Sea – Wikipedia

Large body of salt water

The sea in a general sense refers to the ocean or world ocean, the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. Used in a particular sense the word sea refers to particular seas either as second-order sections of the ocean, such as the Mediterranean Sea, or as certain large, entirely landlocked, saltwater lakes, such as the Caspian Sea. The sea moderates Earth's climate and has important roles in the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles. Humans harnessing and studying the sea have been recorded since ancient times, and evidenced well into prehistory, while its modern scientific study is called oceanography. The most abundant solid dissolved in seawater is sodium chloride. The water also contains salts of magnesium, calcium, potassium, and mercury, amongst many other elements, some in minute concentrations. Salinity varies widely, being lower near the surface and the mouths of large rivers and higher in the depths of the ocean; however, the relative proportions of dissolved salts vary little across the oceans.

Winds blowing over the surface of the sea produce waves, which break when they enter the shallow water near land. Winds also create surface currents through friction, setting up slow but stable circulations of water throughout the oceans. The directions of the circulation are governed by several factors including the shapes of the continents and Earth's rotation (through the Coriolis effect). Deep-sea currents, known as the global conveyor belt, carry cold water from near the poles to every ocean. Tides, the generally twice-daily rise and fall of sea levels, are caused by Earth's rotation and the gravitational effects of the Moon and, to a lesser extent, of the Sun. Tides may have a very high range in bays or estuaries. Submarine earthquakes arising from tectonic plate movements under the oceans can lead to destructive tsunamis, as can volcanoes, huge landslides, or the impact of large meteorites.

A wide variety of organisms, including bacteria, protists, algae, plants, fungi, and animals, lives in the sea, which offers a wide range of marine habitats and ecosystems, ranging vertically from the sunlit surface and shoreline to the great depths and pressures of the cold, dark abyssal zone, and in latitude from the cold waters under polar ice caps to the warm waters of coral reefs in tropical regions. Many of the major groups of organisms evolved in the sea and life may have started there.

The sea provides substantial supplies of food for humans, mainly fish, but also shellfish, mammals and seaweed, whether caught by fishermen or farmed underwater. Other human uses of the sea include trade, travel, mineral extraction, power generation, warfare, and leisure activities such as swimming, sailing, and scuba diving. Many of these activities create marine pollution. The sea has been an integral element for humans throughout history and culture.

The sea is the interconnected system of all the Earth's oceanic waters, including the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Southern and Arctic Oceans.[1] However, the word "sea" can also be used for many specific, much smaller bodies of seawater, such as the North Sea or the Red Sea. There is no sharp distinction between seas and oceans, though generally seas are smaller, and are often partly (as marginal seas or particularly as the Mediterranean sea) or wholly (as inland seas) enclosed by land.[2] However, an exception to this is the Sargasso Sea which has no coastline and lies within a circular current, the North Atlantic Gyre.[3]:90 Seas are generally larger than lakes and contain salt water, but the Sea of Galilee is a freshwater lake.[4][a] The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea states that all of the ocean is "sea".[8][9][b]

Earth is the only known planet with seas of liquid water on its surface,[3]:22 although Mars possesses ice caps and similar planets in other solar systems may have oceans.[11] Earth's 1,335,000,000 cubic kilometers (320,000,000cumi) of sea contain about 97.2 percent of its known water[12][c] and cover approximately 71 percent of its surface.[3]:7[17] Another 2.15% of Earth's water is frozen, found in the sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean, the ice cap covering Antarctica and its adjacent seas, and various glaciers and surface deposits around the world. The remainder (about 0.65% of the whole) form underground reservoirs or various stages of the water cycle, containing the freshwater encountered and used by most terrestrial life: vapor in the air, the clouds it slowly forms, the rain falling from them, and the lakes and rivers spontaneously formed as its waters flow again and again to the sea.[12]

The scientific study of water and Earth's water cycle is hydrology; hydrodynamics studies the physics of water in motion. The more recent study of the sea in particular is oceanography. This began as the study of the shape of the ocean's currents[18] but has since expanded into a large and multidisciplinary field:[19] it examines the properties of seawater; studies waves, tides, and currents; charts coastlines and maps the seabeds; and studies marine life.[20] The subfield dealing with the sea's motion, its forces, and the forces acting upon it is known as physical oceanography.[21] Marine biology (biological oceanography) studies the plants, animals, and other organisms inhabiting marine ecosystems. Both are informed by chemical oceanography, which studies the behavior of elements and molecules within the oceans: particularly, at the moment, the ocean's role in the carbon cycle and carbon dioxide's role in the increasing acidification of seawater. Marine and maritime geography charts the shape and shaping of the sea, while marine geology (geological oceanography) has provided evidence of continental drift and the composition and structure of the Earth, clarified the process of sedimentation, and assisted the study of volcanism and earthquakes.[19]

A characteristic of seawater is that it is salty. Salinity is usually measured in parts per thousand ( or per mil), and the open ocean has about 35 grams (1.2oz) solids per litre, a salinity of 35. The Mediterranean Sea is slightly higher at 38,[22] while the salinity of the northern Red Sea can reach 41.[23] In contrast, some landlocked hypersaline lakes have a much higher salinity, for example the Dead Sea has 300 grams (11oz) dissolved solids per litre (300).

While the constituents of table salt (sodium and chloride) make up about 85 percent of the solids in solution, there are also other metal ions such as magnesium and calcium, and negative ions including sulphate, carbonate, and bromide. Despite variations in the levels of salinity in different seas, the relative composition of the dissolved salts is stable throughout the world's oceans.[24][25] Seawater is too saline for humans to drink safely, as the kidneys cannot excrete urine as salty as seawater.[26]

Although the amount of salt in the ocean remains relatively constant within the scale of millions of years, various factors affect the salinity of a body of water.[27] Evaporation and by-product of ice formation (known as "brine rejection") increase salinity, whereas precipitation, sea ice melt, and runoff from land reduce it.[27] The Baltic Sea, for example, has many rivers flowing into it, and thus the sea could be considered as brackish.[28] Meanwhile, the Red Sea is very salty due to its high evaporation rate.[29]

Sea temperature depends on the amount of solar radiation falling on its surface. In the tropics, with the sun nearly overhead, the temperature of the surface layers can rise to over 30C (86F) while near the poles the temperature in equilibrium with the sea ice is about 2C (28F). There is a continuous circulation of water in the oceans. Warm surface currents cool as they move away from the tropics, and the water becomes denser and sinks. The cold water moves back towards the equator as a deep sea current, driven by changes in the temperature and density of the water, before eventually welling up again towards the surface. Deep seawater has a temperature between 2C (28F) and 5C (41F) in all parts of the globe.[30]

Seawater with a typical salinity of 35 has a freezing point of about 1.8C (28.8F).[citation needed] When its temperature becomes low enough, ice crystals form on the surface. These break into small pieces and coalesce into flat discs that form a thick suspension known as frazil. In calm conditions this freezes into a thin flat sheet known as nilas, which thickens as new ice forms on its underside. In more turbulent seas, frazil crystals join into flat discs known as pancakes. These slide under each other and coalesce to form floes. In the process of freezing, salt water and air are trapped between the ice crystals. Nilas may have a salinity of 1215, but by the time the sea ice is one year old, this falls to 46.[31]

The amount of oxygen found in seawater depends primarily on the plants growing in it. These are mainly algae, including phytoplankton, with some vascular plants such as seagrasses. In daylight the photosynthetic activity of these plants produces oxygen, which dissolves in the seawater and is used by marine animals. At night, photosynthesis stops, and the amount of dissolved oxygen declines. In the deep sea, where insufficient light penetrates for plants to grow, there is very little dissolved oxygen. In its absence, organic material is broken down by anaerobic bacteria producing hydrogen sulphide.[32]

Climate change is likely to reduce levels of oxygen in surface waters, since the solubility of oxygen in water falls at higher temperatures.[33] Ocean deoxygenation is projected to increase hypoxia by 10%, and triple suboxic waters (oxygen concentrations 98% less than the mean surface concentrations), for each 1C of upper ocean warming.[34]

The amount of light that penetrates the sea depends on the angle of the sun, the weather conditions and the turbidity of the water. Much light gets reflected at the surface, and red light gets absorbed in the top few metres. Yellow and green light reach greater depths, and blue and violet light may penetrate as deep as 1,000 metres (3,300ft). There is insufficient light for photosynthesis and plant growth beyond a depth of about 200 metres (660ft).[35]

Over most of geologic time, the sea level has been higher than it is today.[3]:74 The main factor affecting sea level over time is the result of changes in the oceanic crust, with a downward trend expected to continue in the very long term.[36] At the last glacial maximum, some 20,000 years ago, the sea level was about 125 metres (410ft) lower than in present times (2012).[37]

For at least the last 100 years, sea level has been rising at an average rate of about 1.8 millimetres (0.071in) per year.[38] Most of this rise can be attributed to an increase in the temperature of the sea due to climate change, and the resulting slight thermal expansion of the upper 500 metres (1,600ft) of water. Additional contributions, as much as one quarter of the total, come from water sources on land, such as melting snow and glaciers and extraction of groundwater for irrigation and other agricultural and human needs.[39]

Wind blowing over the surface of a body of water forms waves that are perpendicular to the direction of the wind. The friction between air and water caused by a gentle breeze on a pond causes ripples to form. A strong blow over the ocean causes larger waves as the moving air pushes against the raised ridges of water. The waves reach their maximum height when the rate at which they are travelling nearly matches the speed of the wind. In open water, when the wind blows continuously as happens in the Southern Hemisphere in the Roaring Forties, long, organised masses of water called swell roll across the ocean.[3]:8384[40][41][d] If the wind dies down, the wave formation is reduced, but already-formed waves continue to travel in their original direction until they meet land. The size of the waves depends on the fetch, the distance that the wind has blown over the water and the strength and duration of that wind. When waves meet others coming from different directions, interference between the two can produce broken, irregular seas.[40] Constructive interference can cause individual (unexpected) rogue waves much higher than normal.[42] Most waves are less than 3m (10ft) high[42] and it is not unusual for strong storms to double or triple that height;[43] offshore construction such as wind farms and oil platforms use metocean statistics from measurements in computing the wave forces (due to for instance the hundred-year wave) they are designed against.[44] Rogue waves, however, have been documented at heights above 25 meters (82ft).[45][46]

The top of a wave is known as the crest, the lowest point between waves is the trough and the distance between the crests is the wavelength. The wave is pushed across the surface of the sea by the wind, but this represents a transfer of energy and not a horizontal movement of water. As waves approach land and move into shallow water, they change their behavior. If approaching at an angle, waves may bend (refraction) or wrap rocks and headlands (diffraction). When the wave reaches a point where its deepest oscillations of the water contact the seabed, they begin to slow down. This pulls the crests closer together and increases the waves' height, which is called wave shoaling. When the ratio of the wave's height to the water depth increases above a certain limit, it "breaks", toppling over in a mass of foaming water.[42] This rushes in a sheet up the beach before retreating into the sea under the influence of gravity.[40]

A tsunami is an unusual form of wave caused by an infrequent powerful event such as an underwater earthquake or landslide, a meteorite impact, a volcanic eruption or a collapse of land into the sea. These events can temporarily lift or lower the surface of the sea in the affected area, usually by a few feet. The potential energy of the displaced seawater is turned into kinetic energy, creating a shallow wave, a tsunami, radiating outwards at a velocity proportional to the square root of the depth of the water and which therefore travels much faster in the open ocean than on a continental shelf.[47] In the deep open sea, tsunamis have wavelengths of around 80 to 300 miles (130 to 480km), travel at speeds of over 600 miles per hour (970km/hr)[48] and usually have a height of less than three feet, so they often pass unnoticed at this stage.[49] In contrast, ocean surface waves caused by winds have wavelengths of a few hundred feet, travel at up to 65 miles per hour (105km/h) and are up to 45 feet (14 metres) high.[49]

As a tsunami moves into shallower water its speed decreases, its wavelength shortens and its amplitude increases enormously,[49] behaving in the same way as a wind-generated wave in shallow water, but on a vastly greater scale. Either the trough or the crest of a tsunami can arrive at the coast first.[47] In the former case, the sea draws back and leaves subtidal areas close to the shore exposed which provides a useful warning for people on land.[50] When the crest arrives, it does not usually break but rushes inland, flooding all in its path. Much of the destruction may be caused by the flood water draining back into the sea after the tsunami has struck, dragging debris and people with it. Often several tsunami are caused by a single geological event and arrive at intervals of between eight minutes and two hours. The first wave to arrive on shore may not be the biggest or most destructive.[47]

Wind blowing over the surface of the sea causes friction at the interface between air and sea. Not only does this cause waves to form but it also makes the surface seawater move in the same direction as the wind. Although winds are variable, in any one place they predominantly blow from a single direction and thus a surface current can be formed. Westerly winds are most frequent in the mid-latitudes while easterlies dominate the tropics.[51] When water moves in this way, other water flows in to fill the gap and a circular movement of surface currents known as a gyre is formed. There are five main gyres in the world's oceans: two in the Pacific, two in the Atlantic and one in the Indian Ocean. Other smaller gyres are found in lesser seas and a single gyre flows around Antarctica. These gyres have followed the same routes for millennia, guided by the topography of the land, the wind direction and the Coriolis effect. The surface currents flow in a clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere and anticlockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. The water moving away from the equator is warm, and that flowing in the reverse direction has lost most of its heat. These currents tend to moderate the Earth's climate, cooling the equatorial region and warming regions at higher latitudes.[52] Global climate and weather forecasts are powerfully affected by the world ocean, so global climate modelling makes use of ocean circulation models as well as models of other major components such as the atmosphere, land surfaces, aerosols and sea ice.[53] Ocean models make use of a branch of physics, geophysical fluid dynamics, that describes the large-scale flow of fluids such as seawater.[54]

Surface currents only affect the top few hundred metres of the sea, but there are also large-scale flows in the ocean depths caused by the movement of deep water masses. A main deep ocean current flows through all the world's oceans and is known as the thermohaline circulation or global conveyor belt. This movement is slow and is driven by differences in density of the water caused by variations in salinity and temperature.[55] At high latitudes the water is chilled by the low atmospheric temperature and becomes saltier as sea ice crystallizes out. Both these factors make it denser, and the water sinks. From the deep sea near Greenland, such water flows southwards between the continental landmasses on either side of the Atlantic. When it reaches the Antarctic, it is joined by further masses of cold, sinking water and flows eastwards. It then splits into two streams that move northwards into the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Here it is gradually warmed, becomes less dense, rises towards the surface and loops back on itself. It takes a thousand years for this circulation pattern to be completed.[52]

Besides gyres, there are temporary surface currents that occur under specific conditions. When waves meet a shore at an angle, a longshore current is created as water is pushed along parallel to the coastline. The water swirls up onto the beach at right angles to the approaching waves but drains away straight down the slope under the effect of gravity. The larger the breaking waves, the longer the beach and the more oblique the wave approach, the stronger is the longshore current.[56] These currents can shift great volumes of sand or pebbles, create spits and make beaches disappear and water channels silt up.[52] A rip current can occur when water piles up near the shore from advancing waves and is funnelled out to sea through a channel in the seabed. It may occur at a gap in a sandbar or near a man-made structure such as a groyne. These strong currents can have a velocity of 3ft (0.9m) per second, can form at different places at different stages of the tide and can carry away unwary bathers.[57] Temporary upwelling currents occur when the wind pushes water away from the land and deeper water rises to replace it. This cold water is often rich in nutrients and creates blooms of phytoplankton and a great increase in the productivity of the sea.[52]

Tides are the regular rise and fall in water level experienced by seas and oceans in response to the gravitational influences of the Moon and the Sun, and the effects of the Earth's rotation. During each tidal cycle, at any given place the water rises to a maximum height known as "high tide" before ebbing away again to the minimum "low tide" level. As the water recedes, it uncovers more and more of the foreshore, also known as the intertidal zone. The difference in height between the high tide and low tide is known as the tidal range or tidal amplitude.[58][59]

Most places experience two high tides each day, occurring at intervals of about 12 hours and 25 minutes. This is half the 24 hours and 50 minute period that it takes for the Earth to make a complete revolution and return the Moon to its previous position relative to an observer. The Moon's mass is some 27million times smaller than the Sun, but it is 400 times closer to the Earth.[60] Tidal force or tide-raising force decreases rapidly with distance, so the moon has more than twice as great an effect on tides as the Sun.[60] A bulge is formed in the ocean at the place where the Earth is closest to the Moon, because it is also where the effect of the Moon's gravity is stronger. On the opposite side of the Earth, the lunar force is at its weakest and this causes another bulge to form. As the Moon rotates around the Earth, so do these ocean bulges move around the Earth. The gravitational attraction of the Sun is also working on the seas, but its effect on tides is less powerful than that of the Moon, and when the Sun, Moon and Earth are all aligned (full moon and new moon), the combined effect results in the high "spring tides". In contrast, when the Sun is at 90 from the Moon as viewed from Earth, the combined gravitational effect on tides is less causing the lower "neap tides".[58]

A storm surge can occur when high winds pile water up against the coast in a shallow area and this, coupled with a low pressure system, can raise the surface of the sea at high tide dramatically.

The Earth is composed of a magnetic central core, a mostly liquid mantle and a hard rigid outer shell (or lithosphere), which is composed of the Earth's rocky crust and the deeper mostly solid outer layer of the mantle. On land the crust is known as the continental crust while under the sea it is known as the oceanic crust. The latter is composed of relatively dense basalt and is some five to ten kilometres (three to six miles) thick. The relatively thin lithosphere floats on the weaker and hotter mantle below and is fractured into a number of tectonic plates.[61] In mid-ocean, magma is constantly being thrust through the seabed between adjoining plates to form mid-oceanic ridges and here convection currents within the mantle tend to drive the two plates apart. Parallel to these ridges and nearer the coasts, one oceanic plate may slide beneath another oceanic plate in a process known as subduction. Deep trenches are formed here and the process is accompanied by friction as the plates grind together. The movement proceeds in jerks which cause earthquakes, heat is produced and magma is forced up creating underwater mountains, some of which may form chains of volcanic islands near to deep trenches. Near some of the boundaries between the land and sea, the slightly denser oceanic plates slide beneath the continental plates and more subduction trenches are formed. As they grate together, the continental plates are deformed and buckle causing mountain building and seismic activity.[62][63]

The Earth's deepest trench is the Mariana Trench which extends for about 2,500 kilometres (1,600mi) across the seabed. It is near the Mariana Islands, a volcanic archipelago in the West Pacific. Its deepest point is 10.994 kilometres (nearly 7 miles) below the surface of the sea.[64]

The zone where land meets sea is known as the coast and the part between the lowest spring tides and the upper limit reached by splashing waves is the shore. A beach is the accumulation of sand or shingle on the shore.[65] A headland is a point of land jutting out into the sea and a larger promontory is known as a cape. The indentation of a coastline, especially between two headlands, is a bay, a small bay with a narrow inlet is a cove and a large bay may be referred to as a gulf.[66] Coastlines are influenced by a number of factors including the strength of the waves arriving on the shore, the gradient of the land margin, the composition and hardness of the coastal rock, the inclination of the off-shore slope and the changes of the level of the land due to local uplift or submergence. Normally, waves roll towards the shore at the rate of six to eight per minute and these are known as constructive waves as they tend to move material up the beach and have little erosive effect. Storm waves arrive on shore in rapid succession and are known as destructive waves as the swash moves beach material seawards. Under their influence, the sand and shingle on the beach is ground together and abraded. Around high tide, the power of a storm wave impacting on the foot of a cliff has a shattering effect as air in cracks and crevices is compressed and then expands rapidly with release of pressure. At the same time, sand and pebbles have an erosive effect as they are thrown against the rocks. This tends to undercut the cliff, and normal weathering processes such as the action of frost follows, causing further destruction. Gradually, a wave-cut platform develops at the foot of the cliff and this has a protective effect, reducing further wave-erosion.[65]

Material worn from the margins of the land eventually ends up in the sea. Here it is subject to attrition as currents flowing parallel to the coast scour out channels and transport sand and pebbles away from their place of origin. Sediment carried to the sea by rivers settles on the seabed causing deltas to form in estuaries. All these materials move back and forth under the influence of waves, tides and currents.[65] Dredging removes material and deepens channels but may have unexpected effects elsewhere on the coastline. Governments make efforts to prevent flooding of the land by the building of breakwaters, seawalls, dykes and levees and other sea defences. For instance, the Thames Barrier is designed to protect London from a storm surge,[67] while the failure of the dykes and levees around New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina created a humanitarian crisis in the United States.

The sea plays a part in the water or hydrological cycle, in which water evaporates from the ocean, travels through the atmosphere as vapour, condenses, falls as rain or snow, thereby sustaining life on land, and largely returns to the sea.[68] Even in the Atacama Desert, where little rain ever falls, dense clouds of fog known as the camanchaca blow in from the sea and support plant life.[69]

In central Asia and other large land masses, there are endorheic basins which have no outlet to the sea, separated from the ocean by mountains or other natural geologic features that prevent the water draining away. The Caspian Sea is the largest one of these. Its main inflow is from the River Volga, there is no outflow and the evaporation of water makes it saline as dissolved minerals accumulate. The Aral Sea in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and Pyramid Lake in the western United States are further examples of large, inland saline water-bodies without drainage. Some endorheic lakes are less salty, but all are sensitive to variations in the quality of the inflowing water.[70]

Oceans contain the greatest quantity of actively cycled carbon in the world and are second only to the lithosphere in the amount of carbon they store.[71] The oceans' surface layer holds large amounts of dissolved organic carbon that is exchanged rapidly with the atmosphere. The deep layer's concentration of dissolved inorganic carbon is about 15 percent higher than that of the surface layer[72] and it remains there for much longer periods of time.[73] Thermohaline circulation exchanges carbon between these two layers.[71]

Carbon enters the ocean as atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolves in the surface layers and is converted into carbonic acid, carbonate, and bicarbonate:[74]

It can also enter through rivers as dissolved organic carbon and is converted by photosynthetic organisms into organic carbon. This can either be exchanged throughout the food chain or precipitated into the deeper, more carbon rich layers as dead soft tissue or in shells and bones as calcium carbonate. It circulates in this layer for long periods of time before either being deposited as sediment or being returned to surface waters through thermohaline circulation.[73]

The oceans are home to a diverse collection of life forms that use it as a habitat. Since sunlight illuminates only the upper layers, the major part of the ocean exists in permanent darkness. As the different depth and temperature zones each provide habitat for a unique set of species, the marine environment as a whole encompasses an immense diversity of life.[75] Marine habitats range from surface water to the deepest oceanic trenches, including coral reefs, kelp forests, seagrass meadows, tidepools, muddy, sandy and rocky seabeds, and the open pelagic zone. The organisms living in the sea range from whales 30 metres (100ft) long to microscopic phytoplankton and zooplankton, fungi, and bacteria. Marine life plays an important part in the carbon cycle as photosynthetic organisms convert dissolved carbon dioxide into organic carbon and it is economically important to humans for providing fish for use as food.[76][77]:204229

Life may have originated in the sea and all the major groups of animals are represented there. Scientists differ as to precisely where in the sea life arose: the Miller-Urey experiments suggested a dilute chemical "soup" in open water, but more recent suggestions include volcanic hot springs, fine-grained clay sediments, or deep-sea "black smoker" vents, all of which would have provided protection from damaging ultraviolet radiation which was not blocked by the early Earth's atmosphere.[3]:138140

Marine habitats can be divided horizontally into coastal and open ocean habitats. Coastal habitats extend from the shoreline to the edge of the continental shelf. Most marine life is found in coastal habitats, even though the shelf area occupies only 7 percent of the total ocean area. Open ocean habitats are found in the deep ocean beyond the edge of the continental shelf. Alternatively, marine habitats can be divided vertically into pelagic (open water), demersal (just above the seabed) and benthic (sea bottom) habitats. A third division is by latitude: from polar seas with ice shelves, sea ice and icebergs, to temperate and tropical waters.[3]:150151

Coral reefs, the so-called "rainforests of the sea", occupy less than 0.1 percent of the world's ocean surface, yet their ecosystems include 25 percent of all marine species.[78] The best-known are tropical coral reefs such as Australia's Great Barrier Reef, but cold water reefs harbour a wide array of species including corals (only six of which contribute to reef formation).[3]:204207[79]

Marine primary producers plants and microscopic organisms in the plankton are widespread and very essential for the ecosystem. It has been estimated that half of the world's oxygen is produced by phytoplankton.[80][81] About 45 percent of the sea's primary production of living material is contributed by diatoms.[82] Much larger algae, commonly known as seaweeds, are important locally; Sargassum forms floating drifts, while kelp form seabed forests.[77]:246255 Flowering plants in the form of seagrasses grow in "meadows" in sandy shallows,[83] mangroves line the coast in tropical and subtropical regions[84] and salt-tolerant plants thrive in regularly inundated salt marshes.[85] All of these habitats are able to sequester large quantities of carbon and support a biodiverse range of larger and smaller animal life.[86]

Light is only able to penetrate the top 200 metres (660ft) so this is the only part of the sea where plants can grow.[35] The surface layers are often deficient in biologically active nitrogen compounds. The marine nitrogen cycle consists of complex microbial transformations which include the fixation of nitrogen, its assimilation, nitrification, anammox and denitrification.[87] Some of these processes take place in deep water so that where there is an upwelling of cold waters, and also near estuaries where land-sourced nutrients are present, plant growth is higher. This means that the most productive areas, rich in plankton and therefore also in fish, are mainly coastal.[3]:160163

There is a broader spectrum of higher animal taxa in the sea than on land, many marine species have yet to be discovered and the number known to science is expanding annually.[88] Some vertebrates such as seabirds, seals and sea turtles return to the land to breed but fish, cetaceans and sea snakes have a completely aquatic lifestyle and many invertebrate phyla are entirely marine. In fact, the oceans teem with life and provide many varying microhabitats.[88] One of these is the surface film which, even though tossed about by the movement of waves, provides a rich environment and is home to bacteria, fungi, microalgae, protozoa, fish eggs and various larvae.[89]

The pelagic zone contains macro- and microfauna and myriad zooplankton which drift with the currents. Most of the smallest organisms are the larvae of fish and marine invertebrates which liberate eggs in vast numbers because the chance of any one embryo surviving to maturity is so minute.[90] The zooplankton feed on phytoplankton and on each other and form a basic part of the complex food chain that extends through variously sized fish and other nektonic organisms to large squid, sharks, porpoises, dolphins and whales.[91] Some marine creatures make large migrations, either to other regions of the ocean on a seasonal basis or vertical migrations daily, often ascending to feed at night and descending to safety by day.[92] Ships can introduce or spread invasive species through the discharge of ballast water or the transport of organisms that have accumulated as part of the fouling community on the hulls of vessels.[93]

The demersal zone supports many animals that feed on benthic organisms or seek protection from predators and the seabed provides a range of habitats on or under the surface of the substrate which are used by creatures adapted to these conditions. The tidal zone with its periodic exposure to the dehydrating air is home to barnacles, molluscs and crustaceans. The neritic zone has many organisms that need light to flourish. Here, among algal encrusted rocks live sponges, echinoderms, polychaete worms, sea anemones and other invertebrates. Corals often contain photosynthetic symbionts and live in shallow waters where light penetrates. The extensive calcareous skeletons they extrude build up into coral reefs which are an important feature of the seabed. These provide a biodiverse habitat for reef dwelling organisms. There is less sea life on the floor of deeper seas but marine life also flourishes around seamounts that rise from the depths, where fish and other animals congregate to spawn and feed. Close to the seabed live demersal fish that feed largely on pelagic organisms or benthic invertebrates.[94] Exploration of the deep sea by submersibles revealed a new world of creatures living on the seabed that scientists had not previously known to exist. Some like the detrivores rely on organic material falling to the ocean floor. Others cluster round deep sea hydrothermal vents where mineral-rich flows of water emerge from the seabed, supporting communities whose primary producers are sulphide-oxidising chemoautotrophic bacteria, and whose consumers include specialised bivalves, sea anemones, barnacles, crabs, worms and fish, often found nowhere else.[3]:212 A dead whale sinking to the bottom of the ocean provides food for an assembly of organisms which similarly rely largely on the actions of sulphur-reducing bacteria. Such places support unique biomes where many new microbes and other lifeforms have been discovered.[95]

Humans have travelled the seas since they first built sea-going craft. Mesopotamians were using bitumen to caulk their reed boats and, a little later, masted sails.[96] By c. 3000 BC, Austronesians on Taiwan had begun spreading into maritime Southeast Asia.[97] Subsequently, the Austronesian "Lapita" peoples displayed great feats of navigation, reaching out from the Bismarck Archipelago to as far away as Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa.[98] Their descendants continued to travel thousands of miles between tiny islands on outrigger canoes,[99] and in the process they found many new islands, including Hawaii, Easter Island (Rapa Nui), and New Zealand.[100]

The Ancient Egyptians and Phoenicians explored the Mediterranean and Red Sea with the Egyptian Hannu reaching the Arabian Peninsula and the African Coast around 2750 BC.[101] In the first millennium BC, Phoenicians and Greeks established colonies throughout the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.[102] Around 500 BC, the Carthaginian navigator Hanno left a detailed periplus of an Atlantic journey that reached at least Senegal and possibly Mount Cameroon.[103][104] In the early Mediaeval period, the Vikings crossed the North Atlantic and even reached the northeastern fringes of North America.[105] Novgorodians had also been sailing the White Sea since the 13th century or before.[106] Meanwhile, the seas along the eastern and southern Asian coast were used by Arab and Chinese traders.[107] The Chinese Ming Dynasty had a fleet of 317 ships with 37,000 men under Zheng He in the early fifteenth century, sailing the Indian and Pacific Oceans.[3]:1213 In the late fifteenth century, Western European mariners started making longer voyages of exploration in search of trade. Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1487 and Vasco da Gama reached India via the Cape in 1498. Christopher Columbus sailed from Cadiz in 1492, attempting to reach the eastern lands of India and Japan by the novel means of travelling westwards. He made landfall instead on an island in the Caribbean Sea and a few years later, the Venetian navigator John Cabot reached Newfoundland. The Italian Amerigo Vespucci, after whom America was named, explored the South American coastline in voyages made between 1497 and 1502, discovering the mouth of the Amazon River.[3]:1213 In 1519 the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan led the Spanish Magellan-Elcano expedition which would be the first to sail around the world.[3]:1213

As for the history of navigational instrument, a compass was first used by the ancient Greeks and Chinese to show where north lies and the direction in which the ship is heading. The latitude (an angle which ranges from 0 at the equator to 90 at the poles) was determined by measuring the angle between the Sun, Moon or a specific star and the horizon by the use of an astrolabe, Jacob's staff or sextant. The longitude (a line on the globe joining the two poles) could only be calculated with an accurate chronometer to show the exact time difference between the ship and a fixed point such as the Greenwich Meridian. In 1759, John Harrison, a clockmaker, designed such an instrument and James Cook used it in his voyages of exploration.[108] Nowadays, the Global Positioning System (GPS) using over thirty satellites enables accurate navigation worldwide.[108]

With regards to maps that are vital for navigation, in the second century, Ptolemy mapped the whole known world from the "Fortunatae Insulae", Cape Verde or Canary Islands, eastward to the Gulf of Thailand. This map was used in 1492 when Christopher Columbus set out on his voyages of discovery.[109] Subsequently, Gerardus Mercator made a practical map of the world in 1538, his map projection conveniently making rhumb lines straight.[3]:1213 By the eighteenth century better maps had been made and part of the objective of James Cook on his voyages was to further map the ocean. Scientific study has continued with the depth recordings of the Tuscarora, the oceanic research of the Challenger voyages (18721876), the work of the Scandinavian seamen Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen, the Michael Sars expedition in 1910, the German Meteor expedition of 1925, the Antarctic survey work of Discovery II in 1932, and others since.[19] Furthermore, in 1921, the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) was set up, and it constitutes the world authority on hydrographic surveying and nautical charting.[110] A fourth edition draft was published in 1986 but so far several naming disputes (such as the one over the Sea of Japan) have prevented its ratification.

Scientific oceanography began with the voyages of Captain James Cook from 1768 to 1779, describing the Pacific with unprecedented precision from 71 degrees South to 71 degrees North.[3]:14 John Harrison's chronometers supported Cook's accurate navigation and charting on two of these voyages, permanently improving the standard attainable for subsequent work.[3]:14 Other expeditions followed in the nineteenth century, from Russia, France, the Netherlands and the United States as well as Britain.[3]:15 On HMS Beagle, which provided Charles Darwin with ideas and materials for his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, the ship's captain, Robert FitzRoy, charted the seas and coasts and published his four-volume report of the ship's three voyages in 1839.[3]:15 Edward Forbes's 1854 book, Distribution of Marine Life argued that no life could exist below around 600 metres (2000 feet). This was proven wrong by the British biologists W. B. Carpenter and C. Wyville Thomson, who in 1868 discovered life in deep water by dredging.[3]:15 Wyville Thompson became chief scientist on the Challenger expedition of 18721876, which effectively created the science of oceanography.[3]:15

On her 68,890-nautical-mile (127,580km) journey round the globe, HMS Challenger discovered about 4,700 new marine species, and made 492 deep sea soundings, 133 bottom dredges, 151 open water trawls and 263 serial water temperature observations.[111] In the southern Atlantic in 1898/1899, Carl Chun on the Valdivia brought many new life forms to the surface from depths of over 4,000 metres (13,000ft). The first observations of deep-sea animals in their natural environment were made in 1930 by William Beebe and Otis Barton who descended to 434 metres (1,424ft) in the spherical steel Bathysphere.[citation needed] This was lowered by cable but by 1960 a self-powered submersible, Trieste developed by Jacques Piccard, took Piccard and Don Walsh to the deepest part of the Earth's oceans, the Mariana Trench in the Pacific, reaching a record depth of about 10,915 metres (35,810ft),[112] a feat not repeated until 2012 when James Cameron piloted the Deepsea Challenger to similar depths.[113] An atmospheric diving suit can be worn for deep sea operations, with a new world record being set in 2006 when a US Navy diver descended to 2,000 feet (610m) in one of these articulated, pressurized suits.[114]

At great depths, no light penetrates through the water layers from above and the pressure is extreme. For deep sea exploration it is necessary to use specialist vehicles, either remotely operated underwater vehicles with lights and cameras or crewed submersibles. The battery-operated Mir submersibles have a three-person crew and can descend to 20,000 feet (6,000m). They have viewing ports, 5,000-watt lights, video equipment and manipulator arms for collecting samples, placing probes or pushing the vehicle across the sea bed when the thrusters would stir up excessive sediment.[115]

Bathymetry is the mapping and study of the topography of the ocean floor. Methods used for measuring the depth of the sea include single or multibeam echosounders, laser airborne depth sounders and the calculation of depths from satellite remote sensing data. This information is used for determining the routes of undersea cables and pipelines, for choosing suitable locations for siting oil rigs and offshore wind turbines and for identifying possible new fisheries.[116]

Ongoing oceanographic research includes marine lifeforms, conservation, the marine environment, the chemistry of the ocean, the studying and modelling of climate dynamics, the air-sea boundary, weather patterns, ocean resources, renewable energy, waves and currents, and the design and development of new tools and technologies for investigating the deep.[117] Whereas in the 1960s and 1970s research could focus on taxonomy and basic biology, in the 2010s attention has shifted to larger topics such as climate change.[118] Researchers make use of satellite-based remote sensing for surface waters, with research ships, moored observatories and autonomous underwater vehicles to study and monitor all parts of the sea.[119]

"Freedom of the seas" is a principle in international law dating from the seventeenth century. It stresses freedom to navigate the oceans and disapproves of war fought in international waters.[120] Today, this concept is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the third version of which came into force in 1994. Article 87(1) states: "The high seas are open to all states, whether coastal or land-locked." Article 87(1) (a) to (f) gives a non-exhaustive list of freedoms including navigation, overflight, the laying of submarine cables, building artificial islands, fishing and scientific research.[120] The safety of shipping is regulated by the International Maritime Organization. Its objectives include developing and maintaining a regulatory framework for shipping, maritime safety, environmental concerns, legal matters, technical co-operation and maritime security.[121]

UNCLOS defines various areas of water. "Internal waters" are on the landward side of a baseline and foreign vessels have no right of passage in these. "Territorial waters" extend to 12nautical miles (22kilometres; 14miles) from the coastline and in these waters, the coastal state is free to set laws, regulate use and exploit any resource. A "contiguous zone" extending a further 12nautical miles allows for hot pursuit of vessels suspected of infringing laws in four specific areas: customs, taxation, immigration and pollution. An "exclusive economic zone" extends for 200nautical miles (370kilometres; 230miles) from the baseline. Within this area, the coastal nation has sole exploitation rights over all natural resources. The "continental shelf" is the natural prolongation of the land territory to the continental margin's outer edge, or 200 nautical miles from the coastal state's baseline, whichever is greater. Here the coastal nation has the exclusive right to harvest minerals and also living resources "attached" to the seabed.[120]

Control of the sea is important to the security of a maritime nation, and the naval blockade of a port can be used to cut off food and supplies in time of war. Battles have been fought on the sea for more than 3,000 years. In about 1210 B.C., Suppiluliuma II, the king of the Hittites, defeated and burned a fleet from Alashiya (modern Cyprus).[122] In the decisive 480 B.C. Battle of Salamis, the Greek general Themistocles trapped the far larger fleet of the Persian king Xerxes in a narrow channel and attacked vigorously, destroying 200 Persian ships for the loss of 40 Greek vessels.[123] At the end of the Age of Sail, the British Royal Navy, led by Horatio Nelson, broke the power of the combined French and Spanish fleets at the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar.[124]

With steam and the industrial production of steel plate came greatly increased firepower in the shape of the dreadnought battleships armed with long-range guns. In 1905, the Japanese fleet decisively defeated the Russian fleet, which had travelled over 18,000 nautical miles (33,000km), at the Battle of Tsushima.[125] Dreadnoughts fought inconclusively in the First World War at the 1916 Battle of Jutland between the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet.[126] In the Second World War, the British victory at the 1940 Battle of Taranto showed that naval air power was sufficient to overcome the largest warships,[127] foreshadowing the decisive sea-battles of the Pacific War including the Battles of the Coral Sea, Midway, the Philippine Sea, and the climactic Battle of Leyte Gulf, in all of which the dominant ships were aircraft carriers.[128][129]

Submarines became important in naval warfare in World War I, when German submarines, known as U-boats, sank nearly 5,000 Allied merchant ships,[130] including the RMS Lusitania, which helped to bring the United States into the war.[131] In World War II, almost 3,000 Allied ships were sunk by U-boats attempting to block the flow of supplies to Britain,[132] but the Allies broke the blockade in the Battle of the Atlantic, which lasted the whole length of the war, sinking 783 U-boats.[133] Since 1960, several nations have maintained fleets of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, vessels equipped to launch ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads from under the sea. Some of these are kept permanently on patrol.[134][135]

Sailing ships or packets carried mail overseas, one of the earliest being the Dutch service to Batavia in the 1670s.[136] These added passenger accommodation, but in cramped conditions. Later, scheduled services were offered but the time journeys took depended much on the weather. When steamships replaced sailing vessels, ocean-going liners took over the task of carrying people. By the beginning of the twentieth century, crossing the Atlantic took about five days and shipping companies competed to own the largest and fastest vessels. The Blue Riband was an unofficial accolade given to the fastest liner crossing the Atlantic in regular service. The Mauretania held the title with 26.06 knots (48.26km/h) for twenty years from 1909.[137] The Hales Trophy, another award for the fastest commercial crossing of the Atlantic, was won by the United States in 1952 for a crossing that took three days, ten hours and forty minutes.[138]

The great liners were comfortable but expensive in fuel and staff. The age of the trans-Atlantic liners waned as cheap intercontinental flights became available. In 1958, a regular scheduled air service between New York and Paris taking seven hours doomed the Atlantic ferry service to oblivion. One by one the vessels were laid up, some were scrapped, others became cruise ships for the leisure industry and still others floating hotels.[139]

Maritime trade has existed for millennia. The Ptolemaic dynasty had developed trade with India using the Red Sea ports and in the first millennium BC the Arabs, Phoenicians, Israelites and Indians traded in luxury goods such as spices, gold, and precious stones.[140] The Phoenicians were noted sea traders and under the Greeks and Romans, commerce continued to thrive. With the collapse of the Roman Empire, European trade dwindled but it continued to flourish among the kingdoms of Africa, the Middle East, India, China and southeastern Asia.[141] From the 16th to the 19th centuries, over a period of 400 years, about 1213million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic to be sold as slaves in the Americas as part of the Atlantic slave trade.[142][143]:194

Large quantities of goods are transported by sea, especially across the Atlantic and around the Pacific Rim. A major trade route passes through the Pillars of Hercules, across the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal to the Indian Ocean and through the Straits of Malacca; much trade also passes through the English Channel.[144] Shipping lanes are the routes on the open sea used by cargo vessels, traditionally making use of trade winds and currents. Over 60 percent of the world's container traffic is conveyed on the top twenty trade routes.[145] Increased melting of Arctic ice since 2007 enables ships to travel the Northwest Passage for some weeks in summertime, avoiding the longer routes via the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal.[146]Shipping is supplemented by air freight, a more expensive process mostly used for particularly valuable or perishable cargoes. Seaborne trade carries more than US$4 trillion worth of goods each year.[147] Bulk cargo in the form of liquids, powder or particles are carried loose in the holds of bulk carriers and include crude oil, grain, coal, ore, scrap metal, sand and gravel.[148] Other cargo, such as manufactured goods, is usually transported within standard sized, lockable containers, loaded on purpose-built container ships at dedicated terminals.[149] Before the rise of containerization in the 1960s, these goods were loaded, transported and unloaded piecemeal as break-bulk cargo. Containerization greatly increased the efficiency and decreased the cost of moving goods by sea, and was a major factor leading to the rise of globalization and exponential increases in international trade in the mid-to-late 20th century.[150]

Fish and other fishery products are among the most widely consumed sources of protein and other essential nutrients.[151] In 2009, 16.6% of the world's intake of animal protein and 6.5% of all protein consumed came from fish.[151] In order to fulfill this need, coastal countries have exploited marine resources in their exclusive economic zone, although fishing vessels are increasingly venturing further afield to exploit stocks in international waters.[152] In 2011, the total world production of fish, including aquaculture, was estimated to be 154million tonnes, of which most was for human consumption.[151] The harvesting of wild fish accounted for 90.4million tonnes, while annually increasing aquaculture contributes the rest.[151] The north west Pacific is by far the most productive area with 20.9 million tonnes (27 percent of the global marine catch) in 2010.[151] In addition, the number of fishing vessels in 2010 reached 4.36 million, whereas the number of people employed in the primary sector of fish production in the same year amounted to 54.8 million.[151]

Modern fishing vessels include fishing trawlers with a small crew, stern trawlers, purse seiners, long-line factory vessels and large factory ships which are designed to stay at sea for weeks, processing and freezing great quantities of fish. The equipment used to capture the fish may be purse seines, other seines, trawls, dredges, gillnets and long-lines and the fish species most frequently targeted are herring, cod, anchovy, tuna, flounder, mullet, squid and salmon. Overexploitation has become a serious concern; it does not only cause the depletion of fish stocks, but also substantially reduce the size of predatory fish populations.[153] It has been estimated that "industrialized fisheries typically reduced community biomass by 80% within 15 years of exploitation."[153] In order to avoid overexploitation, many countries have introduced quotas in their own waters.[154] However, recovery efforts often entail substantial costs to local economies or food provision.

Artisan fishing methods include rod and line, harpoons, skin diving, traps, throw nets and drag nets. Traditional fishing boats are powered by paddle, wind or outboard motors and operate in near-shore waters. The Food and Agriculture Organization is encouraging the development of local fisheries to provide food security to coastal communities and help alleviate poverty.[155]

About 79million tonnes (78M long tons; 87M short tons) of food and non-food products were produced by aquaculture in 2010, an all-time high. About six hundred species of plants and animals were cultured, some for use in seeding wild populations. The animals raised included finfish, aquatic reptiles, crustaceans, molluscs, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, sea squirts and jellyfish.[151] Integrated mariculture has the advantage that there is a readily available supply of planktonic food in the ocean, and waste is removed naturally.[156] Various methods are employed. Mesh enclosures for finfish can be suspended in the open seas, cages can be used in more sheltered waters or ponds can be refreshed with water at each high tide. Shrimps can be reared in shallow ponds connected to the open sea.[157] Ropes can be hung in water to grow algae, oysters and mussels. Oysters can be reared on trays or in mesh tubes. Sea cucumbers can be ranched on the seabed.[158] Captive breeding programmes have raised lobster larvae for release of juveniles into the wild resulting in an increased lobster harvest in Maine.[159] At least 145 species of seaweed red, green, and brown algae are eaten worldwide, and some have long been farmed in Japan and other Asian countries; there is great potential for additional algaculture.[160] Few maritime flowering plants are widely used for food but one example is marsh samphire which is eaten both raw and cooked.[161] A major difficulty for aquaculture is the tendency towards monoculture and the associated risk of widespread disease. Aquaculture is also associated with environmental risks; for instance, shrimp farming has caused the destruction of important mangrove forests throughout southeast Asia.[162]

Use of the sea for leisure developed in the nineteenth century, and became a significant industry in the twentieth century.[163] Maritime leisure activities are varied, and include self-organized trips cruising, yachting, powerboat racing[164] and fishing;[165] commercially organized voyages on cruise ships;[166] and trips on smaller vessels for ecotourism such as whale watching and coastal birdwatching.[167]

Sea bathing became the vogue in Europe in the 18th century after Dr. William Buchan advocated the practice for health reasons.[168] Surfing is a sport in which a wave is ridden by a surfer, with or without a surfboard. Other marine water sports include kite surfing, where a power kite propels a rider on a board across the water,[169] windsurfing, where the power is provided by a fixed, manoeuvrable sail[170] and water skiing, where a powerboat is used to pull a skier.[171]

Beneath the surface, freediving is necessarily restricted to shallow descents. Pearl divers can dive to 40 feet (12m) with baskets to collect oysters.[172] Human eyes are not adapted for use underwater but vision can be improved by wearing a diving mask. Other useful equipment includes fins and snorkels, and scuba equipment allows underwater breathing and hence a longer time can be spent beneath the surface.[173] The depths that can be reached by divers and the length of time they can stay underwater is limited by the increase of pressure they experience as they descend and the need to prevent decompression sickness as they return to the surface. Recreational divers restrict themselves to depths of 100 feet (30m) beyond which the danger of nitrogen narcosis increases. Deeper dives can be made with specialised equipment and training.[173]

The sea offers a very large supply of energy carried by ocean waves, tides, salinity differences, and ocean temperature differences which can be harnessed to generate electricity.[174] Forms of sustainable marine energy include tidal power, ocean thermal energy and wave power.[174][175] Electricity power stations are often located on the coast or beside an estuary so that the sea can be used as a heat sink. A colder heat sink enables more efficient power generation, which is important for expensive nuclear power plants in particular.[176]

Tidal power uses generators to produce electricity from tidal flows, sometimes by using a dam to store and then release seawater. The Rance barrage, 1 kilometre (0.62mi) long, near St Malo in Brittany opened in 1967; it generates about 0.5 GW, but it has been followed by few similar schemes.[3]:111112

The large and highly variable energy of waves gives them enormous destructive capability, making affordable and reliable wave machines problematic to develop. A small 2 MW commercial wave power plant, "Osprey", was built in Northern Scotland in 1995 about 300metres (1000ft) offshore. It was soon damaged by waves, then destroyed by a storm.[3]:112

Offshore wind power is captured by wind turbines placed out at sea; it has the advantage that wind speeds are higher than on land, though wind farms are more costly to construct offshore.[177] The first offshore wind farm was installed in Denmark in 1991,[178] and the installed capacity of worldwide offshore wind farms reached 34 GW in 2020, mainly situated in Europe.[179]

The seabed contains large reserves of minerals which can be exploited by dredging. This has advantages over land-based mining in that equipment can be built at specialised shipyards and infrastructure costs are lower. Disadvantages include problems caused by waves and tides, the tendency for excavations to silt up and the washing away of spoil heaps. There is a risk of coastal erosion and environmental damage.[180]

Seafloor massive sulphide deposits are potential sources of silver, gold, copper, lead and zinc and trace metals since their discovery in the 1960s. They form when geothermally heated water is emitted from deep sea hydrothermal vents known as "black smokers". The ores are of high quality but prohibitively costly to extract.[181]

There are large deposits of petroleum, as oil and natural gas, in rocks beneath the seabed. Offshore platforms and drilling rigs extract the oil or gas and store it for transport to land. Offshore oil and gas production can be difficult due to the remote, harsh environment.[182] Drilling for oil in the sea has environmental impacts. Animals may be disorientated by seismic waves used to locate deposits, and there is debate as to whether this causes the beaching of whales.[183] Toxic substances such as mercury, lead and arsenic may be released. The infrastructure may cause damage, and oil may be spilt.[184]

Large quantities of methane clathrate exist on the seabed and in ocean sediment, of interest as a potential energy source.[185] Also on the seabed are manganese nodules formed of layers of iron, manganese and other hydroxides around a core. In the Pacific these may cover up to 30 percent of the deep ocean floor. The minerals precipitate from seawater and grow very slowly. Their commercial extraction for nickel was investigated in the 1970s but abandoned in favour of more convenient sources.[186] In suitable locations, diamonds are gathered from the seafloor using suction hoses to bring gravel ashore. In deeper waters, mobile seafloor crawlers are used and the deposits are pumped to a vessel above. In Namibia, more diamonds are now collected from marine sources than by conventional methods on land.[187]

The sea holds large quantities of valuable dissolved minerals.[188] The most important, Salt for table and industrial use has been harvested by solar evaporation from shallow ponds since prehistoric times. Bromine, accumulated after being leached from the land, is economically recovered from the Dead Sea, where it occurs at 55,000 parts per million (ppm).[189]

Desalination is the technique of removing salts from seawater to leave fresh water suitable for drinking or irrigation. The two main processing methods, vacuum distillation and reverse osmosis, use large quantities of energy. Desalination is normally only undertaken where fresh water from other sources is in short supply or energy is plentiful, as in the excess heat generated by power stations. The brine produced as a by-product contains some toxic materials and is returned to the sea.[190]

Several nomadic indigenous groups in Maritime Southeast Asia live in boats and derive nearly all they need from the sea. The Moken people live on the coasts of Thailand and Burma and islands in the Andaman Sea.[191] The Bajau people are originally from the Sulu Archipelago, Mindanao and northern Borneo.[citation needed] Some Sea Gypsies are accomplished free-divers, able to descend to depths of 30 metres (98ft), though many are adopting a more settled, land-based way of life.[192][193]

The indigenous peoples of the Arctic such as the Chukchi, Inuit, Inuvialuit and Yup'iit hunt marine mammals including seals and whales,[194] and the Torres Strait Islanders of Australia include the Great Barrier Reef among their possessions. They live a traditional life on the islands involving hunting, fishing, gardening and trading with neighbouring peoples in Papua and mainland Aboriginal Australians.[195]

The sea appears in human culture in contradictory ways, as both powerful but serene and as beautiful but dangerous.[3]:10 It has its place in literature, art, poetry, film, theatre, classical music, mythology and dream interpretation.[196] The Ancients personified it, believing it to be under the control of a being who needed to be appeased, and symbolically, it has been perceived as a hostile environment populated by fantastic creatures; the Leviathan of the Bible,[197] Scylla in Greek mythology,[198] Isonade in Japanese mythology,[199] and the kraken of late Norse mythology.[200]

The sea and ships have been depicted in art ranging from simple drawings on the walls of huts in Lamu[196] to seascapes by Joseph Turner. In Dutch Golden Age painting, artists such as Jan Porcellis, Hendrick Dubbels, Willem van de Velde the Elder and his son, and Ludolf Bakhuizen celebrated the sea and the Dutch navy at the peak of its military prowess.[201][202] The Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai created colour prints of the moods of the sea, including The Great Wave off Kanagawa.[3]:8

Music too has been inspired by the ocean, sometimes by composers who lived or worked near the shore and saw its many different aspects. Sea shanties, songs that were chanted by mariners to help them perform arduous tasks, have been woven into compositions and impressions in music have been created of calm waters, crashing waves and storms at sea.[203]:48

As a symbol, the sea has for centuries played a role in literature, poetry and dreams. Sometimes it is there just as a gentle background but often it introduces such themes as storm, shipwreck, battle, hardship, disaster, the dashing of hopes and death.[203]:45 In his epic poem the Odyssey, written in the eighth century BC,[204] Homer describes the ten-year voyage of the Greek hero Odysseus who struggles to return home across the sea's many hazards after the war described in the Iliad.[205] The sea is a recurring theme in the Haiku poems of the Japanese Edo period poet Matsuo Bash ( ) (16441694).[206] In the works of psychiatrist Carl Jung, the sea symbolizes the personal and the collective unconscious in dream interpretation, the depths of the sea symbolizing the depths of the unconscious mind.[207]

Human activities affect marine life and marine habitats through overfishing, habitat loss, the introduction of invasive species, ocean pollution, ocean acidification and ocean warming. These impact marine ecosystems and food webs and may result in consequences as yet unrecognised for the biodiversity and continuation of marine life forms.[208]

Seawater is slightly alkaline and had an average pH of about 8.2 over the past 300 million years.[209] More recently, climate change has resulted in an increase of the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere; about 3040% of the added CO2 is absorbed by the oceans, forming carbonic acid and lowering the pH (now below 8.1[209]) through a process called ocean acidification.[210][211][212] The pH is expected to reach 7.7 (representing a 3-fold increase in hydrogen ion concentration) by the year 2100, which is a significant change in a century.[213][e]

One important element for the formation of skeletal material in marine animals is calcium, but calcium carbonate becomes more soluble with pressure, so carbonate shells and skeletons dissolve below its compensation depth.[215] Calcium carbonate also becomes more soluble at lower pH, so ocean acidification is likely to have profound effects on marine organisms with calcareous shells, such as oysters, clams, sea urchins, and corals,[216] because their ability to form shells will be reduced,[217] and the carbonate compensation depth will rise closer to the sea surface. Affected planktonic organisms will include the snail-like molluscs known as pteropods, and single-celled algae called coccolithophorids and foraminifera. All of these are important parts of the food chain and a diminution in their numbers will have significant consequences. In tropical regions, corals are likely to be severely affected as it becomes more difficult to build their calcium carbonate skeletons,[218] in turn adversely impacting other reef dwellers.[213]

The current rate of ocean chemistry change appears to be without precedent in Earth's geological history, making it unclear how well marine ecosystems will be able to adapt to the shifting conditions of the near future.[219] Of particular concern is the manner in which the combination of acidification with the expected additional stressors of higher temperatures and lower oxygen levels will impact the seas.[220]

Many substances enter the sea as a result of human activities. Combustion products are transported in the air and deposited into the sea by precipitation. Industrial outflows and sewage contribute heavy metals, pesticides, PCBs, disinfectants, household cleaning products and other synthetic chemicals. These become concentrated in the surface film and in marine sediment, especially estuarine mud. The result of all this contamination is largely unknown because of the large number of substances involved and the lack of information on their biological effects.[221] The heavy metals of greatest concern are copper, lead, mercury, cadmium and zinc which may be bio-accumulated by marine organisms and are passed up the food chain.[222]

Much floating plastic rubbish does not biodegrade, instead disintegrating over time and eventually breaking down to the molecular level. Rigid plastics may float for years.[223] In the centre of the Pacific gyre there is a permanent floating accumulation of mostly plastic waste[224] and there is a similar garbage patch in the Atlantic.[225] Foraging sea birds such as the albatross and petrel may mistake debris for food, and accumulate indigestible plastic in their digestive systems. Turtles and whales have been found with plastic bags and fishing line in their stomachs. Microplastics may sink, threatening filter feeders on the seabed.[226]

Most oil pollution in the sea comes from cities and industry.[227] Oil is dangerous for marine animals. It can clog the feathers of sea birds, reducing their insulating effect and the birds' buoyancy, and be ingested when they preen themselves in an attempt to remove the contaminant. Marine mammals are less seriously affected but may be chilled through the removal of their insulation, blinded, dehydrated or poisoned. Benthic invertebrates are swamped when the oil sinks, fish are poisoned and the food chain is disrupted. In the short term, oil spills result in wildlife populations being decreased and unbalanced, leisure activities being affected and the livelihoods of people dependent on the sea being devastated.[228] The marine environment has self-cleansing properties and naturally occurring bacteria will act over time to remove oil from the sea. In the Gulf of Mexico, where oil-eating bacteria are already present, they take only a few days to consume spilt oil.[229]

Run-off of fertilisers from agricultural land is a major source of pollution in some areas and the discharge of raw sewage has a similar effect. The extra nutrients provided by these sources can cause excessive plant growth. Nitrogen is often the limiting factor in marine systems, and with added nitrogen, algal blooms and red tides can lower the oxygen level of the water and kill marine animals. Such events have created dead zones in the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.[227] Some algal blooms are caused by cyanobacteria that make shellfish that filter feed on them toxic, harming animals like sea otters.[230] Nuclear facilities too can pollute. The Irish Sea was contaminated by radioactive caesium-137 from the former Sellafield nuclear fuel processing plant[231] and nuclear accidents may also cause radioactive material to seep into the sea, as did the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011.[232]

The dumping of waste (including oil, noxious liquids, sewage and garbage) at sea is governed by international law. The London Convention (1972) is a United Nations agreement to control ocean dumping which had been ratified by 89 countries by 8 June 2012.[233] MARPOL 73/78 is a convention to minimize pollution of the seas by ships. By May 2013, 152 maritime nations had ratified MARPOL.[234]

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Sea - Wikipedia

A man accidentally drifted out to sea with only ketchup and seasonings …

A 47-year-old man was working on his boat in St. Maarten in December when the weather suddenly churned and he drifted out to sea. He soon became lost and now, weeks later has been found off the coast of Colombia with only ketchup and seasonings helping to keep him nourished.

The Colombian Navy announced Wednesday that they rescued the man, identified as Elvis Francois of Dominica, about 120 nautical miles away from Puerto Bolvar in the Caribbean Sea. They responded to the stranded man after learning that there was an adrift sailboat with the word "HELP" spelled out on the boat's hull.

The navy said that Francois informed them he had been near Saint Maarten in the Antilles islands making repairs on his boat when weather conditions worsened and he was suddenly dragged out to sea. Authorities said that Francois' navigation skills were not keen, making him lost and disoriented.

"I tried to [go] back to port, but I lost track because it took me a while to mount the sail and fix the sail," Francois said in a video released by the Navy. "...I call my friends, my coworkers. They tried to contact me, but they lost service. There was nothing else I could do than sit down and wait."

That's when he decided to write out a call for help on the back of the boat.

"I had no food, just a bottle of ketchup that was on the boat, garlic powder and Maggi [soup]," he said. "So, I mixed it up with some water so I had this to survive for 24 days in the sea."

Upon rescue, Francois was taken to the Port of Cartagena to receive medical care and begin procedures to return to Dominica, the navy said. Colombian Army Commander Captain Carlos Urano Montes said that he "was found to be in good health."

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King tides to bring extremely high sea levels, but is flooding again a …

A second round of king tides land this weekend, with high tides nearing 7 feet. The National Weather Service has issued warnings for low-lying areas along Orange and Los Angeles counties through Monday morning.

The morning high tides could result in minor tidal overflow, bringing some ponding of sea water to vulnerable areas, including parking lots at low-lying beach areas, a coastal hazard advisory says.

Beach goers walk across the groomed beach just north of the Seal Beach Pier in Seal Beach on Friday morning, January 20, 203. A round of high tides are expected to hit this weekend which could mean some flooding in lower locations along the coast. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Beach goers take in the view of ships offshore from the sand berm put in place to protect homes and streets from flooding just south of the Seal Beach Pier in Seal Beach on Friday morning, January 20, 203. A round of high tides are expected to hit this weekend which could mean some flooding in lower locations along the coast. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A woman walks along the groomed beach in Seal Beach on Friday morning, January 20, 203. A round of high tides are expected to hit this weekend which could mean some flooding in lower locations along the coast. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Gulls take to the air as a beach goer takes video of their flight on the beach in Seal Beach on Friday morning, January 20, 203. A round of high tides are expected to hit this weekend which could mean some flooding in lower locations along the coast. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The good news is the surf will be small, unlike a week ago when high tide and big surf combined to cause damage along the coast.

Significant damage to roads or structures is not expected, National Weather Service officials said.

The morning high tides are expected to hit 6.96 feet around 8 a.m. on Saturday and 6.93 feet at about 8:50 a.m. on Sunday. On the flip side, extreme low tides will see the ocean recede to negative levels in the afternoon hours, leaving more sand space and a great opportunity to explore tide pools throughout the region.

Trouble areas during high tide this weekend could include Surfside and Sunset Beach, Newport Beach, the Malibu coast and Los Angeles County beaches, the National Weather Service warned.

A parade of storms, a big westerly swell and higher tide events already caused problems at several beaches in recent weeks.

The road and a restroom building continue to be a concern at Point Dume, as well as a landslide area below Palos Verdes Estates, and crews will be closely monitoring things this weekend, said Nicole Mooradian, spokesperson for Los Angeles County Department of Beaches & Harbors.

Beachgoers should be mindful of sharp drop-offs at the tideline due to sand erosion and check where the nearest open lifeguard tower is, because some have been moved to protect them from flooding, Mooradian noted.

The Roundhouse Aquarium is hosting a King Tide Watch at the end of the Manhattan Beach Pier from 8:30 to 9:15 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 22, to help community and climate scientists document the natural phenomenon.

The idea is to capture photos of the oceans tide at the precise moment of the most intense gravitational force on the ocean, organizers said. Discussions about the relationship between sea level rise and climate change will take place.

The gathering is part of a larger effort called the California King Tides Project to document the impact of the higher tides on the coastline.

King tides refer to the years highest tides in winter months, which are a natural, predictable phenomenon that pushes tides one to two feet higher than an average high tide.

Scientists predict this will be what daily tides are like in the next few decades because of sea level rise.

Photographing these extreme high tides brings attention to the impact of climate change and helps California plan for a future when todays king tide is an everyday occurrence, the California King Tides Project said in an announcement.

The project encourages citizen scientists to get involved and says their photos are used by state and local officials, as well as climate change researchers, to validate sea level rise models and assess local flood vulnerabilities.

For past king tides photos, information on how to upload your own photos, local king tide times, local community events and resources for educators teaching about climate change, go to coastal.ca.gov/kingtides.

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King tides to bring extremely high sea levels, but is flooding again a ...

Brevard Zoo Sea Turtle Healing Center Prepares for 200th Turtle Release …

turtle set to be returned to the ocean at 11:30 a.m.BREVARD ZOO: We are thrilled to share with you that our Sea Turtle Healing Center is gearing up to release its 200th sea turtle. Sub-adult green sea turtle Hope is set to be returned to the ocean on Wednesday, January 25 at 11:30 a.m. at Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach following a successful rehabilitation stint at our Healing Center. (Brevard Zoo image)

By Brevard Zoo

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA We are thrilled to share with you that our Sea Turtle Healing Center is gearing up to release its 200th sea turtle.

Sub-adult green sea turtle Hope is set to be returned to the ocean on Wednesday, January 25 at 11:30 a.m. at Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach following a successful rehabilitation stint at our Healing Center.

To mark this extra special occasion, were planning our biggest release celebration to date.

Green sea turtle Hope is a sub-adult green sea turtle that was found in Indian River County.

Our Healing Center actually receives about 18 percent of its patients from this county!

Volunteers with Coastal Connections, a nonprofit that works to protect sea turtles and their habitats, responded to Hopes stranding and brought them to the Healing Center on November 19 helped in part by the Sea Turtle Preservation Society.

Our Healing Center team found that Hope was extremely buoyant making her unable to dive. A sea turtle who is unable to dive may find it difficult to avoid predators, boats, and other hazards.

To get a full look at Hopes health, the green sea turtle received radiographs, blood evaluation, physical examination, antibiotics, fluid therapy, and a CT scan at Rockledge Regional Medical Center. Hope was treated for an inflammation of the digestive tract.

Hope will be remembered by our Healing Center team as a sassy sub-adult with a great fight or flight instinct. This turtle is ready to go home to the ocean!

The theme for this release is a quote from marine biologist Sylvia Earle, No water, no life. No blue, no green. Were encouraging all release attendees to wear blue or green to celebrate Hopes return.

To celebrate Hopes release, a special presentation of Brevard Zoos Turtle Tech initiative will take place just before the release at 10:30 a.m. on January 25.

One of Turtle Techs goals is to develop and advance technologies, including unmanned drone flights, which will lead to a better understanding of the sea turtle species here in Florida and around the world.

One of these unmanned flights or Beyond Visual Line of Site (BLVOS) flights will take place by our Turtle Tech partner Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where they will video of Hopes release.

This project is a collaboration among the Brevard Zoo, local engineers, Florida universities, Brevard County Public Schools, and other organizations, and is supported by a generous grant from the Northrop Grumman Foundation.

This release is open to the public, meaning you can witness Hope being returned to the ocean! Join us on Wednesday, January 25 at Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach for this special sendoff.

Please note that we plan to have this turtles flippers in the water at 11:30 a.m. If you plan to attend, we suggest getting there early.

Not only will this help you secure parking and a spot on the beach, but it will also give you time to check out some of the awesome informational tables set up.

Hope will be released on the North side of Lori Wilson Park, but we would encourage those attending to utilize both the North and South parking lots.

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Sea gnawing away at Karnataka beaches, coasts

Express News Service

KARWAR/UDUPI(KARNATAKA: Sea erosion is increasing every year on the West Coast, particularly in Uttara Kannada, where it was so far considered not a serious issue. While experts say the erosion is due to global warming, beaches will soon be lost and thousands of fishermen will be badly affected. They have stressed on proper long-term planning to protect the coast and its economy.

In mid-2022, the people at Thappalakere village in Bhatkal of Uttara Kannada district made it to the headlines when they approached the Human Rights Commission, demanding a solution to theirannual problem sea erosion. They have been suffering because for the last 4-5 years. The problem became so severe that Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai, scheduled to visit here, cancelled his trip on being advised against it, as sea erosion has severely damaged roads, making them unmotorable.

Taranath Rathod, Superintendent Engineer, Department of Ports, says, Thappalakere is a low-lying area and houses get flooded during monsoon. They faced severe problems as everything got washed away. We have now proposed a `11 crore project to address the issue here. The erosion has been most severe at the river mouths, like Pavinkurve, where River Venkatapura joins the Arabian Sea and Thappalakere.

The menace is increasing in recent years, say officials and experts. Uttara Kannada district had remained unaffected for a long time. Erosion occurs during monsoon when sea levels increase. There is no erosion when beaches have sand deposits. Due to various reasons, these deposits have reduced drastically, including due to extraction of sand, construction of vented dams and other aspects, says Rathod.

ALSO READ|Disappearing beaches: Loss of a crucial buffer along coast hurting Kerala

He points out that encroachment on beaches is another reason for erosion, and happens mostly in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, where people live near beaches.Shivakumar Haragi, Assistant Professor, Department of Marine Biology, Karnataka University, Dharwad, points out that changes in the rainfall pattern due to climate change, in turn due to global warming, is the major reason for erosion as the intensity of the rainfall is heavier. As a result, the sand does not deposit and the erosion increases.

Livelihoods affectedThe erosion has already affected the livelihoods of thousands of fishermen and is bound to worsen further. This year, during monsoon, hundreds of boats were washed away both in Kundapur and Bhatkal. This is what happens if the sea erosion becomes severe, says Haragi. He adds that over 20,000 fishermens families will be hit badly in Uttara Kannada as most of them here are traditional fishermen who anchor their boats and dump their nets, motors and fishing gear on the shores.

However the silver lining is that Uttara Kannada is not as densely populated as the other two coastal districts, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada. Sea erosion is a major threat to the people living along the coast of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts. Sea walls have been constructed in many places along the 95 km coastline of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada since the early 2000s. But the permanent measures are still to be put in place.

ALSO READ|Waves take awaybig slice of Tamil Naducoastline:Report

Some measures at workHalealive area in Koteshwara Gram Panchayat in Kundapur taluk of Udupi district, seashore residents have sought protection from sea incursion by constructing a permanent barrier. Despite our request, no steps have been taken and the shoreline is eroding every year, the locals say. The `300 crore funding by Asian Development Bank to construct sea walls has not yielded satisfactory results.

A study by the Department of Applied Mechanics and Hydraulics, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, Mangaluru, states that around 46 km of the total 95 km coastline in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada is in the critical erosion category. 59 per cent is at very high risk, 7 percent at high risk, 4 percent moderate and 30 percent vulnerable.

Karnataka State Minister for Fisheries, Ports and Inland Water Transport S Angara says that at some places like Uchila near Ullal of Dakshina Kannada district, sea wave breakers have been installed. This technology is suitable and can be used on an experimental basis in some places.

At Maravanthe in Udupi district, duck foot technology may be implemented on an experimental basis. Later based on the success rate, the two different technologies may be introduced in other parts, he said, examining suggestions from experts. The total financial implications of the two projects is yet to be known.

One estimate states that the sea wave breaker project costs `25 crore to cover 1 km of seashore. Angara says it has been implemented at Nellikunnu in Kasaragod, Kerala. UK Yoosuf, a Kasaragod businessman, has pitched the idea of introducing the technology. A project proposal has been submitted to Bommai, who has forwarded it to the Chief Secretary to check its feasibility.

ALSO READ|Uppada Beach Road closed due to high tides, coastal erosion

Though Prof Haragi suggests that green wall protection is the most suited to prevent erosion, the port department seems not optimistic. Haragi emphasises that proper planning and management will be helpful. We must identify vulnerable areas, manage them in consultation with locals and take long-term measures. The sea wall is highly unscientific.

There needs to be proper planning and advanced technology. We have to have a long-term planning of shoreline management (artificial green belt creation) and wherever immediate measures are taken, it should be done scientifically. Maravanthe is the best example of long-term planning and a permanent solution, he said.

Development in Western Ghats hit

The Western Ghatshas reduced the pace of development in the region which has marginally helpedto naturally preventsea erosion

Low populationdensity has checkedthe mega populationon the beaches of the west coast

The erosion is due to global warming,which has affected the rainfall pattern

Ports and break waters which are major players in preventing sea erosion are very limited in numbers, particularly in Uttara Kannada

Many ports, both fishing and commercial, are being planned under the Sagarmala project which hints that sea erosionis bound to increase in the future

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Sea gnawing away at Karnataka beaches, coasts

Tiffany Aching – Wikipedia

Fictional character of the Discworld novels

Fictional character

Tiffany Aching is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's satirical Discworld series of fantasy novels. Her name in Nac Mac Feegle is Tir-far-thinn or "Land Under Wave".

Tiffany is a trainee witch whose growth into her job forms one of the many arcs in the Discworld series. She is the main character in The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, I Shall Wear Midnight and The Shepherd's Crown.[1] Tiffany grows up over the course of the series, from nine years old in The Wee Free Men to being in her late teens in The Shepherd's Crown.

Beginning with The Wee Free Men in 2003, the main Discworld books featuring Tiffany Aching are:

It sounds amateurish to say that characters invent themselves, and in truth they don't. That's just a short-hand phrase. Of course the author invents them. But while the creative channel is being held open, all sorts of memories and thoughts creep out, somewhat to the owner's surprise.

Terry Pratchett on Tiffany's creation[2]

Pratchett has said Tiffany Aching "started with a girl lying down by a river, on the first page of The Wee Free Men". In his youth, Pratchett was "fascinated" by a nearby chalk pit, and like Tiffany knew how to read words before being able to pronounce them. The Wee Free Men features "a lot of [his] past" in its descriptions.[2] A lot of Tiffany's understanding of the world is based on Pratchett's own experiences.[3]

With Tiffany, Pratchett wanted to "restate" the purpose of magic on the Discworld and the relationship between wizards, witches and others.[2] He included ideas of responsibility and "guarding your society" as he felt it drew closer to the reality of a witch that is, "the village herbalist, the midwife, the person who knew things";[3] like a designated driver, a witch is her community's 'designated sensible person'. Pratchett found a young protagonist useful, because when one is young "you have to learn".[4] The name "Tiffany" was chosen deliberately, to be poorly evocative of a witch.[5]

A young witch (9 during The Wee Free Men,[6] 11 in A Hat Full of Sky,[7] 12 and 13 in Wintersmith,[8] almost 16 in I Shall Wear Midnight,[9] and in her late teens in The Shepherd's Crown),[10] Tiffany hails from the Chalk, a Barony and a region of Downland Rimward of the Ramtops. Her family the Achings are the tenants of the Home Farm of the local Barony, the de Chumsfanleigh (pronounced "de Chuffley"). Her late grandmother, Sarah 'Granny' Aching (who died 2 years prior to the events in The Wee Free Men), was a shepherdess, and by Ramtop standards she was also a witch, although witchcraft was frowned upon on the Chalk until Tiffany openly practised it. Granny Aching was a friend of the Chalk's Clan of Nac Mac Feegles (an army of tiny, tattoed in blue colour, rowdy, drunken and vaguely Scottish 'pictsies'), and they have befriended Tiffany as the new "hag o' the hills". As Tiffany filled in as their Kelda (Queen) for a short time, the Nac Mac Feegle continue to see her as their responsibility, and there is no time in Tiffany's life since then which when they have not (in)discreetly watched her.

Tiffany begins her witching career at nine, upon being scouted out by the "witch finder" Miss Tick, after things from Fairyland begin making an entrance. She later leads the Feegles on a journey into Fairyland to rescue Wentworth, her toddler-age brother, as well as Roland, the young son of the local Baron, from the Queen of the Elves. For this she earns the respect of Granny Weatherwax, a significant achievement in itself. Although Tiffany is too young at the time to be an official witch, Granny gives her an imaginary invisible hat to boost her confidence. Such is the power of belief on the Disc that this hat keeps off the rain.

Two years later, Tiffany travels up to Lancre to be formally apprenticed to a witch, Miss Level. During her time with Miss Level, Tiffany uses the words "see me" to exit her body and see herself, believing it to be a harmless trick.[11] Her body becomes vulnerable to infestation by a "hiver," (a gestalt entity of minds from the dawn of time) which uses her power to harm and cause chaos, using Tiffany's suppressed thoughts and desires as a basis. She eventually manages to overcome the hiver by giving it what it truly wants: the ability to die.

At the age of thirteen, while studying under Miss Treason, Tiffany accidentally attracts the romantic interests of the Wintersmith after unwittingly playing the role of the Summer Lady at the Autumn Morris Dance (the so-called Dark Morris). She is at first ambivalent towards the Wintersmith, unnerved by the attention, but also somewhat flattered that she has caught the eye of a godlike being. The Wintersmith continues its advances, even attempting to create a human body out of snow and miscellaneous elements using a recipe from a children's song.

Tiffany, after some advice from Nanny Ogg about the power a young woman has over a suitor, manages to control the Wintersmith for a time. However, eventually he gains the upper hand and brings a record-breaking snow and cold to the Chalk in what should be early spring, threatening the new lambs. Tiffany melts him using a trick taught by Granny Weatherwax, fulfilling her temporary role as the Summer Lady and allowing the real one, brought from the Underworld by Roland, to resume her role. After Miss Treason's death, she is briefly apprenticed to Nanny Ogg before returning to the Chalk and taking up the job of witch to the Chalk.

When Tiffany is in her late teens, Granny Weatherwax dies, leaving a note recommending that Tiffany take over her steading. Though at first she splits her time between there and the chalk, she eventually leaves the steading to the care of Geoffrey, a man she had been training to become a witch. She builds for herself her own shepherd's carding hut by hand, so as to live up on the chalk, re-using the iron wheels which remained after Granny Aching's hut was burned.

As a witch, Tiffany possesses First Sight, the ability to see 'what is really there' (as opposed to second sight, which shows people what they think ought to be there). She also possesses Second Thoughts, which are defined as 'the thoughts you think about the way you think'. Whilst other witches are said to have this trait as well, Tiffany also recognizes some of her thoughts as Third Thoughts (the thoughts you think about the way you think about the way you think), and Fourth Thoughts (the thoughts you think about the way you think about the way you think about the way you think). All these thoughts sometimes cause Tiffany to walk into door frames.

Like her grandmother, she appears to have a symbiotic, spiritual link with the hill lands on which she lives, and as such has shown herself to be strongly protective of the region and all its inhabitants. On several occasions, Tiffany has induced in herself a state of total mental clarity, becoming completely aware of every sensation, life-form and object around her, including the land itself. It is also hinted at that the Chalk itself can, likewise, 'Borrow' the witch it 'Chose', having once temporarily spoken through Tiffany, telling her childhood friend, Roland, that she would marry him (and later performing an ancient marriage ceremony on Roland and his fiance, Letitia).

Tiffany has shown skill in many of the same areas of magic as Granny Weatherwax (though generally to a lesser degree): she has precociously mastered the art of Borrowing (the art of stepping outside one's own self), though Tiffany did not recognise it at the time, and merely used it as a means of viewing herself when without a mirror. The resulting vacancy of her body was what attracted the hiver to possess her in A Hat Full of Sky. In Wintersmith she demonstrates a high level of skill in the art of magical self-concealment, and also learns how to absorb heat from any available source (including the sun) and channel it out into the world, without being touched by it herself. She generally precedes the use of the latter art with a sort of mantra, in which she states that she willingly chooses to undertake the dangerous action, and is prepared to accept full responsibility for all its consequences. Also like Granny, she has great difficulty in constructing the magical devices known as 'shambles', though unlike Granny, she later overcomes this obstacle. Tiffany has also demonstrated an affinity for using fire, which she considers a friend (most Witches do not consider fire to have good associations for them in view of its history).

In I Shall Wear Midnight it is revealed that in the future, Tiffany is able to exert a limited influences over events throughout the timeline with the help of Eskarina Smith, the main character of Equal Rites.

Tiffany is very skilled at making cheese; and owns one particular Blue Lancre, named Horace, which habitually eats mice. She has read the entire dictionary, although she sometimes has difficulty with pronunciation. Tiffany also has a talent with languages, a side effect of the encounter with the Hiver. The occupation of her mind by the creature that collected minds has left her with shadows of those memories, including a deceased, didactic wizard named Sensibility Bustle, who translates any foreign word inside her head upon hearing or seeing it. Tiffany is also able to hear "Spill Words", the words almost spoken but left unsaid, a skill she learnt from Mrs. Proust. This skill is often mistaken for the ability to read minds.

At the climax of events in I Shall Wear Midnight, it is revealed that Tiffany, as the Witch of the Chalk, also has powers and authority not unlike a Justice of the peace; she is able to perform binding marriage ceremonies, and judge and deal out punishment(s) onto the deserving.

Tiffany is the seventh of the Aching children, and the second youngest, the youngest child being her only brother, Wentworth. Both her parents are alive, but she attracts little attention around the house, because she does her job well, which means nobody ever has to come and fuss over her, which in turn means nobody ever pays a lot of attention to her. While she doesn't particularly like her brother, she sets out to rescue him because he is her brother.

She is friends with several of the Nac Mac Feegle, including Rob Anybody (originally, but accidentally, her betrothed), Daft Wullie (somewhat clueless), William the Gonnagle, Hamish, and Not-as-big-as-Medium-sized-Jock-but-bigger-than-Wee-Jock Jock.

While training in Lancre, she attended a coven of young witches 'led' by Annagramma Hawkin. Tiffany and fellow coven members Lucy Warbeck and Petulia Gristle eventually acquit themselves well as witches; Annagramma, however, finds that her training, under the tutelage of Letice Earwig, had not been enough to prepare her for the reality of witching life, and her onetime coven subordinates agree to help her get on her feet.

Roland comes to have great affection for Tiffany and takes the role of the mythic hero, attempting to rescue her from the Underworld[11] and from the romantic attentions of the Wintersmith. Tiffany herself denies having any affection for Roland, but there are many signs that she does have feelings for him, even though she does not admit it until pressured to by Nanny Ogg. However, both eventually recognise that their both being different from everybody else did not mean they had anything in common, and Roland eventually married a local noblewoman (and latent witch) Letitia Keepsake.

During the fourth book, I Shall Wear Midnight, it is revealed near the end that she has entered into a romantic relationship with an intelligent young guard, named Preston, who aspires to study medicine at the Lady Sybil Free Hospital down in the city of Ankh-Morpork, under Dr. John Lawn, and further wishes to start a medical practice of his own up in the Chalk.

In The Shepherd's Crown, Tiffany is still romantically attached to Preston, who has become a surgeon, though, given their devotion to their jobs, they rarely have time to see each other. She visits him in Ankh-Morpork, and they write letters.

Tiffany is mentored by Granny Weatherwax, and is named her successor. Granny Weatherwax, who is notoriously difficult to please, has several times been impressed by her.

Eskarina Smith, the protagonist of Equal Rites, tells Tiffany in I Shall Wear Midnight that they become close friends. Eskarina uses her time travelling abilities to facilitate a meeting between Tiffany and her older self.

Tim Martin of The Telegraph called Tiffany one of Pratchett's ten best Discworld characters, criticising I Shall Wear Midnight but calling the first three Aching novels "some of the best Discworld stuff in years".[12] On the occasion of Pratchett's death in 2015, the Press Association listed Tiffany as Pratchett's seventh greatest character, highlighting her relationship with the Nac Mac Feegle.[13] According to Pratchett, his portrayal of Tiffany led to him being made an honorary Brownie.[2][14] Pratchett has called the Tiffany Aching books "very close to my heart",[15] and has said they are the books he would like to be "remembered for".[16]

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Tiffany Aching - Wikipedia

Pittenweem Properties | Self-catering and holiday property letting …

Anstruther, Bedrooms 2, Sleeps 4

Anstruther, Bedrooms 2, Sleeps 4, Wheelchair friendly

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Bedrooms 2, Cellardyke, Sleeps 4

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Anstruther, Bedrooms 3, Pets allowed, Sleeps 7

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Bedrooms 3, Pets allowed, Sleeps 6, St Monans

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Anstruther, Bedrooms 1, Pets allowed, Sleeps 4

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Bedrooms 5, Pets allowed, Pittenweem, Sleeps 10

Bedrooms 2, Pets allowed, Pittenweem, Sleeps 4

Bedrooms 3, Pets allowed, Pittenweem, Sleeps 6

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Pittenweem Properties | Self-catering and holiday property letting ...

Carceri | Forgotten Realms Wiki | Fandom

Demodands attack the Companions of the Hall in Tarterus.Carceri(Tarterus)Shape and size

Six layers, each a string of planetoids floating in air

Normal with special cases

Six archipelagos under starless sky

This ain't a prison my friend, it's the prison.

The six layers of Tarterus had a seemingly infinite number of worlds arranged like a string of pearls stretching into the air-filled void. In the top layer, Othrys, each orb was about the size of a Prime Material world and averaged about 100miles (160kilometers) from the nearest orb. In each successive lower layer the planetoids grew smaller and farther apart. There was no sun but the soil of each orb gave off heat and a dull reddish glow, similar to the phosphorescence of fire beetles. The planets did not rotate and there was no day or night unless a greater deity wished it so in their realm. Seasons and weather occurred randomly and what little plant life there was would rapidly mature after rainfall and then wither hours later.[11] Each orb was connected to one specific Prime Material world.[19]

The barriers between layers were always located at the deepest points on each planetoid and always lead to the same sphere in the next layer, so the worlds of Tarterus can be imagined as spheres nested like Matryoshka dolls and each layer contained a string of orbs of a particular size.[1]

A representation of the layers of Carceri, according to the Great Wheel Cosmology. Hovering over the map will reveal main features. Clicking will link to the article for that location."

The first layer of Tarterus was named for Mount Othrys which was really two mountains on two adjacent orbs (both also called Othrys) each about 50miles (80kilometers) high joined together at the peaks in a massive citadel.[1] The worlds of Othrys were so close together that a traveler could easily fly from one to the next. For those who did not wish to fly, the river Styx flowed through all the worlds of this level in the usual mystical fashion. Many other rivers fed the Styx, and the surfaces of this layer were mostly marsh, bogs, and quicksand. Othrys was the brightest (due to the proximity of equal-sized worlds on either side) and warmest layer; no worse than a hot summer day on the Prime Material Plane. Other than the mountains, the ground was soft, like peat, and cut by deep chasms.[11] Othrys could be reached via the Astral Plane and had portals to the Abyss, Hades, and Concordant Opposition.[20] Long ago it could be reached via Mount Olympus, but when the Olympian gods overthrew the Titans they used their combined might to shatter the part of the mountain that connected to Tarterus, thus trapping the Titans on this plane.[21]

The planets of the second layer were smaller than those of Othrys and about 500miles (800kilometers) apart. Plant life in this layer was both abundant and deadly. The flora in the overgrown jungles and grasslands secreted acid that could eat through metal in a minute or less.[11]

The third layer of Tarterus had planetoids smaller than those of Cathrys which hovered about 5,000miles (8,000kilometers) apart. The air between orbs was torn by harsh winds which carried poisonous dust storms from world to world, making most surfaces a barren desert. Huge tornadoes periodically swept through, carrying anything in its path to distant locations or even an adjacent orb.[11]

The worlds of the fourth layer were spiked with colossal mountains rising above deep chasms. Hundreds of miles/kilometers from base to peak, the terrain of this layer made the orbs more asymmetrical than in other layers. Adjacent orbs were 500,000miles (800,000kilometers) apart so they appeared to be small spiky red moons in the utterly black sky. Legions of demons and daemons made lairs in the canyon walls.[11]

Black, acidic rain and snow assailed the many worldlets of the fifth layer from giant black clouds that moved between them.[11] On individual worlds, islands barely higher than sandbars came up over the waves of shallow, cold oceans.[22] The snow only stuck to the peaks of any mountains, melting to cover the rest of the surfaces with 16ft (30180cm) of a weak acid that did not affect metal or stone but could eat away cloth in a minute or less.[11] All barriers between this layer and the next were under water.[1] The orbs of Porphatys were millions of miles/kilometers apart and barely discernible even when not blocked by demonic clouds.[11] A pilotless vessel called the Ship of One Hundred endlessly sails the seas of Porphatys.[22]

The smallest, coldest planetoids occupied the sixth layer and were so far apart that neighboring orbs could not be seen at all. Every surface was covered in dark ice that showed streaks of red and the air was so cold it made breathing difficult.[11] If any layer existed beyond Agathys, the barriers would have been buried under miles/kilometers of ice.[1]

The dominant race that inhabited Tarterus were the winged demodands.[1] Shators were the ruling nobility,[23] typically controlling major portions of an orb. All but the most powerful daemons and demons would avoid them.[1] Also found on this plane were nightmares, achaierai, and shadow demons,[1] with reports of mephits,[24] hordlings,[25] and vargouille.[26]

The Companions of the Hall entered Tarterus by means of the Taros Hoop.[27]

The Tarterian Depths of Carceri

Layers and their Realms

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Carceri | Forgotten Realms Wiki | Fandom

Celebrities’ Bored Apes Are Hilariously Worthless Now

The value of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs has absolutely plummeted, leaving celebrities with six figure losses, a perhaps predictable conclusion.

Floored Apes

The value of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs have absolutely plummeted, leaving celebrities with six figure losses, in a perhaps predictable conclusion to a bewildering trend.

Earlier this year, for instance, pop star Justin Bieber bought an Ape for a whopping $1.3 million. Now that the NFT economy has essentially collapsed in on itself, as Decrypt points out, it's worth a measly $69,000.

Demand Media

NFTs, which represent exclusive ownership rights to digital assets — but usually, underwhelmingly, just JPGs and GIFs — have absolutely plummeted in value, spurred by the ongoing crypto crisis and a vanishing appetite.

Sales volume of the blockchain knickknacks has also bottomed out. NFT sales declined for six straight months this year, according to CryptoSlam.

According to NFT Price Floor, the value of the cheapest available Bored Ape dipped down to just 48 ETH, well below $60,000, this week. In November so far, the floor price fell 33 percent.

Meanwhile, the crypto crash is only accelerating the trend, with the collapse of major cryptocurrency exchange FTX leaving its own mark on NFT markets.

Still Kicking

Despite the looming pessimism, plenty of Bored Apes are still being sold. In fact, according to Decrypt, around $6.5 million worth of Apes were moved on Tuesday alone, an increase of 135 percent day over day.

Is the end of the NFT nigh? Bored Apes are clearly worth a tiny fraction of what they once were, indicating a massive drop off in interest.

Yet many other much smaller NFT marketplaces are still able to generate plenty of hype, and millions of dollars in sales.

In other words, NFTs aren't likely to die out any time soon, but they are adapting to drastically changing market conditions — and leaving celebrities with deep losses in their questionable investments.

READ MORE: Justin Bieber Paid $1.3 Million for a Bored Ape NFT. It’s Now Worth $69K [Decrypt]

More on NFTs: The Latest Idea to Make People Actually Buy NFTs: Throw in a House

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Originally posted here:

Celebrities' Bored Apes Are Hilariously Worthless Now

Celebrities Are Officially Being Sued by FTX Retail Investors

The first civil suit against the crypto exchange FTX was just filed, naming FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, and 11 of FTX's many celebrity ambassadors.

Welp, that didn't take long. The first civil suit against the still-imploding crypto exchange FTX was just filed in a Florida court, accusing FTX, disgraced CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, and 11 of the exchange's many celebrity ambassadors of preying on "unsophisticated" retail investors.

The list of celeb defendants impressive — honestly, it reads more like an invite list to a posh award show than a lawsuit.

Geriatric quarterback Tom Brady and soon-to-be-ex-wife Gisele Bündchen lead the pack, followed by basketball players Steph Curry and Udonis Haslem, as well as the Golden State Warriors franchise; tennis star Naomi Osaka; baseballers Shoehi Ohtani, Udonis Haslem, and David Ortiz; and quarterback Trevor Laurence.

Also named is comedian Larry David — who starred in that FTX Super Bowl commercial that very specifically told investors that even if they didn't understand crypto, they should definitely invest — and investor Kevin O'Leary of "Shark Tank" fame.

"The Deceptive and failed FTX Platform," reads the suit," "was based upon false representations and deceptive conduct."

"Many incriminating FTX emails and texts... evidence how FTX’s fraudulent scheme was designed to take advantage of unsophisticated investors from across the country," it continues. "As a result, American consumers collectively sustained over $11 billion dollars in damages."

Indeed, a number of FTX promos embraced an attitude similar to the cursed Larry David commercial. In one, Steph Curry tells viewers that with FTX, there's no need to be an "expert," while a Naomi Osaka promotion pushed the idea that crypto trading should be "accessible," "easy," and "fun."

It's also worth noting that this isn't the first suit of its kind. Billionaire Mark Cuban, also of "Shark Tank" fame, was named in a class action lawsuit launched against the bankrupt lender Voyager in August, while reality TV star Kim Kardashian was recently made to pay a roughly $1.2 million fine for hawking the "EthereumMAX" token without disclosing that she was paid to do so.

The FTX suit, however, appears to be the most extensive — and high-profile — of its kind. And while a fine for a million or two is basically a one dollar bill to this tax bracket, $11 billion, even if split amongst a group of 11 exorbitantly wealthy celebs, is a more substantial chunk of change.

Of course, whether anyone actually ever has to pay up remains to be seen. Regardless, it's still a terrible look, and real people got hurt. If there's any defense here, though? At least they didn't promise to be experts.

READ MORE: FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried hit with class-action lawsuit that also names Brady, Bündchen, Shaq, Curry [Fox Business]

More on the FTX crash: Experts Say Sam Bankman-fried's Best Legal Defense Is to Say He's Just Really, Really Stupid

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Celebrities Are Officially Being Sued by FTX Retail Investors

"Elon" Plummets in Popularity as a Baby Name for Some Reason

According to BabyCenter's

Big Baby

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's name has clearly lost its luster among the parents of newborns.

According to BabyCenter's review of the data the name "Elon" has cratered in popularity over the last year, dropping from 120 babies per million in 2021 to just 90 babies per million, falling in the popularity rankings by 466 spots.

The name had seen a meteoric rise over the last seven or so years, but is currently falling out of favor big time, plummeting back down to 2019 levels.

The read? It seems like Musk's public reputation has been taking a significant hit.

Name Game

There are countless reasons why Musk could be less popular public figure than he was three years ago.

Especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Musk emerged as a controversial figure, speaking out against vaccinations and lockdowns. He has also become synonymous with an unhealthy work culture, firing practically anybody standing in his way and forcing his employees to work long hours.

The fiasco surrounding Musk's chaotic takeover of Twitter has likely only further besmirched his public image.

For reference, other baby names that have fallen out of fashion include "Kanye" — almost certainly in response to the travails of rapper Kanye West, who's had a years-long relationship with Musk — which fell a whopping 3,410 spots over the last year.

More on Elon Musk: Sad Elon Musk Says He's Overwhelmed In Strange Interview After the Power Went Out

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"Elon" Plummets in Popularity as a Baby Name for Some Reason

FDA Gives First Go Ahead for Lab Grown Meat Product

The FDA has approved a lab grown meat product from Upside Foods for human consumption, which now only needs USDA approval before being sold to customers.

Meat and Greet

Behold, ethical omnivores: the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given a key go-ahead to what could be the first lab grown meat product bound for human consumption in the US.

The decision, a first for cultivated meat in the US, paves the way for Californian startup Upside Foods to start selling its lab-grown chicken product domestically — meaning that now, it only needs approval from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) before the ersatz chicken can hit restaurant menus.

"The world is experiencing a food revolution and the [FDA] is committed to supporting innovation in the food supply," FDA officials said in a statement. "The agency evaluated the information submitted by Upside Foods as part of a pre-market consultation for their food made from cultured chicken cells and has no further questions at this time about the firm’s safety conclusion."

Upside Foods' products were evaluated via a process in which manufacturers divulge the production process to the agency for review, along with a sample. If everything looks good after inspection, the FDA then sends back a "no further questions" letter to the company.

"We are thrilled at FDA's announcement," said Upside director of communications David Kay in an email to Reuters. "This historic step paves the way for our path to market."

Going Protein

Lab meat like Upside's aren't a plant-based imitation, unlike popular vegan alternatives such as Beyond Burgers. Instead, they're made from real animal cells grown in bioreactors, sparing the lives of actual livestock.

But while at a cellular level the meat may be the same, customers will definitely notice a difference in price. For now, cultivating meat remains an extremely expensive process, so pending USDA approval notwithstanding, it could still be a while before you see it hit the shelves of your local grocer.

To let eager, early customers try out the lab meat, Upside, which already announced its collaboration with Michelin star chef Dominique Crenn last year, will be debuting its chicken at specific upscale restaurants.

"We would want to bring this to people through chefs in the initial stage," CEO Uma Valeti told Wired. "Getting chefs excited about this is a really big deal for us. We want to work with the best partners who know how to cook well, and also give us feedback on what we could do better."

While the FDA's thumbs-up only applies to a specific product of Upside's, it's still a historic decision, signalling a way forward for an industry that's rapidly accruing investment.

Updated to clarify details regarding the FDA's evaluation of the product.

More on lab grown meat: Scientists Cook Comically Tiny Lab-Grown Hamburger

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FDA Gives First Go Ahead for Lab Grown Meat Product

Panicked Elon Musk Reportedly Begging Engineers Not to Leave

According to former Uber engineer Gergely Orosz,

Elon Musk's Twitter operations are still in free fall.

Earlier this week, the billionaire CEO sent an email to staff telling them that they "need to be extremely hardcore" and work long hours at the office, or quit and get three months severance, as The Washington Post reports.

Employees had until 5 pm on Thursday to click "yes" and be part of Twitter moving forward or take the money and part ways. The problem for Musk? According to former Uber engineer Gergely Orosz, who has had a close ear to Twitter's recent inner turmoil, "far fewer than expected [developers] hit 'yes.'"

So many employees called Musk's bluff, Orosz says, that Musk is now "having meetings with top engineers to convince them to stay," in an  embarrassing reversal of his public-facing bravado earlier this week.

Twitter has already been rocked by mass layoffs, cutting the workforce roughly in half. Instead of notifying them, employees had access to their email and work computers revoked without notice.

Even that process was bungled, too, with some employees immediately being asked to return to the company after Musk's crew realized it had sacked people it needed.

According to Orosz's estimations, Twitter's engineering workforce may have been cut by a whopping 90 percent in just three weeks.

Musk has been banging the war drums in an active attempt to weed out those who aren't willing to abide by his strict rules and those who were willing to stand up to him.

But developers aren't exactly embracing that kind of tyranny.

"Sounds like playing hardball does not work," Orosz said. "Of course it doesn't."

"From my larger group of 50 people, 10 are staying, 40 are taking the severance," one source reportedly told Orosz. "Elon set up meetings with a few who plan to quit."

In short, developers are running for the hills — and besides, they're likely to find far better work conditions pretty much anywhere else.

"I am not sure Elon realizes that, unlike rocket scientists, who have relatively few options to work at, [developers] with the experience of building Twitter only have better options than the conditions he outlines," Orosz argued.

Then there's the fact that Musk has publicly lashed out at engineers, mocking them and implying that they were leading him on.

Those who spoke out against him were summarily fired.

That kind of hostility in leadership — Musk has shown an astonishing lack of respect — clearly isn't sitting well with many developers, who have taken up his to get three months of severance and leave.

"I meant it when I called Elon's latest ultimatum the first truly positive thing about this Twitter saga," Orosz wrote. "Because finally, everyone who had enough of the BS and is not on a visa could finally quit."

More on Twitter: Sad Elon Musk Says He's Overwhelmed In Strange Interview After the Power Went Out

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Panicked Elon Musk Reportedly Begging Engineers Not to Leave

Sam Bankman-Fried Admits the "Ethics Stuff" Was "Mostly a Front"

In Twitter DMs, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried appeared to admit that his

Effecting Change

The disgraced former head of the crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, built his formidable public persona on the idea that he was a new type of ethical crypto exec. In particular, he was a vocal proponent of "effective altruism" — the vague-but-noble concept of using data to make philanthropic giving as targeted and helpful as possible.

But in a direct message, Vox's Kelsey Piper asked Bankman-Fried if the "ethics stuff" had been "mostly a front."

Bankman-Fried's reply: "Yeah."

"I mean that's not *all* of it," he wrote. "But it's a lot."

Truth Be Told

If the concept of becoming rich to save the world strikes you as iffy, you're not alone — and it appears that even Bankman-Fried himself knows it.

When Piper observed that Bankman-Fried had been "really good at talking about ethics" while actually playing a game, he responded that he "had to be" because he'd been engaged in "this dumb game we woke Westerners play where we say all the right shibboleths and everyone likes us."

Next time you're thinking of investing in crypto, maybe it's worth taking a moment to wonder whether the person running the next exchange might secretly be thinking the same thing.

More on effective altruism: Elon Musk Hired A Professional Gambler to Manage His Philanthropic Donations

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Sam Bankman-Fried Admits the "Ethics Stuff" Was "Mostly a Front"

Startup Says It’s Building a Giant CO2 Battery in the United States

Italian startup Energy Dome has designed an ingenious battery that uses CO2 to store energy, and it only needs non-exotic materials like steel and water.

Italian Import

Carbon dioxide has a bad rep for its role in driving climate change, but in an unexpected twist, it could also play a key role in storing renewable energy.

The world's first CO2 battery, built by Italian startup Energy Dome, promises to store renewables on an industrial scale, which could help green energy rival fossil fuels in terms of cost and practicality.

After successfully testing the battery at a small scale plant in Sardinia, the company is now bringing its technology to the United States.

"The US market is a primary market for Energy Dome and we are working to become a market leader in the US," an Energy Dome spokesperson told Electrek. "The huge demand of [long duration energy storage] and incentive mechanisms like the Inflation Reduction Act will be key drivers for the industry in the short term."

Storage Solution

As renewables like wind and solar grow, one of the biggest infrastructural obstacles is the storage of the power they produce. Since wind and solar sources aren't always going to be available, engineers need a way to save excess power for days when it's less sunny and windy out, or when there's simply more demand.

One obvious solution is to use conventional battery technology like lithium batteries, to store the energy. The problem is that building giant batteries from rare earth minerals — which can be prone to degradation over time — is expensive, not to mention wasteful.

Energy Dome's CO2 batteries, on the other hand, use mostly "readily available materials" like steel, water, and of course CO2.

In Charge

As its name suggests, the battery works by taking CO2, stored in a giant dome, and compressing it into a liquid by using the excess energy generated from a renewable source. That process generates heat, which is stored alongside the now liquefied CO2, "charging" the battery.

To discharge power, the stored heat is used to vaporize the liquid CO2 back into a gas, powering a turbine that feeds back into the power grid. Crucially, the whole process is self-contained, so no CO2 leaks back into the atmosphere.

The battery could be a game-changer for renewables. As of now, Energy Dome plans to build batteries that can store up to 200 MWh of energy. But we'll have to see how it performs as it gains traction.

More on batteries: Scientists Propose Turning Skyscrapers Into Massive Gravity Batteries

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Startup Says It's Building a Giant CO2 Battery in the United States

Behind the Lawsuit Against Celebs Who Shilled FTX Before Its Spectacular Meltdown

Lawyer Explains Why He's Suing Celebs Who Shilled FTX Before Its Spectacular Meltdown

Above all else, FTX advertisements wanted you to know two things: that cryptocurrency is a force for good, and that you don't need to be an expert to buy and trade it. In fact, you don't even have to understand it at all. You just need to get involved, because if you don't, you'll get left behind.

If a bit cheesy then, those same promotions — an array of of television commercials, social media posts, and print ads featuring an impressive lineup of A-list celebrities and athletes, in addition to appearances by the now-bankrupt exchange's ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried — are surreal, if not troubling, to watch now, roughly a week after the exchange's spectacular collapse.

Bankman-Fried, widely believed to be the cryptosphere's alleged savior, is under investigation by both the SEC and the CFTC, having lost virtually all his personal wealth in a single day. Meanwhile, an estimated $11 billion's worth of user funds — including that of the retail investors targeted by those shiny ads, many of whom have lost their savings — have vanished. But just six or so months ago? Unretired Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was asking people if they were "in"; basketball star Steph Curry coolly told users that, like him, they didn't need to be a crypto "expert" to invest in digital assets; comedian Larry David told retail investors to ignore their crypto-skepticism; supermodel Gisele Bündchen, in a print campaign with Bankman-Fried, promised that she and FTX would save the world.

"The blood's on [Sam Bankman-Fried's] hands," Joseph Kaye, a Partner at the Moskowitz Law Firm in Florida, told Futurism. "And as far as we're concerned, it's on the hands of anybody who has been promoting this product."

Kaye's firm, alongside that of New York's David Boies, is representing thousands of dismayed FTX retail investors in a class action lawsuit filed this week against FTX, its founder, and its many celebrity sponsors, accusing those named of intentionally preying on low-information investors.

Of course, consuming a celebrity endorsement is like breathing air at this point. They're soaked into every corner of the culture, and most every public figure has their influencing hustle — makeup, clothes, shoes, cars, gummies and the like. And sure, a fair share of celebs have inspired rage over, say, Instagram posts touting diet suppressant lollipops.

FTX accounts, however, are a different story. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who bought a celeb-endorsed lollipop and woke up to find thousands — if not millions — of their savings gone, and a balance sheet marking an eight billion dollar hole to show for it.

Like the now-also-defunct Voyager Digital's Earn Program, FTX accounts were yield-bearing, promising its investors high returns for their investments — so, basically, the markings of a security, just without the actual label. (The Moskowitz firm is also representing plaintiffs in a class action suit brought against Voyager and Mark Cuban, billionaire of "Shark Tank" fame.)

"A lot of people get confused and think that 'oh, well, investing in cryptocurrency is inherently risky,'" Kaye said. "But the issue here is not so much 'did they make an investment in cryptocurrency. It's the function of the account."

And while that's risky enough to begin with, it now appears that FTX — which hasn't officially been charged with anything yet — was using its investors' cash like a piggy bank, funding its own lending activities with the user money with which it'd been trusted.

"When you make statements like [those celebrities did] — and you don't disclose how much you're making or what your arrangement with them is — and it ends up being an unregistered security," Kaye continued, "you're liable as a promoter to the same extent as if you're the FTX exchange."

No one's saying that Brady or Bündchen or anyone else knew that FTX was potentially involved in any malpractice. They were likely taken in by Bankman-Fried's efforts to build a reputation for himself as Mr. Trustworthy Crypto Man, which he admitted shortly after the collapse had largely been a "front." It's also unlikely that they knew, or even really understood, that they were or could be hawking what might just shake out to be an unregistered security.

That's exactly the point, though. We believe, as they told us, that they weren't "experts." Not in the slightest. There doesn't appear to have been much — if any — due diligence here, and a lot of real people have been badly hurt because of it. Did Curry stand on a street corner and hand out FTX accounts? No, but it can be argued that he and the other figures named in the suit played a serious role in FTX's adoption by the masses, downplaying the instability and messiness of the blockchain world while promising that FTX had their back.

And considering how central they may have been to FTX's rise, it would be heartening to see them take some kind of responsibility after its fall.

"I remember our first meeting and we were speaking to the FTX guys… They started to explain it to us and I said, 'I don't know if you can tell over Zoom when our eyes glazed over, but I still don't understand it," David told The Hollywood Reporter back in February, shortly after his Super Bowl commercial aired. "But that's OK. I don't have to know everything.'"

More on the FTX fallout: Politicians Refuse to Say Whether They'll Give Back Donations From Sam Bankman-Fried

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Behind the Lawsuit Against Celebs Who Shilled FTX Before Its Spectacular Meltdown

NASA Drops Stunning New James Webb Image of a Star Being Born

The James Webb Space Telescope just released an image of a star being born, and it gives Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper a run for their money.

Birth Canal

The James Webb Space Telescope's latest mind-bending image just dropped — and this one is, in a word, splendid.

As NASA notes in a blog post about the finding, the telescope's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) was put to incredible use when capturing the "once-hidden features" of the beginnings of a star.

Known as "protostars," celestial objects like this one — found inside an uber-absorbant "dark nebula" cloud — are not yet stars, but will be soon. In short, the Webb telescope capture imagery of a star being born.

As NASA notes, the fledgling star itself is hidden within the tiny "neck" disk of the spectacular, fiery hourglass shape in the image — which is, as NASA notes, "about the size of our solar system" — and the colorful lights seen below and above this neck are emitted by the protostar's birth.

Countdown to a new star ?

Hidden in the neck of this “hourglass” of light are the very beginnings of a new star — a protostar. The clouds of dust and gas within this region are only visible in infrared light, the wavelengths that Webb specializes in: https://t.co/DtazblATMW pic.twitter.com/aGEEBO9BB8

— NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) November 16, 2022

Stellar Anatomy

While this incredible capture is not the first time space telescopes have observed star birth, Webb's latest does provide an incredible look at the phenomenon.

"The surrounding molecular cloud is made up of dense dust and gas being drawn to the center, where the protostar resides," the post reads. "As the material falls in, it spirals around the center. This creates a dense disk of material, known as an accretion disk, which feeds material to the protostar."

Some of that material, NASA notes, are "filaments of molecular hydrogen that have been shocked as the protostar ejects material away from it," most of which the stellar fetus takes for itself. It continues to feed on that material, growing more massive and compressing further until its core temperature rises to the point that it kickstarts nuclear fusion.

This gorgeous peek at that process is extraordinary to witness — and a yet another testament to the power of the mighty James Webb.

More on Webb: NASA Fixes Months-Long Issue With Webb Telescope

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NASA Drops Stunning New James Webb Image of a Star Being Born

Elon Musk Locks Twitter Employees Out Office, Then Asks Them to Meet Him on the 10th Floor

Elon Musk's ownership of Twitter is somehow going even worse than expected amid reports that he's locked employees out of the company's office buildings.

Worst Case Scenario

Elon Musk's Twitter-buying experiment is somehow going even worse than expected, amid reports that he's locked employees out of the company's office buildings.

As reported by Platformer's Zoë Schiffer, an email sent to Twitter staff yesterday evening informed them out of the blue that they wouldn't be able to get into their offices for the rest of the week.

"We're hearing this is because Elon Musk and his team are terrified employees are going to sabotage the company," Schiffer wrote. "Also, they're still trying to figure out which Twitter workers they need to cut access for."

Then, the saga somehow got even stranger today when Musk emailed staff asking them to come to the 10th floor of Twitter's headquarters — which, remember, they'd just been told they were locked out of — for a meeting on the 10th floor.

Ultimatums

All told, the aura of chaos surrounding Twitter since Musk's acquisition late last month has deepened to a comical degree.

News of the office closure, you'll recall, comes not long after Musk issued an ultimatum to the staff who survived his first purge the company's employees, in which he said that if "tweeps" didn't come into the office, they would be effectively tendering their resignations.

Just before the office closure announcement, Musk gave his new employees another apparent threat: that if they are not prepared "to be extremely hardcore" and work long in-office hours, they can cut and run with three months severance.

Unsurprisingly, many Twitter employees have chosen the latter — a move that some described to CNN's Darcy as a "mass exodus."

And in the face of all this contradiction and whiplash, who could blame them?

More on Musk: Panicked Elon Musk Reportedly Begging Engineers Not to Leave

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Elon Musk Locks Twitter Employees Out Office, Then Asks Them to Meet Him on the 10th Floor

Twitter Claims Video of Moon Rocket Launch Is Revenge Porn

A spaceflight photographer took to Twitter to post a mesmerizing video of the Artemis I launch, only to find himself the victim of an AI error.

Nice Rocket

Revenge porn is a horrible thing, and Twitter should definitely continue to ban anyone who attempts to post it on the app. That being said, a video of a rocket taking off — an actual rocket, you pervs — does not revenge porn make, and shouldn't be flagged as such.

It seems like a silly thing to have to say, but such is the exact situation that spaceflight photographer John Kraus found himself in earlier this week. Kraus, who was on site to photograph the historic Artemis I launch, took to Twitter to post a mesmerizing video of the liftoff — only to find himself kicked off of the app shortly thereafter, due to the fact that his post, for whatever inexplicable reason, had been marked as revenge porn.

"I’d like to acknowledge that our good friend and rocket photography extraordinaire, [John Kraus], has been completely locked out of twitter since yesterday, for an arbitrary and silly reason, the day of the biggest launch of his career," read an angry tweet from the Tim "Everyday Astronaut" Dodd. "Worst possible timing."

I’d like to acknowledge that our good friend and rocket photography extraordinaire @johnkrausphotos has been completely locked out of twitter since yesterday, for an arbitrary and silly reason, the day of the biggest launch of his career. Worst possible timing ???? pic.twitter.com/USNUajwPJ4

— Everyday Astronaut (@Erdayastronaut) November 17, 2022

Let Freedom Ring

Twitter finally let Kraus back online today. But for a rocket photographer, getting kicked off of Twitter on the day of the Artemis I launch really is a nightmare scenario.

"Almost two days later, I'm back. Twitter just acknowledged that they falsely locked my account instantly after I posted a benign video/caption of the Artemis I launch," he tweeted upon his return. "This was an unfortunate error after one of the biggest launches of my career."

While there was some speculation that new Twitter owner Elon Musk — who fired waves of employees, then effectively forced a mass exodus of quitters, and has reportedly been begging employees to come back so the ship that is Twitter doesn't fully sink beneath the digital waves — was to blame for Kraus' unfortunately-timed ban, given the chaos that's ensued on the tech side since Musk's takeover. Kraus, however, denied that Musk had anything to do with it.

"Anyone speculating it had to do with [Elon Musk] / new Twitter policy / not wanting NASA content instead of SpaceX, or that it was an ITAR violation — you are WRONG," he clarified. "It was falsely auto-flagged by software/AI."

So, maybe not Musk's fault, but a screwup that now falls directly on his presumably still-full plate. Anyway. We're glad that Kraus is free. And, for the record, here's the video that led to the whole debacle:

For reference, this was the original, exact tweet that got my account falsely locked for almost two days. It is now visible. Enjoy! https://t.co/Rpnaqfw6yX

— John Kraus (@johnkrausphotos) November 18, 2022

More on Artemis I: Experts Baffled by Why Nasa's "Red Crew" Wear Blue Shirts

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Twitter Claims Video of Moon Rocket Launch Is Revenge Porn

Ticketmaster May Have Finally Met Its Match: Furious Swifties

The notorious ticket selling service Ticketmaster botched the pre-sale of tickets for Taylor Swift's upcoming tour. Now, everyone's calling for its head.

The notorious ticket peddling service Ticketmaster has never been a fan favorite, and anyone who's ever bought a concert ticket there can attest to why. Preposterous prices, slimy junk fees, and terrible customer service are just a few of its mundane evils. In spite of how universally reviled it is, Ticketmaster has persisted as the king of the box office. But now, it's facing its worst PR nightmare in years — and that's saying something. Why? It made the fatal error of pissing off Taylor Swift fans, or "Swifties."

Swift's "Eras Tour," which will have her perform at over 50 venues in the US alone, is set to be one of the biggest music events on the planet. Biding their time, her fiercely loyal fanbase — probably the largest of any single artist and easily the most vocal online — have been waiting since 2018 for her next headlining tour. So, looking to guarantee a spot, many of them signed up for Ticketmaster's Verified Fans program, a system which was supposed to only allow a select amount of around 1.5 million real fans — as opposed to scalper bots — to buy tickets ahead of time.

It didn't work. Ticketmaster CEO Michael Rapino told The Hollywood Reporter that around 14 million users, some of them bots, rushed to buy pre-sale tickets this week, and it pretty much broke the service. Parts of the website immediately crashed, leaving millions either waiting for hours or suffering through a miserable, glitchy experience — only for some to be told they couldn't buy a ticket anyway even though they were verified. In total, Ticketmaster was barraged with 3.5 billion system requests, which is nearly half the population of the Earth and four times its previous peak.

Even with all the difficulties, it did manage to sell around two million tickets — but it's unclear how many of those went to actual, verified Swifties and how many went to scalpers.

And we suspect that Ticketmaster has made way more than that in the form of enemies. Search its name on social media right now, and you'll be returned with swarms of complaints from ardent Swifties and Ticketmaster haters crawling out of the woodwork.

To make matters worse, the maligned seller abruptly informed fans via Twitter that it would be canceling the sale of tickets to the general public originally planned for Friday, "due to extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand."

With Ticketmaster shutting its doors, vulturous resellers who gobbled up tickets during the presale pandemonium remain the only alternative for fans, selling them at outrageous amounts as high as $28,000, Reuters reports.

Exceptionally crummy service isn't exactly a scandal in itself, but the magnitude of Ticketmaster's mishandling of the situation — and the blatant scalping it's enabled — has brought significant attention to the company's nefarious practices and its stranglehold on the market.

Now, politicians are jumping on the Swifties' grievances to call for Ticketmaster's head.

"Daily reminder that Ticketmaster is a monopoly, [its] merger with LiveNation should never have been approved, and they need to be [reined] in," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), in a tweet. "Break them up."

"It's no secret that Live Nation-Ticketmaster is an unchecked monopoly," echoed Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-RI), the chair of the House Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law.

"The merger of these companies should never have been allowed in the first place," Cicilline added, stating that he's joining others to call on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to "investigate LiveNation’s efforts to jack up prices and strangle competition."

Ticketmaster was already a behemoth in the 90s when Pearl Jam — then one of the biggest bands in the world — tried to take them on. Eddie Vedder and his bandmates certainly made the concert corporation sweat for a time, but since then, it's only grown. In 2010, it merged with LiveNation, once its largest competitor and now Ticketmaster's parent company. Critics, like AOC and Cicilline, argue that this merger was in blatant violation of antitrust laws.

Monopolistic behavior aside, as well as frequently bullying artists and venues to give into its tyrannical demands, consumers don't have to dig very far to realize Ticketmaster is ripping them off. Buy a ticket on there and it could charge you a significant portion of the ticket price in service and other junk fees.

Another culprit? Its dynamic pricing model, infamously used in other industries like airline tickets and hotels, in which prices are continuously adjusted in real time based on demand. As a result, ticket prices are not made public before a sale begins. In theory, dynamic pricing is meant to make predatory resellers obsolete by keeping prices competitive. But really, it's just a good excuse for Ticketmaster to match its prices with that of ludicrous resellers and pocket the extra cash.

Furthermore, at least one 2018 investigation by CBC found that Ticketmaster was quietly recruiting professional scalpers into its reseller program, and turned a blind eye to them using hundreds of fake accounts to sell tickets.

Bearing all that in mind, you'd think Swift would speak up about the most recent fiasco over her tour.

And for a while, she didn't, driving fans frantic over her silence — which she's finally broken.

On Friday, Swift spoke out in a carefully worded statement on her Instagram.

"Well, it goes without saying that I’m extremely protective of my fans," she began. "It’s really difficult for me to trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties, and excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse."

Swift is clearly alluding to Ticketmaster here, and euphemistically summed up the situation as there being "a multitude of reasons why people had such a hard time trying to get tickets" — though she never specifically names the corporation.

Diplomatic as the words may be, they've dropped at the perfect moment, because The New York Times reports that the DOJ has opened an antitrust investigation over LiveNation's ownership of Ticketmaster (though at press time, official confirmation is still pending.)

Could this be the beginning of the end of the company's unfettered dominance? Maybe. Ticketmaster and LiveNation only seem to get stronger with the more bad PR they get. So taking them down? It'll take more than online outrage. However, with Swift looking poised to join the fight alongside the DOJ, maybe this time around the concert conglomerate will get a run for its money.

More on Taylor Swift: Taylor Swift Reportedly Threatened Microsoft Over Racist Chatbot

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Ticketmaster May Have Finally Met Its Match: Furious Swifties