Global Scans · Life Below Water · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

• [New] Warming in the Southern Ocean could continue to intensify heatwaves for centuries even after net zero is reached. ScienceDaily
• [New] Rising sea levels threaten to flood more than 5,500 toxic sites across the US by 2100. The Guardian
• [New] Rising sea levels have already largely swamped two of Tuvalu's nine coral atolls - and scientists fear the entire archipelago could be unliveable by the end of the century. Yahoo News UK
• [New] New Jersey is likely to see between 2.2 and 3.8 feet of sea-level rise by 2100 if the current level of global carbon emissions continue, but seas could rise by as much as 4.5 feet if ice-sheet melt accelerates. Inside Climate News
• [New] NASA and its European partners have successfully launched Sentinel-6B, the second in a pair of U.S.-European ocean-monitoring satellites that will provide high-precision measurements of sea-level rise, ocean currents, and atmospheric conditions. Tech Startups - Tech News, Tech Trends & Startup Fundin
• [New] After successful validation, the full-scale 6,000-metre deep-ocean laban underwater equivalent of the International Space Station (ISS) - will be constructed, becoming the deepest human-occupied marine research station in history. Guidely
• [New] India has announced plans to build the world's deepest underwater research laboratory at a depth of 6,000 meters in the Indian Ocean, forming a major milestone under Vision 2047. Guidely
• [New] Historic SS United States to Become World's Largest Artificial Reef off Florida The SS United States, a legendary 1950s ocean liner and holder of the trans-Atlantic speed record, will be sunk off Florida's Gulf Coast in early 2026 to create the world's largest artificial reef. SOFREP
• [New] By 2050, plastics are expected to outweigh fish in the ocean. MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• [New] Tropical cyclones and extreme floods would increase in severity in Fiji, posing even more risks to coastal and marine livelihoods. Al Jazeera
• [New] Microplastics overlap with the prey item size of many marine organisms and can enter the food web, with the potential to transfer contaminants into cells and tissues. The Guardian
• [New] Microbes that breathe iron and eat sulfide could be quietly saving Earth's oceans. ScienceDaily
• [New] If similar cascading feedbacks are happening now, localized melting could spread and accelerate overall ice loss, contributing to faster global sea-level rise. ScienceDaily
• [New] By 2025, stringent regulations and advanced monitoring systems are in place to mitigate oil spills, noise pollution, and disruption of marine habitats. FreightAmigo
• [New] The continuous absorption of carbon dioxide by oceans is causing ocean acidification, which severely threatens marine ecosystems and food security globally. Risk Prevention Mitigation and Management Forum
• [New] Ocean solutions remain vastly underfunded compared to their climate potential, but momentum is growing: 39% more countries now include the ocean in their climate investment plans. Ocean Conservancy
• [New] Marine microbiomes, forming the foundation of ocean food webs and the global nutrient cycle, are predicted to undergo significant shifts due to rising ocean temperatures and increased acidification. BioMed Central
• [New] The over-extraction of sand from Cambodia's Tonle Sap, Asia's largest lake and a crucial Mekong River source, threatens to shrink its wet-season size by up to 40%. Circle of Blue
• [New] Sentinel-6B will study ocean topography and monitor sea levels using radar altimetry in cooperation with NASA and other agencies worldwide. NASASpaceFlight.com
• [New] Advanced open-ocean aquaculture and mariculture farms, managed by autonomous systems, will provide a significant portion of the world's seafood without damaging fragile coastal ecosystems. Futurist Speaker on AI Leadership, Future of Work, Futu
• [New] Throughout late 2027, naval combat in the South China Sea intensified, which led to the entrance of Vietnam, Japan and Laos into the war against China. Future
• [New] The limited rainfall forecast for the next three months will hinder recovery from the impacts of 2025's drought, leaving river flows and groundwater levels in southern and eastern areas of the UK below normal into early 2026. Water Magazine
• [New] Sea surface temperatures are forecast to remain above average in the Australian region. Mirage News

Last updated: 23 November 2025