YOUR WEEKLY BRIEFING FROM PARLEY

PLASTIC POLLUTION

According to a new report, manta rays and whale sharks in Indonesia are consuming between dozens and hundreds of microplastic fragments every hour. As filter feeders, these animals pump seawater in and out of their mouths to feed on small, free-floating zooplankton. This strategy causes them to ingest lots of microplastics, which are roughly the same size as their prey.

In particular, Indonesia’s manta rays and whale sharks are predisposed to plastic poisoning because they live along polluted coasts and swallow thousands of cubic meters of seawater each day. While the exact health effects remain unclear, it’s possible that plastic obstructs their digestive tracts and carries toxic chemicals. In response, scientists all over the world have begun to invest more time and resources into researching ocean microplastic.

KELP FORESTS

The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than almost anywhere else in the world, and that trend has transformed the region’s ecosystem from the seafloor up. Historically, kelp forests dominated the Gulf, but warming waters have reduced kelp’s growing season and provided an opportunity for other seaweeds to move in. New research shows that invasive species now cover 80% of the seafloor south of Portland. This seaweed shift is a problem because like corals, kelp are a “foundation species,” meaning they create a physical habitat for other wildlife. “Kelp foster an enormous amount of local biodiversity, and there are many species that only live within them,” one ecologist said. “When you lose these forests you lose all that.”

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BRAZIL OIL SPILL

For almost three months, crude oil has been washing up along Brazil’s northeast coastline, but the origins of this disaster remain unclear. Brazilian officials originally blamed Venezuela for the spill and then expanded their list of suspects to five Greek ships. The latest theory implies that a “dark ship” trying to avoid sanctions is responsible. Dark ships are cargo vessels that turn off their location transponders to avoid satellite detection. With 6,000 tons of oil removed already, volunteers have primarily led the cleanup, leading many to critique President Bolsonaro’s lackluster response. Brazilian authorities have yet to publicize a chemical analysis of the crude or conduct a formal assessment of the ecological damages.

MARINE CONSERVATION

This week, NOAA announced a landmark plan to conserve more than 140,000 miles of seafloor off the U.S. West Coast. Starting in 2020, 90% of the region will be protected from bottom trawling, an ecologically destructive practice where nets are dragged across the seabed. Years of negations among NOAA, fisheries management, and fishermen were the backbone behind this massive success. Ben Enticknap, a senior scientist involved in the outcome, explains that “Healthy oceans rely on a healthy seafloor, and these new conversation areas will ensure that commercially important fish and other animals, like deep-sea corals, octopus, crab, and sea stars can thrive into the future.”

CLIMATE CHANGE

Reasons for despair and hope this week. A sweeping UN analysis finds that production targets for coal, oil and natural gas will put the world on course to release more than double the amount of carbon dioxide that scientists say would result in 1.5 degrees Celsius warming. The groups see coal production contributing the most to the excess emissions planned by industry and governments. Meanwhile, a clean energy company says it has discovered a way to use artificial intelligence and a field of mirrors to reflect enough sunlight to generate extreme heat above 1,000 degrees Celsius – enough to make cement, steel and glass without the high CO2 emissions normally required by these processes.

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