Latest news with #JAMSTEC
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists shocked as deep-sea expedition captures 'enigmatic' discovery at bottom of Pacific Ocean: 'Might otherwise be missed entirely'
A crew conducting deep-sea explorations off the coast of Japan was shocked to discover a new species of sea snail living at depths never before seen for that family of animal, Discover Wildlife reported. Researchers from the Japan Agency for Earth-Marine Science and Technology made the discovery at a depth of 3.72 miles beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean, per Discover Wildlife. The sea snail was measured at 1.6 inches in diameter, which may not sound massive but is a surprising size for that depth, where the pressure is nearly 600 times the average air pressure at sea level. The researchers found the sea snail, also known as a limpet, attached to underwater volcanic rock, per Wildlife Discovery. Limpets use their tough tongues to scrape algae off rock and to aid in decomposition, playing a vital role in the ocean's ecosystem. In a study detailing the discovery, the researchers noted that most true limpets live in shallower, intertidal areas, but that scientists previously had identified two other species of deepwater true limpets. One was sighted in waters off Chile and the other in Antarctica. Due to characteristics distinguishing the newly discovered sea snail from its deepwater cousins, the researchers concluded that they had identified a new species altogether — calling it "enigmatic" and "mythical," per the Miami Herald. They named it Bathylepeta wadatsumi, inspired by the god of the sea in Japanese mythology, noting that "it is also a reference to the fish-man character 'Lark Monk' Wadatsumi from Eiichiro Oda's manga series 'ONE PIECE,' whose enormous body size is reminiscent of the large size that B. wadatsumi sp. nov. reaches for a deep-water patellogastropod." The discovery highlighted the benefits of using crewed submersibles for deep-sea explorations. "Even in the age of sophisticated remotely operated vehicles, there's often an edge to the human eye on the seafloor," said Chong Chen, the study's lead author, per Wildlife Discovery. "Crewed submersibles like Shinkai 6500 let us explore with intention and nuance – spotting lifeforms … that might otherwise be missed entirely," he added, referring to the vehicle in which the researchers had ventured to the sea floor. Should we be harnessing the ocean to power our homes? Absolutely Leave it be It depends I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. The deep sea remains a massively underexplored and little understood region of the planet, with the sea bed being less well-mapped than the surface of Mars, according to the USGS. Exploring the world's oceans "allows us, collectively, to protect ocean health, sustainably manage our marine resources, accelerate our national economy, better understand our changing environment, and enhance appreciation of the importance of the ocean in our everyday lives," explained the federal organization NOAA Ocean Exploration. Particularly in the midst of rising global temperatures, better understanding oceans is vital to sustaining the world's economy and food supply. According to the U.N. Conference on Trade & Development, the cumulative value of "ocean-based economic sectors" is a staggering $3 trillion to $6 trillion every single year. Further, more than "3 billion people rely on the oceans for their livelihoods and more than 350 million jobs are linked to oceans worldwide," per UNCTAD. There are plenty of actions that can be taken at the individual level to protect the world's oceans. For example, NOAA has recommended reducing the use of pollutants and hazardous chemicals that can run off into the ocean, supporting sustainable fishing practices, and boating responsibly. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Solve the daily Crossword
Yomiuri Shimbun
3 days ago
- Science
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Plastic Waste Covers Bottom of Japanese Waters; Items Found Dating Back to Twentieth Century
A huge amount of plastic waste from Japan and elsewhere has been found on the deep seabed around Japan, according to a probe by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). Talks by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to draft a convention to prevent environmental pollution due to plastic waste resumed in Switzerland on Tuesday. The JAMSTEC team that carried out the research stressed the necessity of using fewer plastic products across the globe. The agency conducted the probe from 2019 through spring this year, to ascertain the state of plastic waste pollution on the deep ocean floor. Using the Shinkai 6500, a manned research submarine installed with cameras, researchers probed the ocean floors of the Japan Trench, waters off the Boso Peninsula, Sagami Bay, Suruga Bay, waters off Shikoku and waters off Noto Peninsula. Depths ranged from 800 meters to 7,000 meters. Vast quantities of plastic were found in all these locations. The most polluted areas contained 10,000 to 40,000 plastic items per square kilometer. 'It's deeply shocking that so much plastic waste was confirmed in ocean waters tens of kilometers from the coast,' said Ryota Nakajima, a researcher on the team who specializes in biological oceanography. Of the waste, 70% to 80% was polyethylene bags and plastic shopping bags, and the rest was primarily plastic bottles and food containers. Such waste does not deteriorate quickly in the deep sea due to the lack of light, so some of the waste was identified as products from the Showa era (1926-89). Some product labels showed that the items had drifted on an oceanic current not only from Japan but also from China, South Korea and Southeast Asian countries and regions. The research team also confirmed that a massive amount of microplastics — tiny fragments of plastic products — was dispersed in the seawater. Some plastic products contain chemical substances that are harmful to the human body, and it has been said that people's health may be damaged if they eat fish that have ingested microplastics. The regulation of plastic production has been on the agenda at the INC meeting, which seeks to draft a convention regarding plastic waste, but opinions are divided on the subject. 'The world is connected by the ocean, in which a massive amount of plastic waste is coming and going. To keep the ocean unpolluted, countries and regions must cooperate with each other. It's hopeless otherwise,' Nakajima said. He is paying close attention to the outcome of discussions at the meeting.
Yomiuri Shimbun
26-07-2025
- Science
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Ice-Breaking Research Vessel Set to Be Japan's 1st Ship to Reach North Pole During Maiden Voyage in '27
A Japanese Arctic research vessel scheduled to conduct its maiden voyage in fiscal 2027 will attempt to become the nation's first research ship to sail to the North Pole, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. Mirai II, a Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) research vessel, is capable of breaking through sea ice up to 1.2 meters thick. The 128-meter-long Mirai II will help open marine transportation routes and conduct weather observations that previously had been difficult because sea routes were unavailable in the Arctic Ocean. The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry has poured ¥33.9 billion into construction of the Mirai II, which is Japan's first research vessel equipped with ice-breaking capabilities. Construction began in 2021, the vessel was launched in March this year and it will be completed in autumn 2026. The ship's ability to smash through thick ice will enable it to sail through the Arctic Ocean almost all year to JAMSTEC, the Mirai II's first voyage is scheduled to take place in 2027 from August through October. After departing Japan, the vessel will head northward across the Pacific Ocean, through the Bering Strait and continue north through the Arctic Ocean in a bid to reach the North Pole. The northernmost point a Japanese ship has reached in the Arctic Ocean was recorded by the Mirai, a soon-to-be-retired research vessel belonging to the agency. Mirai reached 79 degrees 11 minutes north latitude, so the Mirai II's voyage to 90 degrees north — the North Pole — will be the first by any Japanese vessel, according to the agency. The Mirai II is brimming with equipment such as water samplers capable of analyzing seawater temperature and salinity; underwater drones that can check sea ice thickness and shape; and balloons that can measure air temperature and humidity. The crew will make full use of these technologies on the vessel's maiden voyage to examine ecosystems and conduct weather observations near the North Pole. From fiscal 2029 onward, the Mirai II is scheduled to traverse the Arctic Ocean in order to sail from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. Takashi Kikuchi, head of the agency's Institute of Arctic Climate and Environment Research, said, 'The vessel will sail through the sea ice area and try to reach the North Pole, a place Japan has never reached before.' The Arctic is a region especially prone to experiencing global warming's effects. As sea temperatures rise, meandering westerly winds strengthen and bring extreme weather events to Japan, including heavy snowfall and torrential rain. However, the shortage of observation data has made it difficult to precisely unravel the mechanisms driving these phenomena. The agency will use data gleaned by the Mirai II to fill in these blanks and thereby help shed light on the impacts and the causes of global warming. As sea ice in the Arctic Ocean has continued to shrink in recent years, Chinese and Russian icebreakers have pushed into the region to make new shipping routes linking East Asia and Europe. Japan, the United States and European nations have been concerned that free navigation in these waters could be hindered. The agency believes the Mirai II will help open up new routes, and the government intends to work with the United States, European nations and others to help formulate international rules that will enable vessels to safely sail through the Arctic Ocean.
The Mainichi
15-07-2025
- Science
- The Mainichi
Japan building autonomous probe to explore Challenger Deep
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan is set to return to the deepest part of the world ocean with a new autonomous probe that will collect samples and also search for marine resources in Japan's exclusive economic zone. The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) is developing the compact, unmanned probe capable of reaching depths of approximately 11,000 meters, part of the abyssal zone in the Mariana Trench's Challenger Deep in the western Pacific Ocean. The autonomous probe will collect living organisms, mud and rocks from a large area for studies on hydrothermal vents, key for understanding early life, as well as deep-sea ecosystems and ocean trenches linked to the generation of large, destructive earthquakes. JAMSTEC, a state-backed agency based in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, will test the probe through fiscal 2027 before putting it in full use. The Limiting Factor, a U.S. crewed deep submergence vehicle and China's deep submersible Fendouzhe have already reached the deepest point, but their scope of exploration was limited. In 1996, Japan's unmanned Kaiko remotely operated vehicle was the first to collect living organisms and sediment at a depth greater than 10,000 meters in the Challenger Deep, according to JAMSTEC. Kaiko was also used to identify the wreck of the Tsushima Maru, a cargo and passenger ship sunk off Okinawa by the U.S. submarine Bowfin during World War II while carrying hundreds of schoolchildren. Kaiko was lost off Shikoku, one of Japan's main islands, in 2003. Japan's crewed Shinkai 6500 can descend to 6,500 meters and its unmanned Urashima 8000 can go to 8,000 meters. "We need to unlock puzzles of ecosystems and geological conditions in the deepest sea," said Yu Matsunaga, a senior official at JAMSTEC. The probe will have to withstand enormous water pressure in the depths. It will consist of two units -- an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) measuring 50 centimeters in length and width and 1 meter deep, and a lander of about two meters a side that carries the AUV to the seafloor. JAMSTEC has adopted the design because a single-unit structure would make the probe bigger, less mobile and costlier. The probe is so designed that when the lander reaches the seafloor, the AUV will separate and vacuum up organisms and mud while moving on a predetermined route. Engineers will consider whether to add robotic arms to the vehicle. The plan is to have the AUV stay on the seafloor for more than five hours and move a distance of around 4 kilometers. The lander, though immobile, may have a hose to gather samples from around its landing site. In an experiment conducted in 2023, a prototype lander descended to a depth of 9,200 meters in the Japan Trench off the Boso Peninsula east of Tokyo and succeeded in sending visual data over the water by means of sound waves. Other technologies under development include the combined use of cameras and artificial intelligence to allow the AUV to move and collect samples. If the AUV is outfitted with rechargeable batteries and allowed to navigate automatically, it will be able to expand its scope of activity as there will be no need to connect a vessel at sea with cables for communication and power supply. JAMSTEC will begin testing the AUV and the lander as a unit in fiscal 2026 and lower the probe to 9,000 meters to collect samples in fiscal 2027. It will then begin the full use of the probe for its research activities.
Japan Today
12-07-2025
- Science
- Japan Today
Japan building autonomous probe to explore Challenger Deep
A prototype of an autonomous unmanned probe is seen exploring the seafloor in Suruga Bay, Shizuoka Prefecture, in February 2024. By Kento Iwamura Japan is set to return to the deepest part of the world ocean with a new autonomous probe that will collect samples and also search for marine resources in Japan's exclusive economic zone. The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) is developing the compact, unmanned probe capable of reaching depths of approximately 11,000 meters, part of the abyssal zone in the Mariana Trench's Challenger Deep in the western Pacific Ocean. The autonomous probe will collect living organisms, mud and rocks from a large area for studies on hydrothermal vents, key for understanding early life, as well as deep-sea ecosystems and ocean trenches linked to the generation of large, destructive earthquakes. JAMSTEC, a state-backed agency based in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, will test the probe through fiscal 2027 before putting it in full use. The Limiting Factor, a U.S. crewed deep submergence vehicle and China's deep submersible Fendouzhe have already reached the deepest point, but their scope of exploration was limited. In 1996, Japan's unmanned Kaiko remotely operated vehicle was the first to collect living organisms and sediment at a depth greater than 10,000 meters in the Challenger Deep, according to JAMSTEC. Kaiko was also used to identify the wreck of the Tsushima Maru, a cargo and passenger ship sunk off Okinawa by the U.S. submarine Bowfin during World War II while carrying hundreds of schoolchildren. Kaiko was lost off Shikoku, one of Japan's main islands, in 2003. Japan's crewed Shinkai 6500 can descend to 6,500 meters and its unmanned Urashima 8000 can go to 8,000 meters. "We need to unlock puzzles of ecosystems and geological conditions in the deepest sea," said Yu Matsunaga, a senior official at JAMSTEC. The probe will have to withstand enormous water pressure in the depths. It will consist of two units -- an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) measuring 50 centimeters in length and width and 1 meter deep, and a lander of about two meters a side that carries the AUV to the seafloor. JAMSTEC has adopted the design because a single-unit structure would make the probe bigger, less mobile and costlier. The probe is so designed that when the lander reaches the seafloor, the AUV will separate and vacuum up organisms and mud while moving on a predetermined route. Engineers will consider whether to add robotic arms to the vehicle. The plan is to have the AUV stay on the seafloor for more than five hours and move a distance of around 4 kilometers. The lander, though immobile, may have a hose to gather samples from around its landing site. In an experiment conducted in 2023, a prototype lander descended to a depth of 9,200 meters in the Japan Trench off the Boso Peninsula east of Tokyo and succeeded in sending visual data over the water by means of sound waves. Other technologies under development include the combined use of cameras and artificial intelligence to allow the AUV to move and collect samples. If the AUV is outfitted with rechargeable batteries and allowed to navigate automatically, it will be able to expand its scope of activity as there will be no need to connect a vessel at sea with cables for communication and power supply. JAMSTEC will begin testing the AUV and the lander as a unit in fiscal 2026 and lower the probe to 9,000 meters to collect samples in fiscal 2027. It will then begin the full use of the probe for its research activities. © KYODO
