The climate threat|Global challenges

Illustration image. Robert F. Bukaty / AP 

 

Win for UN Sea Treaty - gathers 67 signatures  

 

67 countries have signed the UN Convention on the Seas to protect international waters, writes AFP. It is the first step towards implementing the agreement that was concluded at the UN in June.  

 

- This marks a new chapter in establishing meaningful protections for the oceans, says Nichola Clark from the Ocean Governance Project. 

 

It is hoped that the treaty will enter into force in 2025, when the next UN ocean conference is held in France. One of the most important points concerns the possibility of creating protected marine areas in international waters. 

 

- We have less than seven years to protect 30 percent of the oceans. There is no time to waste, says Mads Christensen at Greenpeace International.

 

The measuring tools were placed on Fimbulisen 2009/Archive image Wikimedia Commons 

The climate threat|Global challenges

Scientists: Ice on the coast of Antarctica is melting from below 

 

Polar scientists see how warm water causes the so-called shelf ice Fimbulisen off Dronning Maud Land in East Antarctica to melt from below. Measurements show clear changes since 2016, according to the results published in Nature Geoscience. 

 

- The temperature of the water under the ice is at times higher than the melting point. Simple physics tells us that it results in it melting, says oceanographer Tore Hattermann at the Norwegian Polar Institute to NRK.  

 

The researchers see a connection between the melting and changed circulation in the sea. Among other things, the westerly winds have become stronger, which brings warmer water near the coast, according to NRK.  

 

Fimbulis, Antarctica map