sea

The bathers have always seen the sea shells as an innocent souvenir. And that is taking its toll on the beaches

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A shell measures only a few centimeters. Not that, in some cases. That is why it is normal to take a small snail or a valve home seems a harmless act and without the greatest significance. It is. The problem is when that small act is multiplied by thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or thousands of millionswhich adds to the visits that humanity makes to the beaches of the planet over a year. With that data on the table the ‘stolen’ shells to the sands do become a challenge, one capable of even Alter ecosystems. Granite granite is made a beach … And it gets rid. A quick (and devastating) calculation. In the world we live around 8,000 million Of people and (almost) we all share a hobby: go to the beach, take long walks through the sand, sunbathe, bathe and why not? Go home with a little shell in your pocket as a memory. After all, what’s wrong with? The act is innocent if we look only at what we do, but the thing changes when we expand the perspective and we put accounts, which was recently a Florida researcher in An interview with The country. “There are almost 10,000 million visits to beaches annually and almost certainly, Explain Michał Kowalewski, a researcher of specialized in the study of invertebrates. “Let’s say that a shell is collected for every hundred visits, which sounds at little, but even so we would be talking about 10,000 tons of shells that disappear from the beaches every year.” In summary, a full -fledged marine plunder with which several Olympic pools could be filled to the top. Are there more calculations? Yes. A few years ago Kowalewski participated in A study Together with experts from the University of Barcelona (UB) that helps to understand what the bathers take home Conchas. Its analysis is interesting because part of a very concrete sandal, the Saolu Long Beachin Tarragona, where the influx of tourists has triplicate Since 70. To know how that boom is affecting the area, experts compared two samples of shells taken with enough margin: the first data of 1978-1981, the second of 2008-2010. What did they find out? That that greater pressure from the bathers was taking its toll on the Reserve of Conchas. And for worse. “The increase in tourism on the Mediterranean coast is related to a 70% decrease in shells during the tourist season of July and August and 60% the rest of the year,” summary From Ub. The area in which they focused their efforts is interesting because the influx of tourists increased 2.7 times during the study period and the analyzes show that the abundance of shells along the coast fell almost to the same extent, 2.6. Is everything due to tourism? The studypublished in 2023 in the academic magazine Plos Oneemphasizes the influence of tourism and its considerable increase between the end of the 70s and early 21st century, but that is not the only factor that has influenced the beach ecosystem. During the three decades that passed between both samples the urban environment of the beach was altered with new hotels and also varied the use and maintenance of the environment. “The correlation could also respond to the increase in water turbidity because there are more recreational vessels or for organic pollution, or the elimination of shells for daily cleaning services, among other reasons,” They recognize Catalan experts, who insist on the need for “more studies”, especially in areas where tourists look actively for their great view, as in the coast of Florida, the Philippines or Indonesia. Why is it important? Because shells are more than whims of nature or potential souvenirs. “They are not there by chance, they are part of the natural gear that keeps our beaches alive and stable,” Clarify in The country Fernando García, one of those responsible for the Malacological Collection of the National Museum of Natural Sciences. The shells help the sands retain their firmness and resist erosion and even influence the acidity of the water. Much more than souvenirs: homes. “The disappearance of shells could have a significant impact on the natural environment, causing alterations in the stabilization of the coastline and a decrease in the production of carbonated sediments, among others,” Underline in the UB. Not to mention that the shells serve to look more than look in our nightstand. There are birds that use them to build nests and serve as a refuge for different organisms. An extra reason: the law. There is one more reason to think twice to fill the shell pockets. In addition to damaging the environment can damage our economy. As I remembered recently Legal, technically the Coastal Law It does not allow “elements of the maritime-terrestrial public domain” and that includes mollusks, stones, sand and shells. “This activity can lead to a sanction of up to 60,000 euros according to the value of the damage “, warns. “Irreparable damage”. At the beginning of 2022 the Cabildo de Fuerteventura recognized that in just four months (and not precisely high season) the island authorities had seized more than 4,500 kilos of shells, rholites, stones and sand at the airport. Hence, remember the local population and tourists “the importance of avoiding practices such as the plundering of materials.” “Every year the Environment personnel return thousands of kilos of this type of Majorero landscape materials that recover from the plunder at the Fuerteventura airport,” insists The organism, which points out that the most seized material is white sand (640 kg) and black (309 kg). “Insular ecosystems are fragile, so any bad condition can be as irreparable damage.” Images | Carlos Alejo (Flickr) and Art of Hoping (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | The beach of the crystals: Galicia has one of the most fascinating sands in Spain by chance

We knew that living near the sea made us “win” years of life. What we did not know is that it was literally

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We have known for a long time to approach nature has benefits on our health. Beyond avoiding the contamination of our cities, approaching the natural environments around us can improve our psychological well -being, perhaps even inciting a more active life. Little by little, we are also observing that something similar happens if we change the mountain for the sea. More sea, more life. A study has observed a correlation between residing in coastal areas and greater longevity. The analysis It provides new tests of the link between the bodies of water and the health and well -being of the people. Of course, the relationship between “blue spaces” and health is a bit more complex than it might seem. 50 kilometers. The study observed that the benefits of living near the ocean improved the quality of life of the people who lived in a strip of about 50 kilometers of the coast. Inside, however, they observed a very different trend: the people who resided in the vicinity of water bodies of a certain size (about 10 km² on surface) tended to hope for short life. “Globally, residents of the coast are expected to live one year or more above the average of 79 years, and those who lived in more urban areas near rivers and interior lakes were more likely to die around 78 approximately. The residents of the coast probably lived longer due to a variety of interconnected factors,” stood out in a press release Jianyong “Jamie” Wu, member of the study responsible for the study. 66,000 census areas. The study was conducted in the United States, where the team analyzed 66,263 census areas, studying life expectancy and its relationship not only with the proximity of water bodies, also with socio -economic and demographic factors to control the results. The details of the study can be consulted In an article Posted in the magazine Environmental Research. Looking for the cause. The team indicates different factors that could mediate this relationship, such as softer temperatures, better air quality, greater number of opportunities for recreational activities, better transport, less vulnerability to droughts, or rent. These factors could explain why residing near the coast is associated with greater life expectancy, in contrast to people who live near interiors. “Contamination, poverty, lack of opportunities to be physically active and a greater risk of flooding are the main triggers of these differences,” Yanni Cao indicatedCo -author of the study. Correlation or cause? It fits remember that the existence of a correlation does not always imply the existence of a direct (not even indirect) relationship of causality. For example, if income is the determining factor, this causal relationship could have different forms. A possible way would start from the fact that coastal areas They would be more expensiveso they would attract people with more rent, being income, a factor we know affects our life expectancy. Another possible way would be in the fact that the coastal areas generate greater income by offering more job opportunities, and these income again would be the determining factor in longevity. In both cases the mediating factor is the same, but the causal relationship does not. In Xataka | Why is it more hot in cities than in the field: the urban heat island effect Image | Emiliano Arano

27 kilometers under the sea to avoid fjords

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Norway has underway A series of megaconstructions that aim to beat numerous records. It is not for less, because it is a country with a very particular geography in which certain types of infrastructure are necessary to opt for certain comforts. One of the most surprising is undoubtedly Rogfast, a four -lane submarine tunnel that will connect the districts of Randaberg and Bokn through 27 kilometers under the sea. This megaobra promises to revolutionize transport on the Norway west coast and drastically reduce travel times on one of the most traveled routes in the country. Fjords don’t make it easy. The E39 coastal road, which travels 1,100 kilometers from Trondheim to Kristiansand, is interrupted seven times by fjords that force Ferris. This turns a direct journey into a 21 -hour odyssey. Rogfast will eliminate one of these interruptions and will cut 11 hours of the total tripbenefiting millions of people who move to the cities of Stavanger and Bergen. Record figures. The tunnel will reach a maximum depth of 400 meters below sea level and extended 27 kilometers, officially becoming The longest road submarine tunnel in the world. It will surpass the current record, the Norwegian Lærdal tunnel of 24.5 kilometers, which crosses mountains but does not go under the sea. Turning Rogfast will take approximately 35 minutes and will have an underground roundabout at 250 meters deep to give access to Kvitsøy island. Image: Telegraph A technical and economical challenge. The works began in 2018 with an initial budget of about 1,838 million euros, although experts estimate that the total cost of modernizing the entire E39 could reach more than 40,000 million euros. The Norwegian government will finance 40% of the projectwhile the rest will recover through a toll of about 34 euros per use. The construction suffered several delays, especially during the pandemic, but maintains its scheduled completion date for 2033. Beyond travel cutting. Engineers have designed a special artistic project to combat monotony and anxiety that a tunnel can cause so extensive. The system promises to include dynamic lighting and decorative elements that will create a sensation of orientation and make the underground path more bearable. The idea is that drivers perceive travel time as shorter than it really is. Goodbye Ferris. Rogfast is part of a larger plan to completely eliminate the Ferris of the E39 and connect the entire Norway west coast with fixed infrastructure. Some sections will require “floating” tunnels anchored to the seabed due to the excessive depth of certain fjords. If the project is successful, Norway will have shown that it is possible to create a completely terrestrial coastal highway in one of the most challenging geographic territories in the world. Cover image | Implane In Xataka | The world’s largest hotel is not in Las Vegas or Dubai. It is in Malaysia and has 7,351 rooms

China’s domain is spreading far beyond rare earths. Even where the US had no rival: the sea

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While the United States is has launched yet to the search of those minerals and rare earths that China governs well above the rest of the planet, even with the pentagon and the Apple very Inverting a stratospheric sum, Beijing has been adding and building A small empire that begins to make many nations nervous. To Japan and Taiwan, who believed the seas as nobody: Washington. Maritime ambition. In a context of growing strategic rivalry with the United States, China has intensified their Naval operations long range as part of an explicit demonstration of its global ambition. Already We tell it: Between May and June, the aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong They carried out combined exercises in waters near Japan, operating beyond the so -called “First Islands Chain” and entering the “Second Chain”, including Guam in Equation, an important military enclave United States. Nerves The presence of these two aircraft carriers in the Western Pacific not only caused Concern in Japanbut also revealed the New scope of the Chinese Navy, which seeks train their units To operate independently, far from the continental coasts, both in peace and war times. The ability to perform air operations from ships in open sea (including Removal and landings of fighters and helicopters up to 90 times a day) provides China an operational experience that, although still incipient, anticipates a future use of these assets as force projection instruments beyond their immediate influence areas. Shandong Inroads under construction, in 2019 Aircraft carrier as a message. Beyond its military utility, Chinese aircraft carriers represent a powerful status symbol international. For the Government of Xi Jinping, the possession and deployment of these ships constitutes an affirmation that China has left behind the limitations of a regional power and progressly advanced towards the image of global power. Even though Three Chinese aircraft carriers current (the liaoning, the Shandong and the still inactive Fujian) operate with conventional propulsion and are below technologically of the Eleven nuclear aircraft carriers From Washington, his exercises are promoted in official media as an unequivocal signal of the country’s maritime rebirth. And one more when falling. In addition, the possibility that The fourth carriercurrently under construction, use nuclear propulsion and electromagnetic catapults indicates a gradual but ambitious evolution. Plus: The recent opening to the public Shandong in Hong Kongafter completing their maneuvers, reinforces that nationalist propaganda approach aimed at strengthening the legitimacy of Chinese leadership through military power. CNS FUJIAN Dispute for the Pacific. China’s aircrafts not only serve for training or to project distant influence, they also constitute a Operational tool Within the framework of Territorial disputes Activated in the Sea of South and Eastern China. Analysts agree that Beijing could use them to reinforce your claims in front of Japan, South Korea or Southeast Asian countries, or even to exert coercive pressure on Taiwan through A maritime block that prevents the flow of goods and communications. Although in a direct conflict with the United States the aircraft carriers would be vulnerable to missiles and torpedoes (and would probably have a limited role in a immediate confrontation by Taiwan), its value lies in the control of broad areas, surveillance, political intimidation and support for combined naval operations. As He pointed out A Japanese academic to NYT, these platforms allow pressure on both military and civil vessels, becoming a hybrid instrument of economic and military coercion. Evolutionary logic. From the Strait crisis from Taiwan in 1996, when the United States deployed two combat groups Of aircraft carriers to deter Beijing, China understood the need to develop its own naval response capacity. The starting point was the acquisition of the helmet of An old Soviet aircraft carrier In Ukraine, converted into the Liaoning and incorporated in 2012. Since then, the advance has been progressive but constant. The Shandong, released in 2017was the first built entirely in Chinese shipyards, while The Fujianeven in the test phase, it incorporates for the first time a system of Electromagnetic catapultkey technology to operate heavier and better armed aircraft. A long way. Despite these advances, experts like Narushige Michishita They warn in the New York Times That Chinese naval operations are still in a rudimentary phase, marked by a slow but disciplined learning curve. China prefers to avoid expensive errors and seeks, however, consolidate a coherent maritime doctrine and functional that allows, in a few decades, to compete from you to you with the great naval powers of the world. The Indo-Pacific Theater. Plus: the simultaneous display Of the Liaoning and Shandong in deep waters, it has a double value: it allows the Chinese fleet to operate in unknown environments and reinforces its capacities for future intervention scenarios in critical areas, such as the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf or even the Mediterranean. According to him Timothy Heath researcher of the Rand Corporation, the aircraft carriers will offer China the ability to project aerial missions in any balloon area Where your Navy sails, beyond the only foreign base that currently maintains in Yibuti. In that sense, the control of routes to the Middle East or the Strait of Malaca, vital for Chinese economic and energy interests, will probably be one of the Strategic objectives in the medium term. A symbols war. I remembered the Times that, as Beijing builds More warshipsconsolidated alliances with African countries and reinforces its port diplomacy in Asia and Africa, the Indo-Pacific converts On the board where a new naval power competition is outlined, with the aircraft carriers as a tool of that Geostrategic ambition. While the aircraft carriers do not guarantee maritime domain (especially in front of a power with Interdiction capabilities as the United States), its value lies both in its operational function and its symbolic weight. In other words, Beijing is no longer satisfied with defending their coasts, but with drawing routes on waters that, until recently, only dominated Your main rival. Image | RHK111, Tyg728, Ministry of National Defense The People’s Republic of China/ Li Gang/ Xinhua In Xataka | China … Read more

Scientists launched a cow at the depths of the China Sea. They discovered eight unexpected visitors to the feast

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The ocean is full of surprises. Sometimes, as happened several years ago in Canada, the enigmas appear floating in the form of human feet adrift. However, in others, most, you have to go down to the depths to try to solve the mysteries. That was precisely what a group of researchers proposed. It all started by throwing the body of a cow. A cow at 1,600 meters. In one of the most unusual marine experiments carried out, a group of scientists He threw a dead cow at 1,629 meters deep in a continental slope of the South China Sea, in front of the Chinese island of Hainan, with the aim of simulating the sinking of a whale and studying the Behavior of scavengers of deep water. What they found surprised even the most experienced researchers: Eight sleepy sharks Pacific (Somniosus pacificus) They appeared in the place, marking the first documented observation of this species in the region. The finding not only unexpectedly expands the distribution map of this elusive shark, but also provides valuable information about its behavior patterns, food hierarchies, physiological adaptations and its possible geographical expansion. An unexpected visitor. Although the Pacific Sleeping Shark is a species with a wide distribution in the north of the Pacific Ocean (from Japan to Alaska and to the south to Baj real extension of its habitatits possible displacement due to climate change or even the existence of a stable population and not yet registered in that region. Food label. The recorded images By underwater cameras they not only confirmed their presence, but revealed unusual behavior for large predators: a kind of Shift systemin which sharks aligned to feed the body, giving the place to other individuals who approached from behind. This type of “Food label”rarely observed in predatory species, suggests that the order in food could be determined by the competitive intensity of each individual, instead of a chaotic struggle for resources, which would indicate a more complex level of social organization that was suspected in these animals. New clues. He study He also documented variations in behavior according to body size. The specimens that exceeded 2.7 meters in length were much more aggressive and direct In the attack on the carrion, while the smallest sharks opted for cautious movements, surrounding the body in circles before approaching. The employer suggests that even in an environment where food is scarce and random opportunities, sleepy sharks could have developed a coexistence strategy with hierarchical ranges that minimize direct conflict. One More Thing. Another remarkable finding was a behavior of Ocular retraction observed during feeding. Since this species lacks Iglestop membrane (The protective “third tab” that other vertebrates such as cats or certain reptiles have), researchers believe that this retraction reflects a Evolutionary adaptation To protect the eyes during bites or struggles, which brings a new data on the defensive physiology of these sharks in their natural environment. The unknown. And more, since the recordings also showed other revealing aspects. Namely: several sharks carried visible parasites In his eyes, identified Like copepodsalthough it was not possible to precisely classify the species. This detail reinforces biological parallelism among the sleeping sharks of the Pacific and their best -known relatives, the Greenland sharkswhich also usually host parasites in their visual organs. Apart from sharks, the experiment attracted a surprising variety of abyssal fauna, such as Caracol fish and numerous amphipodsall attracted by the source of decomposition organic matter. These records confirm that the deep areas of the South China Sea not only house a biodiversity still little documented, but could be more productive of what was believed so far, against the idea that tropical depths are biologically poorer than their polar counterparts. The great unknown. In the background, the presence of these sharks raises a crucial issue: is it a recent expansion of its rank due to global warming, or has it always been part of its habitat and simply had never been observed? It is known that the species has occasionally appeared in such remote regions like Palaos or the Solomon Islandswhich suggests that there could be more southern populations than the scientific literature indicates. However, the “frequent appearance” in the southwest of the China Sea, According to the team itself Researcher led by Han Tian, rather suggests a structural lack of data in a little explored region rather than a recent change in the distribution pattern. In that sense, the experiment with the body of Vaca has not only contributed a specific observation, but has opened a way to review key concepts on the marine biogeography of abyssal species. Know the depths. He find It underlines the usefulness of simple experiments, but carefully designed to obtain data on remote environments, inaccessible already often little understood. The idea of simulating a whale sinking with a cow was not only effective, but proved to be a powerful Ecological magnet able to reveal complex biological interactions. In a context where Climate change and Human activity They are altering ecosystems even at great depth, this type of research is crucial to understand the invisible functioning of the deep ocean. The appearance of eight sleeping sharks where no one was waiting for them, behaving with order, measured aggressiveness and sophisticated adaptive mechanisms, is one more proof that marine depths They keep secrets that we are barely beginning to understand. Image | Ocean-Lond-Atmosphere Research (2025) In Xataka | A Canadian coast had been receiving human feet for years. Science has resolved mystery In Xataka | Carnivorous crustaceans, devouring worms and missing bodies: the scientific mystery of the caimanes at the bottom of the sea

The Mediterranean Sea is in flames

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A measurement buoy in front of the island of Dragonera, in Mallorca, has made all alarms jump. The Mediterranean Sea is almost as hot as a removable pool. And the consequences for the weather, the population and the ecosystems of Spain are already being noticed. A sea dyed red. The Dragonera Boya registered 30.55 ºC on the coast of Mallorca on June 30. According to him Meteorologist Duncan Wingenof Meteoredes, it is a historical fact: the Mediterranean had never exceeded 30 ºC at a similar station for a month of June. But the record also extends to other areas of the Balearic Islands, such as the Boya de Maó, in Menorca, which beat its monthly record with a measurement of 29.31 ° C on June 24. The anomalies map Shared by Aemet This Tuesday confirms that the Mediterranean lives an unprecedented heat wave: water is between 5 and more hot than normal for this time of year. An immense dark red spot covers the Balearic coast, and the waters exceed the 26 ° C, with spikes between 28 and 30 ° C, such as that reached in Dragonera. Tropical and super -torment nights. The First consequence of this hot sea It has been a drastic increase in tropical nights (with minimum of 20 ° C) and, worse, of torrid nights (with minimums of 25 ° C). In June, the port of Palma beat its record with 27 tropical nights and 4 torrids. In the Capdepera lighthouse, which had never registered a torrid night in June, they have been five. Heat involves a risk to people’s health, but experts Like the physicist German JJ They warn of a major threat: an extremely warm Mediterranean acts as a fuel for superhourmen. By evaporating more water and transferring more energy to the atmosphere, it enhances the formation of much more virulent storms and with greater capacity to generate large hailas happened in the episode of August 2022. Temperatures registered by the European Sentinel-3 satellite. Image: that An ecosystem on the edge of collapse. This situation is part of a June 2025 that has been the most anomalously warm of the historical series in peninsular Spain, with an average 3.5 ° C temperature above normal. The earth and the sea feed on a vicious circle of heat while, under the surface, there is a silent catastrophe. Accelerated warming is causing the “tropicalization” of the Mediterranean, radically altering its biodiversity. He Institut de Ciències del Mar He has sighted warm waters, such as the parrot fish (previously confined to the south), in the Balearic Islands and Almería. It also warns of early jellyfish proliferation, whose life cycle accelerates by heat. And of the massive death of corals and meadows of Posidonia, a key ecosystem for the health of the Mediterranean. A sick sea and without defenses. Everything indicates that this marine heat wave is not an isolated event. The Mediterranean is heated 20% faster than the world average and suffers endemic problems of overweight, pollution and invasive species. To top it off, the traditional winter, which served as a recovery period, is disappearing, which has left the sea without the ability to regenerate. We pass from one summer to another, more and more intense, without rest. 30 degrees to June 30 in a buoy in Mallorca is much more than a fact. It is the most obvious symptom of a meteorological problem that is already here and that redefines our climate, threatens our ecosystems and forces us to prepare for a new reality of extremes. Image | Aemet In Xataka | “The Mediterranean already has only three stations”: the European Observatory of the drought confirms that winter is dying

An old island has been discovered by accident under the sea full of rare land. The problem is that it has no owner

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We are approaching a point where to say that rare earth moves the world in general, no Only the technological oneno longer sounds so hyperbolic. It happens that a single nation has most of the cake right now. We already said it, China has built The most elegant economic power lever in modern history with those desired minerals. Hence, the rest of the nations strive to find the new “gold” where there is a track, however small. An underwater island has emerged as possibility, the problem is for whom. An accidental finding. The story began when an international team of scientists discovered that a part of the known underwater highlands Like Rio Grande Riselocated about 1,200 kilometers from the coast of Brazil, it was actually A tropical island Tens of millions of years ago. Although training was already known by the scientific community as a chain of volcanic mountains submerged from The late cretaceousthe New research revealed that their western part was once above sea levelforming a terrestrial ecosystem that gradually disappeared under the waters due to tectonic activity and the weight of the accumulated volcanic rock. Revelation not only transforms the understanding of the paleoclimatic geography of the region, but also opens the door to a possible International dispute for its valuable mineral resources. The keys of the past. The discovery began in 2018 when British and Brazilian scientists noticed that certain rocks in the marine bed of the Rio Grande Rise They showed an unusual composition, more similar to lava deposits and terrestrial red clay than to marine formations. Published subsequent studies in Scientific Reports They confirmed that this clay (rich in kaolinite, hematite and goetite, typical tropical soil minerals) was not only a rarity in the oceanic background, but an unequivocal evidence that this segment of the high plateau was emerged between 44 and 47 million years agoduring The Eocene. With a very high chemical alteration index (93), these clays reveal an intense subaéreal weathering and a warm and humid climate, with implications that go beyond geology: the island could have been a stop point For migratory birds Between South America and Africa, offering one more piece in the puzzle of the biological exchanges of the past. A mineral treasure. But there is more, of course. Beyond its scientific value, the Rio Grande Rise houses an invaluable economic wealth. Their Ferromanganese scabs contain high levels of Essential metals As cobalt, nickel and lithium, all fundamental for the global energy transition, from batteries for electric vehicles to wind and solar energy storage. However, what attracts the most attention is your rare earth concentrationespecially the ititrium, a whitish and soft metal used in strategic technologies: aerospace alloys, superconductors, industrial lasers, LEDs and precision lenses. In a context where China overwhelmingly dominates the extraction, refined and manufacture of these materials (with Up to 90 % of world production), any new source acquires critical geopolitical importance. It is no accident that the Brazilian interest in this area has intensified after Beijing’s decision to restrict export. The dilemma of sovereignty. And here lies the big problem. The Brazilian government He has shown A clear intention to claim the Rio Grande Rise as part of its continental platform, based on the argument that training He was united to the continent in the past. However, the highlands is 652 nautical miles from the coast, very outside the limit of The 200 established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to delimit exclusive economic zones. This raises a challenge legal and diplomatic Complex, in which Brazil will seek to strengthen its exploration rights without violating international agreements. At the same time, warnings arise on the impact that an eventual mining exploitation could have little studied in depth ecosystems. Thus, the tension between the economic use of these resources and the need to preserve marine biodiversity appears as unresolved background dilemma. Global competition. In this way, the ancient island of Rio Grande Risetoday hidden under kilometers of water and centuries of geological oblivion, has reappeared as a Unexpected actor in the race for the strategic resources of the 21st century. Fosilized red soils, formed under disappeared tropical jungles, now lie next to metal scabs coveted by industries around the world. If you want, the finding not only highlights the scientific value of oceanic missions, it also exposes the growing global competition for those critical minerals in so many areas. In that new power map, where the control of raw materials marks the border between technological independence and structural dependence, even a sunk island millions of years ago can tip the balance of the future. Or at least that Think Brazil. Image | Pexels In Xataka | What are the rare earths, the elements that move the technological world and separate China from the West In Xataka | The great promise of Deng Xiaoping: China has waited more than 30 years to control the world economy with rare earths

Energy and space. China has solved them by sinking them into the sea

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China has opened in Shanghai The first commercial submarine database fed entirely by marine wind energy. It is an important evolutionary leap after two years of experience with its pilot installation in Hainan. Why is it important. The digital infrastructure is facing Two crisis worldwide: The excessive energy consumption of data centers. The shortage of urban land to expand them. This underwater installation solves both problems of a stroke, because it reduces energy expenditure to 40% while releasing space on the mainland. The context. China already tested the commercial viability of Submarine centers in Hainan Since December 2022, where an installation operates 30 meters deep without registering a single server breakdown in these two and a half years. Microsoft experienced with PROJECT NATICK In Scotland in 2015, but it was Hainan who marked the first real commercial deployment of the world. Shanghai now represents the “version 2.0” of this technology. In figures: Investment reaches 1.6 billion yuan (222.7 million dollars) to create an underwater cluster of 24 megawatts. The natural water cooling system reduces cooling consumption of 40-50% to less than 10% of total consumption. More than 90% of energy will come from marine wind farms. What has happened. Yesterday, Tuesday, June 10, The tripartite agreement was signed Among the authorities of Shanghai and the company Hicloud Technology. The first phase, 2.3 MW, will begin operating in September as a national model project. The second phase will scale up to 24 MW with an energy efficiency (PU) of less than 1.15. And now what. The installation anchors an industrial ecosystem that will support AI, 5G, Internet of industrial things and electronic commerce platforms outside China. The country thus consolidates its leadership in submarine digital infrastructure while other countries remain focused on expanding land centers to use. Outstanding image | Hicloud In Xataka | Saudi Arabia wants to become a new power in data centers. Nothing is clear that I can do it

We have a problem with plastic recycling. Japanese scientists have created one who self -destructs in the sea

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In summer, more than once we have been scared thinking that a plastic was, in reality, a jellyfish. Far from that triviality, a major problem is hidden. According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)more than eleven million metric tons of plastics end up in the oceans every year. Although a new wave of change is brewing in Japan with plastics that get rid of. Short. A group of researchers from the Riken Center for the science of emerging matter and the University of Tokyo has developed a plastic capable of degrading completely in salt water in a matter of hours, As explained in a press release. The demonstration. The team has shown how a small piece of the new material disappeared in a container with marine water after being agitated for about an hour. Although no marketing plan has yet been detailed, the project leader, Takuzo Aida, He has affirmed Reuters That research has aroused great interest, even from the packaging sector. A deep problem. The urgency of this advance is framed in an increasingly serious environmental crisis. According to UNEPplastic pollution could be tripled by 2040, reaching up to 37 million metric tons annual in the oceans. Therefore, the investigation has not wanted to limit itself in the visible, but also in the microplastics that are infiltrated in all the ecosystems of the planet. Long journey. According to They have explained Scientists, this new material is the result of more than thirty years of research in supramolecular polymers. Unlike traditional plastics, which remain united by very resistant covalent bonds, they use weakest and most reversible links. This allows the material to maintain its resistance, but decompose rapidly under the appropriate conditions. The point. To achieve this, they needed a “passage key” that was in salt. Technically, They have detailed Reuters that the combination of hexametafostato sodium (a food additive) and ions of Guanidinio (employees in fertilizers) formed saline bridges that provided stability to the material. However, by immersing themselves in salt water, these bridges are broken and, within a few hours, there is no trace of the plastic. The resulting material is resistant, colorless, igniphed and not toxic. It can even waterproof with a hydrophobic coating, without losing your ability to break down if your surface is scratched or drilled. Although it has its limitations. As The project manager has indicated to Reuterswhen decomposing, plastic releases nitrogen and phosphorus, elements that can be reused by microorganisms or plants. However, if they accumulate in a uncontrolled way, they could alter coastal ecosystems, favoring phenomena such as algae flowers. To avoid this, the researchers propose a controlled recycling system in seawater treatment plants, which would allow to recover the materials and reuse them in new supramolecular plastics. Biodegradable, but enough? The novelty of Japanese plastic contrasts with the limitations of other called biodegradable plastics. According to the researchersmaterials such as polylactic acid (PL), although they degrade on land under industrial conditions, persist in the ocean, where they fail to break down and end up forming microplastics. Other more recent alternatives, such as certain recyclable plastics developed in Europe, offer greater durability and recyclabilitybut they still face similar challenges: slow degradation in the marine environment and dependence on specific management systems. One step further. That moment could be closer than it seems. Meanwhile, jellyfish will continue to be jellyfish. But at least, the plastic that imitates them could begin to disappear. Image | Unspash Xataka | We thought we had found a safe and sustainable alternative to oil derived. We have to keep looking

North Korea was going to throw his greatest war boat and ended up sinking it into the sea. Everything points to a culprit: Kim Jong-un

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Making a fool of it is something that It is not anyone’s pleasure. Surely you have ever stumbled down the street and looked around to see if someone had seen you. Now, imagine that what stumbles is a Military ship of 5,000 tons and several million dollars and sinks at the time of its premiere. That is what happened last week when Kim Jong-un He witnessed how His brand new war ship sank before the impotence of all those present and under the watchful eye of the rest of the planet. And everything indicates that the error was because, as the Spanish proverb points, the hurry are not good. Short. Days before the event, satellite images They showed both the vessel and a scenario in which what seemed to be an observation zone. Probably, the place from which Kim Jong-un was going to witness that historic moment. And the truth is that it was historic, but not for the reasons he would have wanted. On May 23, during the launch ceremony of the new North Korean destroyer (the second of its most advanced class), all attendees in the front row and the world was witnesses of a Technical failure that ended in disaster: the ship overturned. That symbol of power, with 143 meters in length and 74 vertical missile launch cells, ended up ridiculous. How do we float it? Satellite images later Analyzed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, they showed the ship partially sunken with tarps that covered the disaster. And, although at first the rush was blamed, we now have more clues about everything that could go wrong. Obviously, there is no official information from North Korea, but in The New York Timeswe can see that there are analysts who are quite clear what the problem was. Or the sum of them. Image | CSIS/BEYOND PARALLEL/MAXAR When a ship is finished, there is Several ways to ‘throw it’ into the water. We have the sliding launch in which the ship slides on a ramp into the water. The dry dock in which the ship is built in a dry dock and, once finished, the water dike is filled (That is done with cruises). Also the mechanical launch by cranes, the launch with airbags that are placed under the ship and allow it to slide to the water. And the side launch that drops the side ship into the water. Normally, a single technique is used, but in the North Korean destroyer disaster it seems that sliding and side techniques were used. And not because that’s how it was planned. Perfect storm. As noted The New York TimesIt was the first time that analysts watched North Korea use the side launch to throw a war ship. This technique is sure if it is done well, but in Large ships It is more likely that a problem appears, with dire consequences if it happens. The reading of the analysts is that, using that technique for a 5,000-ton ship points to a lack of experience added to the political pressures by Kim Jong-un to achieve rapid results. The destroyer was manufactured in the port city of Chongjin that has experience assembling ships of such magnitude, but not something as huge as this ship. This puts on the table that a possible trigger was that inexperience When throwing such large ships. In the absence of a dry dike of the appropriate size, it is estimated that the engineers tried the lateral launch to throw it into the water, but the angle was not correct and, when trying to slide it, the ship was unbalanced and ended up lying on the right side. When it goes well, as happened with this fighting ship of 3,500 tons in 2013, it is worth seeing: And it can also go wrong: The hurry are not good. Interestingly, this destroyer is from Choe Hyun classwhose first model was inaugurated successfully Last month. It was going to be the second great frigate of North Korea and the new example of that naval remodeling that Kim Jong-un is promoting. And the precedents were good: the first It was built In the city of Nampo and, because it is a larger shipyard, they could put it afloat through the technique of dry dock. There were no major problems and, at the inauguration, the ruler saw how test missiles were thrown successfully. However, there are hurry in the government dome to follow demonstrating to the world its military potentialwhich has led the president to visit the shipyards who are building new ships to accelerate delivery deadlines. In addition, there are information They point out that, although the ship could have thrown out correctly, the ocean exit street is narrow and has a questionable depth. I made a. pic.twitter.com/urflog6leo – Dr. Jeffrey Lewis (@armsControlwonk) May 22, 2025 Firm hand. And who will pay for this? At the moment, the ridiculous has resulted in several arrests of members of the responsible shipyard itself. The Central News Agency of Korea reported that the chief engineer, a senior armament official and another member of the installation had been arrested, and Kim himself described The accident as a “criminal act”, demanding An urgent restoration of the ship before June. Country engineers estimate that, pumping seawater, they can straighten the ship and repair damage. And it will take about ten days to do it, but it seems complicated because, after a week, Keep as it was. Sentinel-2 images of May 23 and 28. Despite the clouds, we can see that the destroyer continues exactly at the same point And sarcasm. From South Korea, which always have an eye and a half placed in what their neighbors doThey think something else. Yang UK is an expert in North Korean military affairs of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul and, as Tnyt comments, the incident may not be only an accident, but something caused by a structural imbalance on the ship itself. … Read more

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