Breaking Waves: Ocean News

England’s controversial eradication scheme may have caused higher rates of disease in surrounding areas, research shows England’s controversial badger cull may have increased the risk of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) among herds in neighbouring areas, according to new research. Researchers at the University of Oxford found that although badger culling reduced incidences of tuberculosis in the areas where it took place, in neighbouring areas the risk of the disease in cattle increased by almost a third. Continue reading...

Record sea temperatures in the Mediterranean contributed to waterspout that hit Bayesian Record temperatures in the Mediterranean Sea this summer contributed to the freak storm that sank a superyacht off the coast of Sicily, with similar extreme events expected to increase in frequency and intensity as the climate crisis tightens its grip, Italian scientists have said. One person is confirmed to have died and rescuers are searching for six missing people, including the British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, after the 56-metre Bayesian capsized in the early hours of Monday. Continue reading...

Raising the wind speed at which turbines start spinning could prevent tens of thousands of bat deaths each year, researchers find Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast Australian windfarm operators are being urged to embrace a simple measure used overseas that scientists say could dramatically reduce the number of bats killed by turbines. Curtailment – lifting the wind speed at which turbines start spinning – is used in some European countries and parts of the US and Canada, but rarely in Australia. A global study published in the journal BioScience found it was an effective way to limit bat deaths. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

A trio of mothers in their mid-40s were among more than 100 intrepid sailors in a motley armada sailing the unpredictable and spectacular Inside Passage in the Pacific Northwest As we walked through the dark marina at 3.30am, I swallowed the last bite of my banana then tossed the skin on a pile of others on the dock. Bananas are considered to bring bad luck on boats and we needed all the good fortune we could summon to make it the next 750 cold, wild, watery miles. The eighth Race to Alaska (R2AK) was about to start and I was crewing on one of the 44 teams heading to the start line. A few teams aimed to be first; the rest of us just aimed to survive. More than 100 adventurers from four countries converged in Port Townsend, near Seattle, in June to test their mettle against the unpredictable elements in the Pacific Northwest’s famed Inside Passage. Our goal was to make it to Ketchikan, Alaska, before the “Grim Sweeper”– a boat that slowly follows racers up the course – tapped us out. Continue reading...