From Oil Spills to New Species: How Tech Reveals the Ocean

The ocean covers nearly three-quarters of our planet but scientists say we have barely scratched the surface of what lives in our seas.
But new technologies are helping to change that, revealing hidden oil spills, speeding up the discovery of new species and uncovering how light pollution impacts marine life.
Uncovering hidden oil spills
Satellite imagery means large oil spills in the ocean are relatively easily detected. When a tanker crashes or a pipe bursts, scientists know where to look, AFP said.
But smaller pollution events can appear as nothing more than a thin streak against the smooth sea surface -- the maritime equivalent of a needle in a haystack.
"It used to take human analysts weeks if not months to be able to detect a single (small-scale) oil pollution incident," explained Mitchelle De Leon of US-based NGO SkyTruth.
The group harnesses machine learning to comb through large datasets of satellite imagery and find spills that might previously have gone undetected.
SkyTruth has revealed spills in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean and helped expose pollution from shadowy Russian ships.
There are limitations to the technology, including determining the composition of a spill, but the group says it offers an early warning system for scientists, media and governments.
"We think of our tool as a starting point... to make hidden human pollution events more visible," said De Leon.
Understanding light pollution
We have long known that our obsession with lighting the night sky obscures the stars and confuses terrestrial animals, but what impact does it have on the sea?
To understand that, scientists need satellite images to show how light spreads from coastal megacities, as well as complex models that can calculate how light penetrates the ocean, said Tim Smyth, a marine biogeochemistry specialist at Britain's Plymouth Marine Laboratory.
Seawater generally absorbs more red light, but that can change in the presence of phytoplankton or high turbidity.
"We're able to program computers such that we can model the light field under the water with a high degree of accuracy," said Smyth.
His research found two million square kilometers (770,000 square miles) of ocean -- an area 10 times the size of Britain -- is affected by light pollution globally.
The effects are profound, from disrupting feeding by fish and seabirds, to interfering with coral spawning and the nightly migrations of phytoplankton up and down the water column.
The good news is "it's something we can do something about", said Smyth.
Switching off unnecessary illuminations such as billboards and redesigning lights to reduce "spillage" into the sky will bring down costs and carbon emissions while benefiting wildlife on land and in the sea, he explained.
Species discovery
Advances in technology have allowed us to reach the ocean's darkest depths but scientists estimate we know about just 10 percent of what lives in our seas.
And before we even realize a new species exists, "we are losing that diversity", said Lucy Woodall, a marine biologist and head of science at Ocean Census.
Launched in 2023, the global alliance of scientists aims to speed up the discovery of ocean species from coral to crabs.
That works in part by collaborating with high-tech, lab-equipped research vessels where researchers can immediately start work on collected specimens.
Genetic sequencing can now be done in the field, "which even 10 years ago would have been months and months worth of work back on land", said Woodall.
On average, it takes more than 13 years from finding a possible new species to officially describing it for science.
"We can't afford to wait for that," said Woodall.
The project encourages scientists to share findings sooner, with an explanation of why they believe a species is new.
It won't replace the slower work of proving new species with methods such as genetic testing but it can accelerate knowledge at a time of urgency.
The project has documented more than 800 new discoveries, which are shared on its open-access biodiversity platform.
"We want to ensure that companies, countries, and individuals really value the ocean and ocean life for what it does for them and our planet," said Woodall.

A Peruvian fisherman who spent 95 days lost in the Pacific Ocean, eating roaches, birds and sea turtles to survive, is returning home to his family.

Maximo Napa had set off for a fishing trip from Marcona, a town on the southern Peruvian coast, on December 7. He packed food for a two-week trip but ten days in, stormy weather threw his boat off course and he ended up adrift in the Pacific Ocean.

His family launched a search, but Peru's maritime patrols were unable to locate him until Wednesday, when an Ecuadorian fishing patrol discovered him some 680 miles (1,094 km) off the country's coast, heavily dehydrated and in critical condition.

"I did not want to die," Napa told Reuters after reuniting with his brother, in Paita, near the border with Ecuador. "I ate roaches, birds, the last thing I ate was turtles."

He said he stayed strong thinking about his family, including his two-month-old granddaughter, even as he survived on rainwater he collected on the boat and ran out of food, ultimately spending the last 15 days without eating.

"I thought about my mother everyday," he said. "I'm thankful to God for giving me a second chance.

His mother, Elena Castro, told local media that while her relatives had stayed optimistic, she had begun to lose hope.

"I told the Lord, whether he's alive or dead, just bring him back to me, even if it's just to see him," she told TV Peru. "But my daughters never lost faith. They kept telling me: Mom, he'll come back, he'll come back."

Napa was scheduled for more medical checks in Paita before heading south to Lima.

From Oil Spills to New Species: How Tech Reveals the Ocean