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Ryo Minemizu Illuminates the Incredible Diversity of Plankton Off the Coast of Japan

09 Jun, 2025

This post was originally published on Colossal

For Japanese marine photographer Ryo Minemizu, some of the world’s tiniest creatures prove to be the most awe-inspiring. Capturing the vibrant hues and otherworldly features of plankton (previously), he scouts locations to do nighttime dives around Japan and other Pacific regions in search of never-before-seen specimens and behaviors.

“Although I only dive to depths of around 25 meters at most, each dive now presents an opportunity to encounter juvenile deep-sea fish and jellyfish in forms that most of humanity has never seen before,” Minemizu tells Colossal. “I have been fortunate to report some of these remarkable discoveries in collaboration with researchers each year.”

an underwater photograph of a tiny blue plankton with frilly purple fins
Larval spiderfish

Recent finds include new species of Hydrozoa, which are related to jellyfish and corals, and a phenomenon in which parasitic larvae cooperate to build swimming colonies, luring hosts. Minemizu increasingly encounters unwelcome material, too, in the form of trash—especially plastics—that impacts marine life far out at sea.

“We now regularly dive in ocean areas where humans have never ventured, and yet even in such remote regions, we are finding plastic waste carried there by human activity,” Minemizu says. “I am deeply concerned about the very real and significant impact this is having on the lives of these creatures.”

Minemizu is currently featured in an exhibition on view in the Blue Ocean Dome, presented by ZERI JAPAN, at EXPO 2025 in Osaka, Kansai, Japan. “I speak about the current relationship between marine life and plastic pollution, sharing my photographs and footage,” he says. “I sincerely hope that visitors to the expo will take the time to view it.”

Minemizu also runs Black Water Dive, an ongoing series of brief chartered expeditions that invite participants to dive during both day and night—in “blue” and “black” dives—to encounter rarely seen or entirely new underwater creatures. Find more on his website and Instagram.

an underwater photograph of tiny fish in a plastic waste fragment
Larval blenny on plastic bag fragments
an underwater photograph of a tiny plankton with long tendrils on its fins
Peristediidae
an underwater photograph of a gymnapogon, a type of plankton, with yellow, frilly fins
Gymnapogon
an underwater photograph of a tiny jellyfish-like creature
Cupid zoea
an underwater photograph of a tiny jellyfish-like creature
Tregouboviopsis gemmula
an underwater photograph of a gibberfish with long, petal-like fins
Gibberfish
an underwater photograph of larval octopi on a fragment of plastic waste
Larval octopus on packaging fragments
an underwater photograph of a jellyfish
Timoides agassizii
an underwater photograph of a blue plankton with a long antenna-like tendril on the front of its head
Arnoglossus yamanakai

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Ryo Minemizu Illuminates the Incredible Diversity of Plankton Off the Coast of Japan appeared first on Colossal.

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ABB receives EPD status for gearless mill drive ring motor

ABB receives EPD status for gearless mill drive ring motor

ABB has gained Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) status for its Gearless Mill Drive (GMD) ring motor — technology used to drive large grinding mills in the mining industry.

An EPD is a standardised document that provides detailed information about the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle. Based on a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study, the EPD highlights ABB’s commitment to transparency, environmental responsibility and supporting customers in making informed decisions on sustainability in their supply chains.

ABB analysed the environmental impact of a ring motor across its entire life cycle from supply chain and production to usage and end-of-life disposal. The study was conducted for a ring motor of a semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill with an installed power of 24 MW and was based on a reference service life of 25 years.

“Sustainability is at the core of our purpose at ABB, influencing how we operate and innovate for customers,” said Andrea Quinta, Sustainability Specialist at ABB. “By earning the Environmental Product Declaration for our ring motor, we emphasise our environmental stewardship and industry leadership for this technology. We adhered to the highest standards throughout this process, as we do in the ABB Ring Motor factory every day. This recognition highlights to the mining industry what they are bringing into their own operations when they work with ABB.”

The comprehensive LCA was conducted at ABB’s factory in Bilbao, Spain, and was externally verified and published in accordance with international standards ISO 14025 and ISO 14040/14044. It will remain valid for five years.

The ring motor, a key component of the GMD, is a drive system without any gears where the transmission of the torque between the motor and the mill is done through the magnetic field in the air gap between the motor stator and the motor rotor. It optimises grinding applications in the minerals and mining industries by enabling variable-speed operation, leading to energy and cost savings.

The full EPD for the ABB GMD Ring Motor can be viewed on EPD International.

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