken the world record for longest distance ever traveled by a mammal, covering more than 6,000 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean while searching for a mate, according to a new study published in the journal Biology Letters.The whale in question was originally photographed in the midst of other whales at a breeding ground off of the southeastern coast of Brazil in August 1999. Two years later, in September 2001, the same whale--whose identity was...
The nation's ability to detect and forecast tsunamis has improved since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, but current efforts are still not sufficient to meet challenges posed by tsunamis generated near land that leave little time for warning, says a new congressionally requested report from the National Research Council. The report calls for a comprehensive national assessment of tsunami risk and improved communication and coordination among the two federal Tsunami Warning Centers, emergency...
On Sunday, the French yacht Tara will leave on its second leg of a three-year voyage across the world's oceans to try and collect data on the effects of climate change on microorganisms. The 118-foot boat will depart from Cape Town to head across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans for New Zealand next August as part of a 93,750-mile journey. "Sunday ... will be the birthday of the Tara Oceans project because it's the beginning of the second year of the project," said captain Olivier...
Two studies on children in Sri Lanka who survived the 2004 tsunami and ongoing civil war there found that it's not these stressful events alone that contributed to the youths' psychological health, but also daily stressors like domestic violence that are exacerbated by traumatic events and continue after the disasters.The studies appear in a special section on children and disaster in the July/August 2010 issue of the journal Child Development.The first study, by researchers at California...
Greenhouse gases are playing a role in changes, say scientistsNewly detected rising sea levels in parts of the Indian Ocean, including the coastlines of the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Java, appear to be at least partly a result of human-induced increases of atmospheric greenhouse gases, says a study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder.The study, which combined sea surface measurements going back to the 1960s and satellite observations, indicates...
Germany's new radar satellite, TanDEM-X, launched from Kazakhstan on Monday, has returned its first images of Earth. The spacecraft was created to make the most precise 3D map of the Earth's surface. The first images demonstrate that the satellite is in good working order and is ready to team up with the TerraSAR-X satellite launched three years ago. The pair of satellites will trace the variation in height across the globe with precision of better than 6 feet. The satellite will support a...
New study examines impact of cross-border initiativesWhile South Africa comes under the world's spotlight for the World Cup, it is being scrutinised by a University of Leicester researcher because of an innovative policy initiative.Rachel Tate, a PhD research student in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Leicester, is focussing on the Maputo Development Corridor, a cross-border spatial development initiative.This mega-project is held up as the pinnacle...
NEW YORK, May 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, the Somali pirate who led the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama container ship in the Indian Ocean, pleaded guilty today in Manhattan federal court to two felony counts of hijacking maritime vessels, two felony counts of kidnapping, and two felony counts of hostage taking. Muse's guilty plea arose from his participation in the April 8, 2009, hijacking of the Maersk Alabama container ship in the Indian Ocean, and the...
Latest Indian ocean Reference Libraries
The Persian Gulf is located in the western part of Asia between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. It’s an addition to the Indian Ocean. The Gulf was the focal point of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, which each side assaulted the other’s oil tankers. In the year 1991, the Persian Gulf again was the background for what was known as the “Persian Gulf War” or otherwise known as the “Gulf War”, despite the fact that this disagreement was mainly a land conflict, when Iraq raided Kuwait...
Chalice Corals, are a family of stony corals in the Pectiniidae family. Members of this family are mostly colonial but at least one species, Echinomorpha nishihirai, is solitary. These corals are endemic to the Indian and Pacific oceans. Pectiniids have a number of different forms but are basically streamlined and smooth. Polyps are large and brightly colored and resemble those of members of the Mussidae family of corals. The polyps are only extended at night. Tentacles are translucent,...
Discosoma (or Actinodiscus) is a genus of soft mushroom coral native to the Indian Ocean. This genus is sometimes incorrectly referred to as mushroom anemone or disc anemone. This coral is commonly collected and used worldwide in marine aquariums, where it is known to grow easily. There are 5 known species of mushroom coral: Actinodiscus dawydoffi, Actinodiscus fungiformis, Discosoma nummiforme, Actinodiscus rubraoris, and Actinodiscus unguja.
Plate Coral, (Fungia paumotensis), is a species of stony coral that occurs in the Indian Ocean on upper reef slopes especially where there is considerable movement of the water from wave action. It is usually found on sand or beds of coral fragments. This solitary, non-colonial coral is free living and not attached to the seabed. It is elongated and oval in shape and can grow rather large. Its single large polyp can be up to 9.8 inches long and is embedded in a cup shaped hollow known as...
Amsterdam Albatross or Amsterdam Island Albatross, (Diomedea amsterdamensis), is a species of albatross belonging to the Diomedeidae family. It was first described in 1983 and was originally believed to be a subspecies of the Wandering Albatross. BirdLife International now recognizes it as a separate species, but it is still considered a subspecies to some. The Amsterdam Albatross breeds only on Amsterdam Island, French Southern Territories in the southern Indian Ocean, at an elevation...
