Pacific Ocean

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This Is a Turtle on Drugs*
This Is a Turtle on Drugs*
Dec 22, 2017 8:52 AM CST

This Is a Turtle on Drugs*

*Or rather trapped by a pile of cocaine, as Coast Guard saves the day in international waters

(Newser) - Coast Guard officials on a recent patrol managed to arrest 24 suspected smugglers—and save a life. While patrolling in international waters near Central America, officials came across a sea turtle entangled in ropes connected to floating contraband, later identified as 1,800 pounds of cocaine, according to a release...

Island Was to Disappear in Months. It's Now Been 3 Years

NASA hopes it will give insights into Martian volcanoes

(Newser) - When an ash island formed in the Pacific Ocean following an underwater volcanic eruption in late 2014, scientists predicted it would soon disappear. Over the next six months, the island nestled between two others of the Tonga nation experienced heavy erosion, but "then it leveled off," NASA scientist...

'Terror on the High Seas': the Coast Guard's Floating Prisons

Fishermen carrying drugs from South America detained on US vessels for days or weeks

(Newser) - Seth Freed Wessler wrote a story last week for the New York Times that he describes to PRI as one of "real terror … on the high seas": what amounts to "floating Guantanamos" in the Pacific, Coast Guard cutters sent far from US shores to bust smugglers trying...

Navy Plane Crashes in Pacific With 11 Aboard

It was on its way to aircraft carrier near Japan

(Newser) - In what is believed to be another fatal accident for the 7th Fleet, a Navy plane with 11 passengers and crew on board crashed into the Pacific Ocean Wednesday. The C-2 Greyhound was on its way to the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier. Japan's defense minister, Itsunori Onodera, said...

More Holes in Story of 2 Women Lost at Sea

Shark experts say tiger sharks wouldn't ram a boat for hours

(Newser) - Two women from Hawaii who were rescued after being lost at sea are defending their account of the ordeal, even as the inconsistencies build. Tuesday brought news of their decision not to turn on the emergency beacon they had on board—they reportedly said they didn't do so because...

The Possibly 'World-Changing' Move Kim Could Make Next

North's foreign minister says they could detonate hydrogen bomb over Pacific Ocean

(Newser) - Tensions between the US and North Korea continue to escalate. First the leader of the former threatened to wipe out the latter . Then Kim Jong Un followed up by calling Trump a "mentally deranged US dotard," and Trump capped that off with a new warning Friday, tweeting that...

Al Gore Is the First Citizen of the 'Trash Isles'

Activists want garbage patch to be new country

(Newser) - Campaigners want a vast area of floating garbage in the ocean to be the world's newest country—and they've already got more would-be citizens than some real countries. Al Gore is on board as the first honorary citizen of the "Trash Isles," which is what activists...

8 Cyclones Were Swirling at Same Time in Pacific

That hasn't happened in more than 40 years

(Newser) - The northern Pacific Ocean experienced some weather weirdness over the weekend: It had no fewer than eight tropical cyclones swirling simultaneously on Saturday, the first time that's happened since 1974, reports the Weather Channel . For the record, that encompasses tropical storms Fernanda, Greg, Noru, Kulap, and Roke, plus tropical...

In Deepest Part of Ocean, &#39;Sky High&#39; Pollution
In Deepest
Part of Ocean,
'Sky High' Pollution
NEW STUDY
Feb 14, 2017 9:17 AM CST

In Deepest Part of Ocean, 'Sky High' Pollution

Toxic chemicals reach 6 miles deep in ocean: study

(Newser) - At the deepest spot in the ocean, scientists have found beer cans, plastic bags, a tin of Spam, and now tiny crustaceans contaminated with toxic chemicals banned nearly 50 years ago. The "extraordinary levels" of pollution in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean and the Kermadec Trench...

Puffins Are Starving to Death in Incredible Numbers

And that's a bad sign for all animal life in the Bering Sea

(Newser) - Dead puffins are washing up on the shores of an island in the Bering Sea at an alarming rate, National Geographic reports. "In 10 years of monitoring, we've only seen six puffins wash in—total," a professor who coordinates a West Coast volunteer bird-monitoring network says. In...

'Purple Blob' on Ocean Floor Baffles Scientists

It could be a new species of sea slug

(Newser) - Scientists exploring the seafloor around California's Channel Islands have made a strange discovery. They just aren't exactly sure what it is. While studying deep-sea coral via a remotely operated vehicle, scientists on the research vessel E/V Nautilus noticed a "dark purple blob" with a pink center on...

Kim Jong Un: My Missiles Can Hit US Pacific Targets

Experts say North Korea is, at very least, making progress in its launch capabilities

(Newser) - Japan expressed concern about North Korea's Wednesday Musudan missile launches , especially since one of the two made it more than halfway to Japan. But per Kim Jong Un, Japan shouldn't be alone in its worry, the Guardian reports. "We have the sure capability to attack in an...

Man Lost at Sea for Months Watched 3 Companions Die

29-year-old Colombian says they set out more than 2 months ago

(Newser) - Some 2,150 miles southeast of Hawaii, in what NBC News describes as a "desolate stretch of the Pacific Ocean" was a man, floating toward his death—or rescue, as it turns out. A China-bound cargo ship spotted the 29-year-old Colombian's 23-foot powerless skiff on April 26; he...

Solar Impulse Completes Risky Pacific Leg, Lands in Calif.

Plane has landed safely in Mountain View after 62-hour flight

(Newser) - A solar-powered airplane landed in California on Saturday, completing a risky, three-day flight across the Pacific Ocean as part of its journey around the world. Pilot Bertrand Piccard landed the Solar Impulse 2 in Mountain View, south of San Francisco, at 11:45pm following a 62-hour, nonstop solo flight without...

Puzzling Ocean Buzz Could Be Fish Farts

Scientists say the Pacific Ocean is filled with strange sound at dusk and dawn

(Newser) - When scientists first started hearing an odd noise emanating from the depths of the Pacific Ocean a few years ago, they didn't know what to think. The sound (described as a continuous humming or buzzing that only happens at certain times of day) wasn't from typical ocean activity...

Japan to Spend $107M on Tiny, Remote Island

The move could spark territory dispute with China

(Newser) - A tiny island in the Pacific Ocean about 1,000 miles south of Tokyo is about to get a pricey makeover courtesy of Japan. It's all about allowing Japan to stake its claim to oil, rare metals, and lucrative fishing in the area around Okinotorishima, reports the Guardian . Japan...

BASE Jumpers Survive Plunge Only to Drown in Big Sur Waves

It's a technical, short jump to a small landing spot at the water's edge

(Newser) - Two BASE jumpers swept into the Pacific Ocean after plunging 280 feet from the Bixby Bridge in Big Sur last week are presumed dead. Authorities found a helmet and parachute on the beach on Saturday, reports CBS News , and are piecing together the details of the Jan. 20 jump that...

'Monster' Hurricane Nearing Mexico May Be 'Catastrophic'

Patricia most powerful tropical cyclone ever recorded in Western Hemisphere

(Newser) - Hurricane Patricia may turn out to be "the most devastating storm to ever hit Mexico," and millions of residents have been told to prep for a "worst-case scenario," reports NBC News . It's the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Western hemisphere, with maximum sustained...

The Man Who Erased Islands From Our Maps

One ocean surveyor was charged with erasing phantom islands

(Newser) - When ocean surveyor Captain Sir Frederick Evans became the new chief hydrographer to the Royal Navy in the 1870s, he was tasked with charting the Pacific Ocean, which for more than 400 years had been filling up with "phantom islands," reports Intelligent Life magazine. That is, islands that...

Radiation From Japanese Nuke Disaster Near US Shores
 Japanese 
 Radiation Nears 
 US Shores 
study says
Nov 16, 2014 5:15 PM CST

Japanese Radiation Nears US Shores

But it won't cause any harm, crowdfunded study says

(Newser) - Radiation from Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster is finally nearing the West Coast, but at levels so low there's apparently nothing to worry about. A crowdfunded research group came to that conclusion after trolling for evidence of Fukushima's unique radiation "fingerprint" in the Pacific Ocean, Science reports...

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