Climate 'altering Uk Marine Life'

The biodiversity and productivity of seas around the UK could already be suffering the consequences of climate change, a report has concluded.

It says damaging storms have become more frequent, and rising sea surface temperatures have led to an apparent northward shift of warm-water plankton.

The "Annual Report Card" pulls together leading research on climate change's impact on the UK's marine environment.

The study was compiled by the Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership.

The par

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The Fish With The Most Powerful Jaws In History

A prehistoric Jaws that terrorised the oceans 400 million years ago had the most powerful bite of any creature yet known, scientists have discovered.



The ancient sea monster, known as Dunkleosteus terrelli, could bring its fangs together with a force of almost 5,000kg (11,000lb), making it almost four times more powerful than Tyrannosaurus rex.

Its jaws were arranged so that the bite force would have been focused into a small area around the tip of its front fangs, producing a remar

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Warmer Oceans Storing Climate Change Dangers

Global warming is creating a climate time bomb by storing enormous amounts of heat in the waters of the north Atlantic, UK scientists have discovered.
Marine researchers at Southampton and Plymouth universities have found that the upper 1,500 metres of the ocean from western Europe to the eastern US have warmed by 0.015C in seven years. The capacity of the oceans to store heat means that a water temperature rise of that size is enough to warm the atmosphere above by almost 9C.

Neil Wells, a scientist on the pr

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Gaia Scientist Lovelock Predicts Planetary Wipeout

By Jeremy Lovell

LONDON (Reuters) - The earth has a fever that could boost temperatures by 8 degrees Celsius making large parts of the surface uninhabitable and threatening billions of peoples' lives, a controversial climate scientist said on Tuesday.

James Lovelock, who angered climate scientists with his Gaia theory of a living planet and then alienated environmentalists by backing nuclear power, said a traumatized earth might only be able to support less than a tenth of it's 6 billion people. <

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Changes To The Inspection Of Diving Cylinders

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is advising owners of diving cylinders to note that from 1 July 2006 the regulations covering the periodic inspection and testing of their cylinders will change. In the future, persons conducting cylinder inspections in the UK will be subject to a third party conformity assessment.

One possible option for people wishing to carry out inspections would be direct assessment by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to ensure their competency. Those who are successfully as

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Deep-sea Trawling Destroying Underwater Mountains

LONDON (Reuters) - Deep-sea trawling is destroying underwater mountains teeming with marine life and causing irreparable damage to ecosystems, scientists warned on Wednesday.

Most of the underwater volcanic mountains, or seamounts, which contain deep-sea corals and are home to thousands of marine species, are in unregulated areas.

Over-exploitation of traditional fish such as cod and hake has prompted fleets to trawl the high seas for deep-dwelling species such as orange roughy, alfonsino and round

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Urchins Similar To Humans

Scientists have unravelled the genetic code of the sea urchin with astonishing results. The urchin has an estimated 23,300 genes, in comparison to humans who have between 20,000 and 25,000.

The experts found several surprises in the sea urchin genome amongst which was the discovery of a diverse innate immune system.

Jonathan Rast, a immunologist at the University of Toronto, and a lead author of one of the Science papers said 'The complexity is unprecedented.'

This elaborate immune system could explain the

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The Protection Of Military Remains Act 1986

BSAC welcomes the above latest Statutory Instrument put before Parliament in September, and coming into effect on 1st November 2006. It is intended to minimise the disturbance of wrecks that are the last resting places of military personnel from various conflicts. These include wrecked ships of two world wars and the Falklands war. The designation of these wrecks does not remove access to most of the wrecks but recognises and encourages responsible behaviour by divers visiting these wrecks.
The two classifications adopted a

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Inspectorate For Diving Equipment Servicing & Testing (idest)

Testing and Inspection of Diving Cylinders after 1st July 2006

From 1st July 2006, the HSE (now DfT) requirement for a “competent person” to carry out cylinder inspection and testing will be removed and replace with the requirement for such testing to be carried out by an accredited body/person. This is to comply with the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2004.

The accreditation needs to be carried out to the satisfaction of United K

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Family Feud Threatens To Sink Cousteau?s Legacy

IN an obscure corner of the old trawler harbour of La Rochelle, hidden from view by the building-site that was once the city?s fish-market and forgotten by all but a devoted few, lie the rotting remains of one of the most famous ships of the 20th century.

Heavy-duty rubber straps have been bound round the stern to stop it breaking apart and the front is covered by a white tarpaulin. A large sign warns the curious against coming aboard. Understandably, because the handrails are splitting and the metal floors have

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