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Schmidt Ocean Institute Discovers 20 New Species Along the Remote Nazca Ridge

11 Sep, 2024

This post was originally published on Colossal

Bathyphysa conifera (flying spaghetti monster)

Schmidt Ocean Institute Discovers 20 New Species Along the Remote Nazca Ridge

About 900 miles off the coast of Chile along the Nazca Ridge, a slew of new discoveries have thrilled marine scientists. During a 28-day expedition, researchers aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s vessel Falkor (too) mapped a previously unknown seamount along the ridge’s mountain chain, along with nine others. These included a pristine 800-square-meter coral garden.

The underwater peaks and coral beds provide homes for rockfish, king crabs, brittle stars, and myriad other creatures. Scientists discovered twenty possibly new species across the ten seamounts they surveyed, in addition to capturing rare species on camera for the first time.

The team documented a live Promachoteuthis squid, “a genus that is so rare that only three species have been described based on only a few collected specimens, several of which are from the late 1800s,” a statement about the findings says. “Until now, the squid genus has only been characterized from dead samples found in nets.”

Scientists also recorded the adorable Casper octopus, marking the first time the species has been spotted in the Southern Pacific, and two rare Bathyphysa siphonophores, commonly known as flying spaghetti monsters.

Schmidt Ocean Institute (previously) was established to advance oceanographic research, discovery, and knowledge, and through its efforts—including a residency program—share information about our planet’s oceans to better protect and preserve the delicate ecosystems.

Find more on the organization’s website.

Rare octopus informally known as the Casper octopus
Promachoteuthis squid
Bathypterois atricolor (tripod fish)
Chrysogorgia (golden coral) with associates (squat lobster: Uroptychus sp.; benthic ctenophore: Lyrocteis sp.; seastar: Calliaster sp.)
A Chaunacops coloratus, commonly known as a sea toad
A sea urchin in the genus Argopatagus
A Neolithodes sp. (king crab) with epibiont (Poecilasma sp.) growth
Helicolenus lengerichi (Scorpionfish)

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Land water loss causes sea level rise in 21st century

Land water loss causes sea level rise in 21st century

An international team of scientists, led jointly by The University of Melbourne and Seoul National University, has found global water storage on land has plummeted since the start of the 21st century, overtaking glacier melt as the leading cause of sea level rise and measurably shifting the Earth’s pole of rotation.

Published in Science, the research combined global soil moisture data estimated by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) Reanalysis v5 (ERA5), global mean sea level measurements and observations of Earth’s pole movement in order to estimate changes in terrestrial (land) water storage (TWS) from 1979 to 2016.

“The study raises critical questions about the main drivers of declining water storage on land and whether global lands will continue to become drier,” University of Melbourne author Professor Dongryeol Ryu said.

“Water constantly cycles between land and oceans, but the current rate of water loss from land is outpacing its replenishment. This is potentially irreversible because it’s unlikely this trend will reverse if global temperatures and evaporative demand continue to rise at their current rates. Without substantial changes in climate patterns, the imbalance in the water cycle is likely to persist, leading to a net loss of water from land to oceans over time.”

Between 2000 and 2002, soil moisture decreased by around 1614 gigatonnes (1 Gt equals 1 km3 of water) — nearly double Greenland’s ice loss of about 900 Gt in 2002–2006. From 2003 to 2016, soil moisture depletion continued, with an additional 1009 Gt lost.

Soil moisture had not recovered as of 2021, with little likelihood of recovery under present climate conditions. The authors say this decline is corroborated by independent observations of global mean sea level rise (~4.4 mm) and Earth’s polar shift (~45 cm in 2003–2012).

Water loss was most pronounced across East and Central Asia, Central Africa, and North and South America. In Australia, the growing depletion has impacted parts of Western Australia and south-eastern Australia, including western Victoria, although the Northern Territory and Queensland saw a small replenishment of soil moisture.

Image credit: iStock.com/ZU_09

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