Global Scans · Life Below Water · Weekly Summary

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

• [New] Sea levels in some areas in the Global South - regions such as Asia and the South Pacific - could be up to 3 feet higher than previously assumed. Northwest Newsradio 97.7 | AM 1000
• [New] Adjusting to a more accurate coastal height baseline means that if seas rise by a little more than 1 meter - as some studies suggest will happen by the end of the century - waters could inundate up to 37% more land and threaten 77 million to 132 million more people. Euronews
• [New] To predict how sea level rise will affect coastal communities, scientists often use a model which estimates sea level by looking at the Earth's gravitational field and rotation. CNN
• [New] Sea-level rise (SLR) poses a high risk to vast coastal lowlands around the world, including low-elevated and populous river deltas and coastal plains. Nature
• [New] At current trends, the amount of plastic entering the ocean is set to double by 2060. Economic Times
• [New] Scientists have been underestimating global sea levels for decades, potentially putting millions more people at risk than current assessments suggest. Los Angeles Times
• [New] Ocean levels may increase by between 0.28 meters and 1 meter by 2100. Northwest Newsradio 97.7 | AM 1000
• [New] Global supply chain fragilities, exacerbated by incidents like Red Sea shipping route disruptions, increase costs and delivery times for Indian manufacturers, impacting sectors from textiles to automotive. Whalesbook
• [New] The Suez Canal and the Red Sea are tense and under threat. World Socialist Web Site
• [New] Autonomous formations will transform irregular warfare (such as counterinsurgency campaigns in the Sahel or Gaza), stability operations, and gray-zone competition (such as the maritime pressure Beijing exerts in the South China Sea), too. Foreign Affairs Magazine
• Antarctica is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth, which could destroy its ecosystems and put other parts of the planet at risk by driving sea level rise and damaging food chains. Mirage News
• Under the highest emissions scenario, sea ice coverage could fall by 20%, devastating species that rely on it - such as krill, an important prey for whales and penguins - and amplifying ocean warming worldwide. Mirage News
• In higher emissions scenarios, the Southern Ocean will get hotter faster. Mirage News
• Ocean acidification and hypoxia pose major risks to BC's seafood industries, with projected losses in the hundreds of millions by 2050. Canadian OA CoP
• A hidden network of underwater fibre optic cables could offer unprecedented new insights into the lives of some of the world's most threatened and elusive sea creatures. Positive News
• Much of trafficked waste around the world ends up in illegal landfills or the ocean, or it is burnt in the open - endangering human health, ecosystems, and livelihoods. Thailand
• By examining the material of cold-water geysers on Earth, scientists can speculate what might happen to plumes on ocean worlds as they move from the ocean to space. Discover Magazine
• Scientists are expecting to learn more about ocean worlds and their plumes when NASA's Europa Clipper arrives at Europa in 2030, and the European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer reaches Jupiter in 2031. Discover Magazine
• The Lebanese cabinet and the LAF will almost certainly adopt a cautious approach toward disarming Hezbollah north of the Litani River given that Hezbollah has framed its disarmament in the north as an existential issue. Critical Threats
• The rise of outdoor swimming will not solve England's plastic problem on its own but as access to designated bathing waters expands, rivers and coastlines become shared spaces, protected by the people who use them. Positive News

Last updated: 15 March 2026