Environment

• Monday, September 16th 2013 - 22:02 UTC

  Vigo starts bio-bank to store commercial fisheries marine parasite samples

  

  The Marine Research Institute from Vigo, Spain has launched the first world bio-bank which collects, stores and will distribute samples of marine parasites and associated bio-molecules such as the anisakis, in the framework of the EU ‘Parasite’ project to assess their sanitary and commercial impact on the food chain and validation of tools to mitigate effects.

• Monday, September 16th 2013 - 21:57 UTC

  Spanish scientists discover new marine worm that feeds on whale bones

  

  Spanish scientists from the University of Barcelona and the Oceanographic Institute have discovered in Antarctica a new species of worm, a marine invertebrate which feeds on whale bones. The discovery is in the framework of the Actiquim-II project and the new species was baptized “Osedax deceptionensis”.

• Monday, September 16th 2013 - 01:26 UTC

  Colombia/Nicaragua maritime dispute reignites, despite International Court ruling

  

  President Juan Manuel Santos presented before Colombia’s constitutional court a demand against the Pact of Bogotá arguing that a recent ruling from the International Court of Justice on a maritime dispute with Nicaragua does not comply with the Colombian constitution.

• Monday, September 9th 2013 - 01:34 UTC

  World’s largest volcano has been discovered on the Pacific Ocean floor

  

  The world's largest volcano has been discovered on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. The volcano, 1,600 kilometres east of Japan and called the Tamu Massif, is the size of the British Isles. It covers 308,000 square kilometres, rising around 3.54 km above the bottom of the seabed and delving 29 km into the Earth's crust.

• Thursday, September 5th 2013 - 03:53 UTC

  Argentine politicians warn Uruguay on possible expansion of pulp mill production capacity

  

  The bilateral conflict between Argentina and Uruguay over the UPM/Botnia pulp mill, on the Uruguayan side of the Uruguay River is once again leading to tension between the two neighbours amid reports that the plant’s Finnish owners plan to increase production from 1.1 to 1.3 million tons of cellulose paste per year.

• Saturday, August 31st 2013 - 15:27 UTC

  Uruguay fearing the wrath of Cristina Fernandez denies authorization to expand pulp mill capacity

  

  The Uruguayan government fearful of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez’s reaction will not authorize the local UPM pulp mill to expand its production capacity from 1 million to 1.3 million tons annually, in the short term, according to company and government sources.

• Saturday, August 31st 2013 - 01:02 UTC

  Zoe Davies wins British Ecology Society photo competition

  

  The British Ecology Society has named the winners of its annual photography competition.

• Thursday, August 29th 2013 - 02:27 UTC

  Gibraltar will bring in construction materials by sea, skirting Spanish ban

  

  Gibraltar will sidestep an ‘illegal’ Spanish ban on overland cross-border shipments of rock, sand and aggregates by shipping the vital building materials in by sea. The ban was announced at the weekend by the Spanish authorities, which are denying export permission for these commodities and say they are being used to reclaim land in breach of EU environmental rules.

• Thursday, August 29th 2013 - 02:20 UTC

  Freezing frosts kill 4.000 cattle in landlocked Paraguay

  

  Freezing cold temperature from heavy frosts are estimated to have killed at least 4.000 head of cattle in landlocked Paraguay, according to the primary reports from the country’s National Animal Quality and Health service, Senasa.

• Monday, August 26th 2013 - 08:25 UTC

  Rising sea temperature will reduce krill growth habitat in Antarctica

  

  Antarctic krill are usually less than 6 cm in length, but their size belies the major role they play in sustaining much of the life in the Southern Ocean. They are the primary food source for many species of whales, seals, penguins and fish.