02 Jan 2024
The National Oceanography Centre (NOC), working with the University of Southampton and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), recently completed a Fully Autonomous Marine Protected Area Seafloor Survey. This survey will help us understand the suitability of using autonomous underwater vehicles for UK offshore marine monitoring and establish to what extent such systems […]
02 Jan 2024
Fin repair in sharks is common, though it is rarely full. Typically scar tissue forms in wounds, closing them, offering a small degree of regeneration. A marine biologist at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, has documented a case of a silky shark with a regenerated dorsal fin, after […]
02 Jan 2024
Coastal Futures conference, London & online: 24-25 January 2024 Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) COP14, Uzbekistan: 12-17 February 2024 World Fisheries Congress, Seattle: 3-7 March 204 Economist World Ocean Summit, Lisbon: 11-13 March 2024 29th International Seabed Authority (Council Meeting), Kingston: 18 – 29 March 2024 UN Ocean Decade Conference, Barcelona: 8-12 April 2024 Our Ocean Greece: 16 – 17 […]
20 Dec 2023
There was more reaction this week to the limited progress made at COP28, where agreement could not be made to phase out or even phase down fossil fuels. The deal, including a ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels, is not enough to keep temperatures under 1.5C this century, according to the BBC. WWF argued that the […]
20 Dec 2023
Water industry finances are under pressure again. Thames Water Last week, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee questioned Thames Water and Ofwat about the company’s financial situation. This included the nature of the recent £500m equity injection to Thames, its parent company’s ability to pay its debts, Ofwat’s new dividend lock-up powers and prospects […]
20 Dec 2023
The National Audit Office has published a new report looking at how well-prepared the country is for future extreme weather events. The report sets out how central government coordinates, leads, supports and assures local activity, but does not cover local responses, such as local response plans. It also does not cover arrangements in the devolved […]
20 Dec 2023
The government has said that a pilot project to replace gas with hydrogen in home heating in the village of Redcar in Yorkshire, will not go ahead as there is not enough adequate low carbon hydrogen available. The “hydrogen village” scheme had been expected to start in 2025, but the decision followed months of protests […]
20 Dec 2023
Defra and the Environment Agency have published new guidance on when to use hydrological and hydraulic modelling as part of a flood risk assessment for a planning application, and the expected standards. It includes modelling standards, information needs, methodologies, climate change allowances, impact on off-site flood risk, quality assurance, uncertainty, reporting and more.
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