China to boost offshore wind power to 30 gigawatts by 2020

People's Daily Online, by Ye Xin, China, June 22, 2011

In the next five years, China will boost its offshore wind power installed capacity to 5 gigawatts and form a complete technology and industrial chain. Afterward, China's offshore wind power will enter into a phase of large-scale development and is estimated to reach 30 gigawatts in 2020, according to the energy plan and renewable energy plan during the 12th Five-Year Plan.

The National Energy Bureau (NEB) will launch preparation work for the second public bidding on offshore wind power concession projects in the second half year of 2011 and is scheduled to complete the bidding in the first half year of 2012. The total construction scale will be between 1.5 gigawatts and 2 gigawatts, according to news from a symposium on offshore wind power held in Nantong City of east China's Jiangsu Province on June 22.

Offshore wind power is the frontier of the development of global wind power. China's enterprises must reach the international advanced level in offshore wind power, said Liu Qi, deputy director of the NEB.

In June 2010, the first stage project of East Sea Bridge Offshore Wind Farm went into operation in Shanghai. Totaling 102 megawatts, it is China's first large-scale offshore wind farm and is located on the east side of the Shanghai East Sea Bridge. It comprises 34 units of 3-megawatt Sinovel turbines.

In addition, China Longyuan Electic Power Group Corp. built the world's first experimental offshore wind farm in 2010 and the follow-up project started on June 21, 2011.

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Dolphins kept vigil on Irishman's body

The Irish Times, NICK BRAMHILL, Saturday, June 18, 2011

A GRIEVING mother said yesterday that she drew comfort at her son’s funeral yesterday after learning that a pod of dolphins had kept a vigil on his body after his fatal accident in Australia.

Shaun McBride, from Co Donegal, died in a tragic accident less than two weeks ago in Dampier, Western Australia, when scaffolding collapsed into the water beneath him.

He was buried after a funeral Mass in St Columba’s church in Burtonport.

His mother, Sylvia, said the remarkably affectionate scene which rescuers witnessed had a special poignancy as her son had a huge attachment to dolphins as a young child.

He had only arrived in Western Australia six weeks before his death.

Speaking ahead of the funeral, Perth-based priest Fr Joe Walsh said the family had found comfort when he told them about the dolphins’ remarkable vigil.

Fr Walsh said: “We’ve learnt that a few hours after the accident when divers went to retrieve his body, they saw a big pod of dolphins swimming around him.

“And there was one dolphin that was using its nose to try to lift the body up to the surface.

“But it wasn’t able to do so because the body was caught up in the scaffolding.”

Indonesia becomes fisheries' regional center

Antara News, Fri, June 17 2011

Jakarta  (ANTARA News) - Indonesia was asked to become the Regional Center for Inland Fisheries Development. This was stated today (June 17) by Marine and Fisheries Minister, Fadel Muhammad, after attending the Ministrial Meeting which opened by Thailand Vice Prime Minister, Trairong Suwankhiri in Bangkok, Thailand.

"This is an honor for Indonesia to be trusted by SEAFDEC (South East Asian Fisheries Development Center) countries member as a place to the sub-commision organization activities which was initiated by Japan.

According to Fadel, as one of the marine and fisheries producer countries in the world, role of Indonesia in development and construction in fisheries sector is highly valued by other countries. Another honorary for Indonesia is in this Ministrial Meeting, Indonesia is trusted to be vice chairman together with Thailand which will be a host as well as chairman for the meeting.

Fadel stated, there are other important things which agreed by Agriculture and Fisheries ASEAN Ministers together with Japan in the SEAFDEC that is Indonesia at the end of 2011 will be a host to organize the ministrial meeting to discuss Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing solutions which often occurs in Indonesia.

The last thing to be discussed in Bangkok meeting this time is economic partnership between ASEAN countries and food security partnership especially fish until 2020. All of SEAFDEC members are also agreed with Indonesia as a coordinator to concern with food security threatening issue.

During the SEAFDEC Ministrial Meeting, Fadel with Malaysian Agricultural Minister, Dato Seri Noh Umar held a bilateral meeting to discuss about fisherman security between two countries.

In this bilateral meeting, the solutions for those securities issues will be solved amicably for the advantage and welfare of Indonesian and Malaysian fishermen.

After the bilateral meeting, Fadel and Omar feel grateful that all fishermen security issues which has happened can be solved. Today, Fadel and Omar are also agreed to prioritize fishermen welfare and security when fishing.

For further information, please contact Dr.Yulistyo Mudho, M.Sc, Head of Data, Statistics and Information Center, The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (Mobile 0811836967).

Editor: Jafar M Sidik

Naked Russian diver swims with beluga whales in Arctic

English.news.cn   2011-06-17

Russian diver Natalia Avseenko, 36, stripped naked to swim with two
beluga whales in sub-zero water in the Arctic. (Photo: voc.com.cn)

Editor: Yang Lina

Dismay Over Plans for Indonesia’s Captive Dolphins

Jakarta Globe, June 16, 2011

The Indonesian government plans to bypass environmental groups and dump captive dolphins in the ocean without proper rehabilitation, according to the Jakarta Animal Aid Network’s press release issued Thursday morning.

Courtesy of the Jakarta Animal Aid Network

“Without rehabilitation the dolphins have a very small chance of survival,” Femke Den Haas, Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN) founder, said.

The Indonesian government plans to return all the dolphins held without permits directly back to the sea without prior retraining. But the government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with JAAN in October 2010 that arranged for all dolphins to be rehabilitated by JAAN before being returned to the wild.

JAAN runs the world’s largest dolphin rehabilitation center, located on Karimun Jawa Island.

“JAAN’s hope is that the government will follow the MOU and place the dolphins in the care of the JAAN for rehab before release,” according to the press release.

The group became aware of the government’s plan during meetings with Darori, the director general of Indonesia’s Forest Protection and Nature Conservation (PHKA).

The PHKA plans to release the dolphins previously held at the Taman Safari Center in Batang and with a traveling circus based in Kendral, according to Den Haas. The traveling circus holds six permits but owns more than 20 dolphins.

There are more than 50 dolphins kept in captivity without permits in Indonesia, the founder added.

She said dolphins require rehabilitation to regain muscle strength and hunting instincts before returning to their natural habitat.

“They have been in unnatural conditions where they swim in circles and are fed by handlers,” Den Haas said. “They must be re-trained to swim straight and hunt for food.”

Dolphins must also be trained to re-use their sonar system.

They stop using the sonar because it annoys them,” Den Haas said. “When in captivity they stop using it because the signal bounces [off the walls of the pool] and returns to them.”

According to Pramudya Harzani, JAAN director, the dolphins require between one and six months of rehabilitation, depending on how long they were held in captive.

JAAN said ideally the dolphins would be released around Karimun Jawa Island because there was a good chance the dolphins would reconnect with their families.

“Every dolphin has a unique sound and the ability to transmit its signal tens of miles,” Den Haas said.

“We will utilize GPS pegging after release to monitor whether the dolphins have reunited with their families.”

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Indonesia Commemorates "World Ocean Day"

Antara News, Thu, June 16 2011

Jakarta, June 16, 2011 (ANTARA) - In commemorating the "World Ocean Day" (WOD) or World Marine Day, today (15/6) Indonesia commemorates for the first time "World Ocean Day", which was set up by the United Nation in 2009. In his speech, Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister, Fadel Muhammad, said this commemoration will be a momentum for people to contemplate, initiate, and take steps to deal with challenges in global community related to the ocean. "Local government must be aware with the importance to build the ocean as the nation's future," said Fadel.

According to Fadel, ocean has important function with food security, nutrition security, health and the existence of all aspects in life. Ocean has power to affect directly or indirectly the climate and earth which we all live. In everyday life, we receive marine service from the transportation, consumption, and recreation.

Meanwhile, the Defence and Security Minister, Poernomo Yusgiantoro, whose participate in commemoration of WOD said the archipelago security can be synergized with the use of small islands to save the ocean. Small islands in border region have double functions, such as ocean security and developing economic potential in this region. Poernomo said as many as 12 islands in this border region become a priority to implement those double roles such as Nipah Island, Miangas Island, and Berahla Island. Nowadays, people around the world deal with the piracy and armed robbery ship issues, which was happened in the last couple of years in Somalia Waters. The role of ocean as trading route is very important because 90% transportation of goods in the world is through the ocean. "Because of that, the ocean security is important to support economic activities in this region," he said.

Indonesia is the biggest archipelagic country in the world with 70% its territory is ocean and has 17,480 small islands.According to this geographic fact, Indonesia has done two strategic things such as; first, Juanda Declaration on December 13, 1957, which stated that the inland ocean is a jurisdiction area of the Republic of Indonesia. Second, the implementation of amandement to the Constitution of 1945 in 2000 so that the article of 25A stated that "The Republic of Indonesia is an archipelagic country". For this statement, the national development budgetting system should be based on the concept "Archipelagic State", rather than today's system," said Rompas Max Rompas, Secretary of National Marine Board (Dekin).

The Ocean Day is commemorated on June 8, 2011 since the United Nation set the date on its General Assembly in 2009. This idea has been proposed by Canada on June 8, 1992 in Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Since that day, all countries commemorate World Ocean Day because ocean is an important life's chain. The commemoration of WOD this year has theme "Our Oceans" : Greening Our Future", which means "Our Ocean, Preserving Our Future."

On this occasion, the Archipelago Day 2011 will be inaugurated in Dumai, Province of Riau and the Ministry of Defence and Security is the chair to host this event. The discussion panel which brings the topic of discuss, initiate, 'sue' the implementation of the Constitution of 1945 amandement, article 25A which was set by the People's Consultative Assembly in 2000. This discussion panel was attend by Anna Mu'awanah (Vice Chairman of Commision IV DPR-RI) and Professor Jimly Asshidiqie (Legal Expert of State Administration), moderated by Mukhlis Yusuf, Managing Director of Antara News Agency.

For further information, please contact Dr.Yulistyo Mudho, M.Sc, Head of Data, Statistics and Information Center, The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (Mobile 0811836967)

Dogs likely born with 'Canine Telepathy'

Discovery News, Analysis by Jennifer Viegas, Thu Jun 9, 2011

(Image: Monique Udell)

Dogs are so in tune with us that they can read our minds, according to a new Learning & Behavior study that also determined canines are probably born with the ability.

Practice makes perfect, however, so the more a dog hangs around humans, the better he or she becomes at "canine telepathy," which actually relies upon hyperawareness of the senses.

Those of us who have owned or been around dogs for any period of time know how well they often "get" us, sensing tiredness, depression, headaches or other maladies before we consciously exhibit any major outward signs of distress. Dogs can even detect when a person has cancer. They also seem to sense our joy and good health.

Monique Udell and her team from the University of Florida wondered why dogs are so clever at reading us, and how they accomplish this feat. Are dogs born with the ability to sense our mental states, or do canines learn from experience?

To explore these questions and more, Udell and her team carried out two experiments involving both wolves and dogs. In the experiments, the two sets of animals were given the opportunity to beg for food, either from an attentive person or from a person unable to see the potential begger.

The researchers showed for the first time that wolves, like domestic dogs, are capable of begging successfully for food by approaching the attentive human. This demonstrates that both species - domesticated and non-domesticated - have the capacity to behave in accordance with a human's attentional state. They are therefore likely born with the ability, since wolves would not have had much practice, which the typical pet dog gains by begging for treats during dinner and at other times.

Some dogs were better at reading people than others were, however. Shelter dogs were not nearly as good as pampered house pooches, demonstrating that exposure to humans allows dogs to hone their natural people-reading skills more.

According to the researchers, "These results suggest that dogs' ability to follow human actions stems from a willingness to accept humans as social companions, combined with conditioning to follow the limbs and actions of humans to acquire reinforcement. The type of attentional cues, the context in which the command is presented, and previous experience are all important."

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A child enjoys the view at the Batang Dolphin Center in
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Fish farming is answer to increasing global meat demands, says report

Conservation International says aquaculture has lower environmental impact than cattle, pig and poultry farming

guardian.co.uk, Jonathan Watts, Asia environment correspondent, Tuesday 14 June 2011

Carp in a fish farm at Zabieniec, Poland. Photograph: Janek Skarzynski
/ AFP/Getty Images

The world needs to farm more fish and algae to meet the world's growing demand for animal products, according to a report released on Tuesday by international NGO Conservation International.

The worldwide assessment concluded the environmental impact of aquaculture is lower than raising cattle, pigs or poultry so it should be expanded to alleviate the growing global food crisis.

"Aquaculture is most likely to meet the growing demand for animal products with the least demand on ecosystems," said Sebastian Troëng of Conservation International. "It would be better still if more people became vegetarian, but that looks unlikely."

The report was co-written with the WorldFish Centre – which advocates sustainable aquaculture – as a response to the precipitous decline in word fish stocks.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that over 84% of the world's fisheries are either depleted, over- or fully exploited, which means that wild fish in oceans are too weak to meet the growing needs of an expanding, increasingly affluent global population.

Fish farming in ponds, lakes, rivers and coastal waters is increasingly used to fill the gap – it is overtake wild-caught fish produce this year – particularly in Asia. The world's most crowded continent accounts for 91% of aquacultural production with the vast majority – about two-thirds – in China. This trend is expected to continue.

"China, India and the rest of Asia with their growing middle classes are where we can expect demand for fish to rise most significantly," said co-author Mike Phillips, a senior scientist at WorldFish. "Current trends indicate that the majority of the increase in global production will come from south and south-east Asia, with a continued drive by major producersuch as China and Vietnam towards export to Europea and north America."

The report says fish farming can have environmental benefits if done sustainably. Fish process energy more efficiently than mammals such as cows and pigs because they are cold-blooded (so less calories are needed for warming themselves) and live in water (so relatively more of the body converts to muscle than bone). The authors say that for each kilogram of protein from beef, a cow needs to be fed the equivalent of 61kg of grain, for pork, a pig needs 38kg, but for fish it is just 13kg of grain.

In addition, says the report, aquaculture emits less phosophorous, nitrogen and greenhouse gases than livestock farms.

However, it warns farming can have a greater negative impact if it focuses on carnivorous fish such as eel and salmon, or on shrimps and prawns, which require more temperature control. There is a lower impact from herbivorous fish, or better still seaweed, mussels, oysters and molluscs.

Fish farms have also been blamed for pollution and genetic contamination of wild stocks.

The report says 73% of salmon, 90% of carp and 99% of seaweed consumed worldwide is produced with aquaculture. The authors predict worldwide production will rise from 52.6m tonnes in 2008 to between 79m and 110m tonnes by 2030. However, environmental constraints could slow growth in China due to shortages of land and water and increased competition for energy and feed.

To improve the industry, they suggest greater monitoring, technological innovation and policy support. Mass production of microalgae – which is thought to be approaching commercial stage – is thought to have enormous potential for efficiency gains because it could replace fish feed and fish oil.

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Twenty-two countries to participate in Sail Indonesia 2011

Antara News, Sat, June 11 2011

Sail Indonesia 2011 which will make Kupang as the entrance to the other regions in Indonesia will focus on areas that have not yet been visited.

Sail Indonesia
(ANTARA/istimewa)

Kupang, E.Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA News) - As many as 22 countries have confirmed their plans to participate in Sail Indonesia 2011 that was officially launched in Jakarta a few days ago, a local marine official said.

The number of participants has increased compared to Sail Indonesia 2010 when only 15 countries took part, the chairman of Cinta Bahari Indonesia Foundation (YCBI), Raymond T. Lesmana, said here Saturday.

"There are more participants for Sail Indonesia 2011 than last year. If in 2010 there were only 15 countries, now the number has increased to 22," he said.

According to Raymond, the Sail Indonesia participants were scheduled to depart from Darwin, Australia, on July 23 and expected to arrive in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara`s provincial capital, on July 27 to 28.

The participants will be in Kupang for a week before they sail on to Alor, Rote Ndao, Sabu Raijua, Lembata, Ende and Labuan Bajo districts on Flores Island and elsewhere in Indonesia.

"We expect the participants will be in East Nusa Tenggara province about a month because there are a number of such new areas to be visited by the participants as Sabu Raijua and Rote Ndao," Raymond said.

He said, the foundation is coordinating with several district administrations, especially the new area ones that will be stop off to perform a variety of preparations.

In addition, Sail Indonesia 2011 which will make Kupang as the entrance to the other regions in Indonesia will focus on areas that have not yet been visited.

The regions are Ndao Rote, Sabu Raijua to Sumba island which have been less had the opportunity to stop off by the Sail Indonesia participants.

"In previous years, the transit route is always monotonous namely the northbound lane through the East Flores to West Flores. Now we are trying to open new destinations," Raymond noted.

The new areas to be visited is located on the southern route which has been less a promotion, he added.

Editor: Ella Syafputri

Japan launches Pacific 'research' whaling

Herald Sun, From correspondents in Tokyo From: AFP June 11, 2011

Sea Shepherd's newest speedboat was instrumental in cutting short Japan's
whale "research" in January. Picture: Sea Shepherd Conservation Society / Eye
In The Sky Magazine. Supplied

JAPAN sent a whaling fleet to the northwest Pacific for what it called a research hunt today, four months after cutting short a similar mission in the Antarctic due to obstruction by activists.

The three-vessel fleet, led by the Nisshin Maru, plans to catch 260 whales including 100 minkes until late August to study their stomach contents, DNA and other information, according to the Institute of Cetacean Research.

The government-affiliated institute has organised such operations since 1987, citing a loophole in a 1986 international moratorium on commercial whaling which allows hunts for scientific research.

Anti-whaling nations and environmentalist groups condemn the activity as a cover for commercial whaling but Japan said it is necessary to substantiate its claim that there is a robust whale population in the world.

The institute said the mission would be its 18th scientific expedition to the northwest Pacific.

On February 18, Japan halted a research hunt in the Antarctic Ocean for the 2010-2011 season, which had been due to run from December until March, because of obstruction by militant environmentalist group Sea Shepherd.

The US-based Sea Shepherd, which says its tactics are non-violent but aggressive, hurled paint and stink bombs at whaling ships, snared their propellers with rope, and moved its own boats between the harpoon ships and their prey.

The four-ship fleet killed 172 whales in that season, only about a fifth of its target, the fisheries agency said at the time.

Australia - which last year launched legal action against Japan's whaling program at the International Court of Justice - and New Zealand said they hoped Japan had given up whaling for good.

The institute told Japanese media that there has been no instance of obstructive activities in the northwest Pacific so far but that "we cannot automatically consider the area safe".

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Sixteen yachts register for Darwin-Ambon race

Antara News, Wed, June 8 2011

Ambon, Maluku (ANTARA News) - The committee has registered at least 16 yachts for participation in the Darwin-Ambon Yacht Race 2011 which will be held next July, the organizer said.

"There are 30 yachts willing to take part in the race but up to now only 16 have registered," coordinator of the Darwin-Ambon Yacht Race 2011, Hellen de Lima said here on Wednesday.

She said that the number of participants would certainly increase as registration would remain open until June 30, 2001.

"A couple of days ago, five participants said they would soon send application data to the organizers," she said.

The 16 yachts which have registered with 68 crew are Australia Maid with skipper John Wardill, Breakaway (Alan Chalk), Even Karma (John Hardy), Freedom Express (Ross McCombe), Game Set (John Mulkearns), Pandora (Rick Setter), Raucous (Bob Colman), Scot Free II (Barrie Morgan).

Others include Shady Lady with skipper Peter Charles), Solace III (Roger Hatten), Xscape (Andrew Boller), Fantasia (Andrew Stransky), Wicked (Danny Foley), Lady Bubbly (Chris Mitchell), Parlay (Ray Jones) and Maralinga (John Jordan).

The Darwin-Ambon Yacht Race 2011 would be kicked off at Darwin port of Australia on July 23, 2011. It is expected to finish at Amahusu beach, Nusaniwe subdistrict, Ambon on July 25.

In the meatime, Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Agung Laksono flanked by Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad officially launched the Sail Wakatobi Belitong (SWB) or Sail Indonesia 2011 in Jakarta Tuesday (June 7).

The launching was expected to help promote the international mariners` event to the public worldwide, Minister Fadel said according to a press release of the marine affairs and fisheries ministry here Wednesday.

The SWB 2011 is being held in Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi Province, and Belitung in Bangka Belitung (Babel) Province.

The SWB 2011 is continuation of Sail Indonesia 2009 in Bunaken, and Bitung in North Sulawesi Province, and Sail Indonesia 2010 in Banda, Maluku.

At least 200 domestic and foreign participants will join the marine event, and 94 of them from 16 countries have so far registered themselves.

Editor: Jafar M Sidik

17 dead in S. Kalimantan boating incident

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Tue, 06/07/2011

At least 17 people have been reported dead and 15 others remain missing after a packed speed boat sank on Monday in Tanjung Dewa in the South Kalimantan town of Banjarmasin.

A joint team from the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the Navy and the National Police, among others, were forced to end their search and rescue efforts on Monday evening because of poor weather conditions in the area.

“The waves are really big at the moment,” a member of the Kotabaru branch of Basarnas, who asked to remain anonymous, told tribunnews.com.

The vessel, Martasiah 2, had been carrying 105 passengers from Port Panjang in Kotabaru and was on its way to Geronggan village in Central Kelumpang district when it was hit by the high waves.

“The weather was very bad. A huge wave hit the right side of the boat. The rudder stopped working, and then the boat started sinking,” said Tarji, a member of the boat's crew, several hours after being rescued.

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Indonesia calls for sustainable use of APEC's Marine Resources

Antara News, Mon, June 6 2011

Bali (ANTARA News) - Indonesia has called on APEC member countries to make use of their marine resources in a sustainable manner while also trying to preserve the environment.

The call was made by Endhay Kusnendar, head of the research and development division of Indonesia`s Marine and Fisheries Ministry at the opening session of the 22nd APEC Fisheries Working Group Meeting as well as the 24th APEC`s Marine Resource Conservation Working Group Meeting in Bali on Monday.

Endhay said APEC had now become one of the prominent economic powers in the world with its member economies accounting for 57% of the global GDP and more than 40% of the world trade volume.

With a total population of more than 2.6 billion, he said, APEC itself had become a huge potential market. The consumption of global fish products in APEC economies had reached 70%, which comes from both captured and aquaculture production.

"Though the numbers look very promising, on the other hand, however, we are facing a major threat of ecosystem degradation due to excessive use of our resources which in return will jeopardize the sustainability of our oceans, and coastal resources," he said.

He said it was crucial for countries having marine resources to realize the full economic potential of their fisheries resources. "Economic sustainability depends not only on management of resource sustainability but that economic value added for economies from the use of such resources is fully enabled," he said.

Therefore, Endhay said, Indonesia with its mega marine biodiversity as a comparative advantage, realized the responsibility to safeguard the sustainable development of its marine resources and called on other APEC members to make the most of their ocean related resources and manage it in a sustainable manner.

He also reminded about the agreement which had been made by APEC Ocean-Related Ministers last 2010 in Paracas, Peru, titled the Paracas Declaration.

"I believe strongly, after all these declarations; it is high time for us to reaffirm our commitment by moving from words to action in achieving sustainable development of our ocean, seas, and coastal resources in the Asia-Pacific region," he said.

The APEC`S 22nd Fisheries Working Group Meeting and the 24th Marine Resource Conservation Working Group Meeting in Bali takes place in Bali starting June 6-9.

The meeting is participated in by representatives from 16 countries namely Indonesia, the US, Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Mexico, South Korea, Australia, Hong Kong, Chile, Russia, the Philippine, China and Vietnam. The event is also attended by an observer from Independent Assessor and four expert speakers, including from NGOs.

Since 2010, the Lead Shepherd position for APEC FWG held by Mr Gellwynn Jusuf PhD from Indonesia, which currently also serves as Secretary General of Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF), while Mr Ulises Munaylla PhD from Peru is the Lead Shepherd from APEC MRCWG since 2009. They are both Co-Chairs of the four days meeting in Bali.

Editor: Suryanto

NASA to use salt to foresee Earth's future climate

English.news.cn 2011-06-03

LOS ANGELES, June 2 (Xinhua) -- With the help of a new salinity- measurement instrument, scientists will use salt to foresee Earth's future climate, NASA said on Thursday.

The instrument, called Aquarius, will enable scientists to make comprehensive measurements of ocean surface salinity with precision, aimed to help researchers better determine how Earth's ocean interacts with the atmosphere to influence climate, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Equipped with high-tech, salt-seeking sensors, Aquarius is planned for launch in June aboard the Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas (SAC)-D spacecraft built by Argentina's Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE).

The JPL said that it is a mission that promises to be, by quoting the old saying "worth its salt." Salt is essential to the ocean, serving as a driver of ocean processes. Salinity also influences the temperature of seawater, because sea salt concentrates in the ocean's surface mixed layer, which is actively exchanging water and heat with atmosphere.

Accurate ocean surface salinity data is a necessary component in understanding how the future climate will change, and also opens a window to Earth's past climate. When researchers want to create a climate record that spans previous decades, it is necessary to collect and integrate data from the last two to three decades to develop a consistent analysis, JPL said.

"We ultimately want to predict climate change and have greater confidence in our predictions. Climate models are the only effective means we have to do so," said Aquarius Principal Investigator Gary Lagerloef, a scientist at the Seattle-based independent laboratory Earth & Space Research.

Because of the sparse and intermittent nature of these salinity, researchers have always had troubles in fine-tuning models to obtain a real global picture of how surface salinity influences the ocean.

"Aquarius, and successor missions based on it, will give us, over time, critical data that will be used by models that study how Earth's ocean and atmosphere interact, to see trends in climate," said Lagerloef.

Editor: Mo Hong'e

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

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness,2012, Intelligent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Return to integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) -

(Text version)