Benerson Little

Floating Mammals. Research suggests that Madagascar mammals may have floated there on vegetation, rather than walked there on land bridges. Although the idea of floating mammals has been around since 1941, a study of prevailing currents that existed at the time lend credence to the idea. (Source: BBC)

Polar Bears Threatened. Recent research indicates that polar bears may not only be under attack from global warming (specifically, from the anticipated loss of Arctic ice which supports their habitat), but also from man-made pollution. Specifically, chemicals such as mercury and organochlorines are now believed to have "dramatic and potentially fatal impact" on the health of polar bears. Read the details here. (Source: BBC)

Arctic Terns. Researchers have mapped the arctic tern's epic annual journey from Arctic to Antarctic and back again. (Source: BBC)

Super Falcon. Read about the Super Falcon, a submersible that uses wings to "fly" through the water, as well as to control depth (as opposed to ballast tanks), here.

Fish Gills. A BBC article reports that some scientists now believe the fish gills first evolved as a means of "regulating the chemicals in their bodies."

Container Ships Idle. The new york times reports that one in ten of the world's container ships is idle due to the international economy, and may remain so for some time.

Exxon Valdez Oil Remains. Scientists writing in Nature Geoscience state that significant oil from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill remains trapped in gravel just a few inches below the surface. (Source: BBC)

USS Constitution Designated as Ship of State. In November 2009, the USS Constitution, originally commissioned in 1797 and the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, was designated by Congress as the United States Ship of State. According to an article on Military.com, "USS Constitution's primary mission will remain education and public outreach, and any Ship of State functions will be an adjunct to the ship's primary mission, according the National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2010 in section 1022. It is the sense of Congress that the president, vice president, executive branch officials, and members of Congress should use the USS Constitution for the conducting of pertinent matters of state, such as hosting visiting heads of state, signing legislation relating to the armed forces, and signing maritime related treaties." The entire article is available here.

Mutiny Aboard a US Fishing Vessel. A bit late posting this one, but it’s too interesting to pass up. In late October last year, the master of US-flagged fishing vessel Majestic Blue was reportedly preparing to bring charges of mutiny against three of his Korean officers. The vessel was re-flagged in the Pacific from South Korea to the US, and upon taking command, the vessel’s master alleged that some of his officers refused to obey his commands, instead taking their orders from the former master who had become fishing master upon change of flag. Further, the master alleged various regulations were disregarded, and that some officers often used physical violence against Indonesian and Filipino crew members. If the allegations are found to be true, this would be the first mutiny aboard a US vessel in thirty years. Even so, charges of mutiny aboard modern fishing vessels are somewhat common. So far, I’ve found no update to the story. (Source: Lloyd’s List)

Mystery of Disappearing Sea Lions Apparently Solved. Recently, after a twenty year stint as an erstwhile tourist attraction on San Francisco's Pier 39, roughly 1700 sea lions suddenly vanished. Researchers, however, believe they have located the sea lions off the Oregon coast, where they apparently migrated in search of food. It was probably such a search that brought them in large numbers to San Francisco in the first place. The large number of sea lions notwithstanding, San Francisco piers have always been home to a fair number of seals and sea lions. (Sources: BBC, author's)

Proposal to Explore Saturn Seas. According to a BBC article, scientists are proposing to NASA that a “boat” be used to explore the hydrocarbon seas of Titan, one of Saturn’s moons. Suggested targets are Ligeia Mare and Kraken Mare, seas of liquid methane. Scientists hope not only to learn more about the Saturn moon, but also about earth’s seas by studying “shared climate processes.” The expedition would be “low cost”--that is, of roughly $400 million.

Fire at Sea Kills Nine. A fire aboard the Greek cargo ship Aegean Wind killed nine crew members in December. The fire occurred north of Margarita Island off the Venezuelan coast, and started in the engine room. The ship was carrying a cargo of iron from Texas to Brazil.(Source: BBC)

Integrated Harbour Defence System. India intends to "fence" its harbors against "clandestine threat from sea." Defenses will include surface radars, diver detection sonar, and probably, in my experience, cameras, observers, aerial and surface patrols, and "passive warning systems." Breaching such systems typically requires a high degree of training and advanced equipment--or a lot of luck. (Sources: BBC, author's)