http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/issues/aquaculture_management.aspx

This is an interesting topic because it is a very worrying issue but not one that many people would think of or be concerned about .On the same website under the section of management it talks about different ways of managing escapes. One of them being protecting the habitat. This proposes that legislation should be created to protect habitat, since aquaculture operations often occur near sensitive environments. Such regulations should also restrict the introduction of non-native species that impact natural ecosystems when they escape, and ensure that the fishing industry chooses the optimum sites for its operations.

When it comes to using the ocean as a supply of electricity there is still much more research to be done. The three main technologies created so far are tidal barrages, offshore turbines and tidal reefs. Although these technologies require time and money to be created there are many benefits to using tidal energy. It creates an unlimited source of power because naturally the tide is always creating energy due to gravitational attractions to the moon and the sun. These technologies also provide protection for the coastline against damage in high tide storms. The website attached features animations of how these machines work. At the bottom it also provides many current articles and news about new technologies and products being created. I think this is potentially a very interesting and unique way of collecting energy and could be a potential solution for environmental problems.

http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/technology/hydro/tidal-power/

I think this is a really interesting and worrying topic. I think the entire process of aquaculture needs to be rethought and addressed in a more environmentally friendly way. This article below states its many affects on the environment. including Pollution of Inland & Coastal Waters and Eutrophication (the increase of mineral and organic nutrients in a water body, thereby reducing dissolved oxygen and producing an environment that generally favors plants over animals). It also states ways that we can stop this pollution this includes: pollution control, Using Natural Fish Stocks to Feed Farmed Fish (herbivorous species such as tilapia, catfish, carp, oysters and clams), Genetic Conservation & Aquatic Biodiversity and Introduction of Alien Species. These are all efficient ways of fighting the negative effects of fish farming industries, which are becoming bigger and bigger today.

http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/aquacult/overview.php

Ocean acidification is caused by the large amounts of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. About one quarter of C02 in the air above sea level is absorbed by the ocean. Over the last 250 years, oceans have absorbed 530 billion tons of CO2, this has caused a 30 percent increase in ocean acidity.This disturbs the process of calcification. Calcification is the process in which different types of calcium ions are created to benefit coral and marine life. However, ocean acidification reduces carbonate ion concentration and saturation of calcium carbonate minerals that serves as the building blocks for the skeletons and shells of marine organisms. small fish are dependent on the production of calcium carbonates because without them they are unable to build their shells that protect themselves, therefore they may become far mor vulnerable. This effects the entire food chain. Furthermore Delicate corals may face an even greater risk than shellfish because they require very high levels of carbonate to build their skeletons.This acidification dramatically slows reef-building, which therefore lowers the resiliency of corals and eventually leads to their erosion and extinction. The "tipping point" for coral reefs could happen as soon as 2050. The loss of coral reefs would hit the fishing and tourist industries hard. It would also have an impact on coastal communities that gained storm and hurricane protection from these reefs.

Copepods are tiny crustaceans that live in freshwater environments such as ponds, marshes and streams. They don't get much bigger than 2 millimeters. They have two main body parts: the cephalothorax and adomen ( pictures in the website attached). Their abdomen is used to help them steer. Female copepods tend to be much larger than males. Their life spam can go from 1 week to 6 months, this is reliant on the temperature of their environments. Copepods tends to slow down when the weather gets cooler and if it gets too cold they hibernate and swim to the bottom. Their main source of food is tiny plankton organisms. Their predators include other plankton eaters such as fish and amphibians. The website attached contains many good photos of copepods.

This is a very valid source that states what continental shelves are and how much power countries have over it. This is important to understand as oil plays a key component in this issue. A country has rights over their continental shelves up to 200 nautical miles from coastal baselines. Do you think countries have a right to own more or less of their continental shelves? and does this still give countries the right to exploit the sea for materials such as oil?

Whilst doing research for my presentation based around Pangea and the Continental Drift Theory, I did research about the man who came up with the theory himself, Alfred Weneger. Wegener was an astronomer and meteorologist. He was the first to realize that the earths continents had at one point been a single landmass. He expanded on this theory and stated that the continents moved around and smashed into one another creating mountain ranges. To other geologists at the time this seemed like a ridiculous idea. Wegener introduced his theory in 1912 however it didn't receive much attention till ten years later. I found this article interesting because it states that although Wegener was the man behind the idea of the Continental Drift Theory, his explanations were not exactly correct. For example he stated one of the reasons for the drift was due to the earth's rotation pushing continents toward the equator. This is impossible as the earth's rotation alone is far too small to move continents. Wegener died in 1930 on an expedition in Greenland and unfortunately didn't live long enough to see his theory be universally accepted. His theory was accepted after further discovery of the Mid- Atlantic Ridge. However, his contribution and unique thinking for his time period is not forgotten. There is currently an institute for polar and marine science named in his honor. (http://www.awi.de/en/home) Our presentation on Thursday will go further in depth about his theories and life.