The five passengers on the Titan submersible, which has been searched for in the North Atlantic near the Titanic wreck since Sunday, June 18, are dead, the company said in a press release on Thursday, June 22.

“We now believe that our boss Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, Hamish Harding and Paul-Henri Nargeolet are sadly dead,” OceanGate wrote in a statement.

What happened in the North Atlantic?

The US Coast Guard said wreckage of the submersible found showed the ship suffered a “catastrophic implosion.”

“The bodies are not found,” US rescuers said on Thursday evening. When reporters asked about the bodies so families could mourn, the Coast Guard initially remained silent. “Finding bodies in these conditions is very difficult.”

After several days of no detection by the sonars, the tragedy undoubtedly happened earlier in the week, before the search even began.

Who are the victims?

There were five men aboard the Titan. OceanGate’s boss, American Stockton Rush, was there with a wealthy British businessman, Hamish Harding (58).

With them the former diver and marine who crossed the Var, Frenchman Paul-Henri Nargeolet (77 years old), Pakistani tycoon Shahzada Dawood (48 years old), accompanied by his son Suleman (19 years old), both owning also British citizenship.

What sounds were picked up by the sonars?

The news on Wednesday June 21 that Canadian P-3 aircraft had detected underwater noise had raised hopes and provided guidance to the multinational armada of rescue workers dispatched to the scene, without the origin of the noise being clarified.

This Thursday, the US Coast Guard promised that the sounds recorded had nothing to do with the Titan submarine, which must have imploded before help arrived, and that they would have been heard if the sonars were already underwater would be.

What means were used to save the crew?

Air surveillance with C-130 or P3 aircraft, ships equipped with underwater robots: the means used in particular by the American and Canadian armies had continued to arrive this Thursday at the place where the Polar Prince is based, the ship from which the diving titan has departed.

The Victor 6000 is the “best hope” for an underwater rescue operation, British Antarctic Survey expert Rob Larter told reporters. Rescuers had estimated the time at 11:08 GMT Thursday when passengers aboard the Titan could run out of oxygen. However, the five passengers had probably died several days ago.

When did the Titan submersible go to sea?

The Titan, about 6.5 meters long, crashed on Sunday, June 18 and was due to resurface seven hours later, but lost contact less than two hours after it took off.

On Tuesday afternoon, the US Coast Guard warned that there was “approximately 40 hours of breathable air” on board.

Is the OceanGate company involved?

Since the research began, indications of possible technical oversights by OceanGate in the underwater tourism device have been uncovered.

According to a 2018 complaint, a former company executive, David Lochridge, was fired after raising serious doubts about the safety of the submersible.

Joe Biden doesn’t think his words about Xi Jinping, whom he called “a dictator,” will have consequences for China-US thaw efforts. “The answer to your question is no,” the American President replied to a question on the subject during the press conference with Narendra Modi. Biden then sought to downplay what he described as “hysteria” over relations with China: “We had an incident that created confusion,” he said of the spy balloon story, “but Secretary of State had blinks a great visit to China and I look forward to meeting with President Xi in the future.” “I don’t think they had any real consequences,” Biden concluded.

The US President then described the content of the summit with Modi. “The PM and I had a good discussion about democratic values, it’s the nature of our relationship. We are direct and respect each other because our countries are both democracies.” This is how Joe Biden responded during the White House press conference with Narendra Modi to those who remember concerns about discrimination against religious minorities and the repression of dissent in India. “There are common democratic traits in our countries and in our peoples, our diversity, our culture, tolerance,” he added, stressing that these values ​​are “in the DNA of America and I believe in the DNA of India.”

Emmanuel Macron

PARIS, 22nd June (RHC) – French President Emmanuel Macron could attend the upcoming Brics Summit to be held in South Africa next August, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has announced.

This intention was communicated to Naledi Pandor, the South African Chancellor. I have expressed the President’s availability and his interest in continuing the dialogue that France is having with the Brics Group, he stated.

Regarding Macron’s participation in the summit of the Brics countries (consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), Colonna specified that this had to be “in full compliance with international law”.

According to specialist media, this statement would indicate the expected presence at the event of Russian President Vladimir Putin, for whom an arrest warrant has been issued by the International Criminal Court, an entity to which Moscow is not affiliated but Pretoria is.

In this regard, Pandor stated that President Macron’s participation, if it were to take place, would be the first of the practices used so far at the BRICS summits.

However, it is up to the host who is invited. The decision, he said, rests with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. (Source:PL)

At an international reconstruction conference for Ukraine, foreign donors pledged 60 billion euros to rebuild the war-torn country’s economy. “We didn’t intend for this to be a donors’ conference,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said at the end of the conference on Thursday. “However, today we can announce a total of €60 billion in support for Ukraine.”

According to Cleverly, the promises made by governments and international organizations aim to support Ukraine in the short and medium term. Efforts now focus on unlocking “the enormous potential of the private sector”.

Much of the €60 billion comes from a €50 billion aid package the European Union plans to provide through 2027. The US has announced $1.3 billion in support, mostly earmarked for Ukraine’s energy sector and infrastructure.

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal thanked Ukraine’s allies for their financial support. “We will start rebuilding Ukraine this year,” he told the conference. Your country does not wait for the end of the war.

He also welcomed the pledge of “almost all” participants to support the idea that Russia “must pay for its crimes and the destruction it has caused in Ukraine”. Schmyhal called for a “compensation mechanism” to use frozen Russian assets to rebuild his country.

The conference for the reconstruction of Ukraine was the second of its kind, with the objective of mobilizing the necessary funds for the reconstruction of Ukraine in the short and medium term. Private conferencing should also be included. Next year, the conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine will take place in Germany.

The disappearance of a tourist submersible off the wreck of the Titanic is now drawing the world’s attention to the depths of the North Atlantic, but for scientists the big story lies on the sea’s surface and they are shocked by what they are seeing. . It’s a much bigger story with potential global climate impacts.

In recent weeks, sea surface temperatures have reached record highs in some parts of the North Atlantic. Unusual warming is occurring over much of the Atlantic.

Satellite data shows that surface waters in some places are 4 to 5°C above normal for this time of year. For example, on June 10th, the average sea surface temperature in the part of the Atlantic Ocean stretching from the equator to latitude 60 degrees north to southern Norway, southern Greenland and the central parts of Hudson Bay in Canada was 22.7°C or 22.7 °C About 1 °C above the 19912020 average. The previous record for the same time of 22.1 °C was from 2010.

An ‘unprecedented’ marine heatwave and intensity is observed off the coast of the UK and Ireland. Overheating oceans pose serious threats to species, scientists warn.

Sea temperatures, particularly off the north east coast of England and the west of Ireland, are several degrees above normal and are breaking records in late spring and early summer. The data shows warmer temperatures in the North Sea and North Atlantic.

The US Ocean and Atmospheric Administration has classified parts of the North Sea as a Category 4 marine heatwave, deemed “extreme”, with areas off the coast of England up to 5C above normal. Off the coast of the United Kingdom, the magnitude of the marine heatwave is peaking on a scale of up to 5. “Beyond the extreme,” summarized British meteorologist Scott Duncan.

By definition “beyond the extreme”.

Ireland and the British Isles are at the epicenter of a major marine heatwave. In modern records we have never seen the North Atlantic like this.

Marine heat waves are divided into categories 1 to 5. There are category 5 hotspots. pic.twitter.com/2lle3hrsGv

— Scott Duncan (@ScottDuncanWX) June 19, 2023

“It’s going to be absolutely incredible. Sea surface temperature anomalies in the North Atlantic set a new record on June 20th, surpassing the previous record set on June 10th. With an average temperature of 23.24°C, or 1.11°C above the 19912020 average, there is a standard deviation of +3.87, or 1 in 18,650,” said Brian McNoldy, senior researcher at the University of Miami.

This is going to be nothing short of incredible… North Atlantic SSTs just set a new record anomaly on June 20th, surpassing the previous one on June 10th. With an average temperature of 23.24 °C, this is 1.11 °C above the mean for the years 19912020 or +3.87 standard deviations. 1 in 18,650. pic.twitter.com/N2OhZwaoMc

— Brian McNoldy (@BMcNoldy) June 21, 2023

Daniela Schmidt, Professor of Earth Sciences at Bristol University, said: “The unprecedented and extreme temperatures show the power of the combination of humancaused warming and natural climate variability such as El Niño.”

“While marine heatwaves occur in warmer seas like the Mediterranean, such anomalous temperatures are unknown in this part of the North Atlantic.” They have been linked to less dust in the Sahara, but also to climate variability in the North Atlantic, which requires more understanding to unravel .”

threat to marine life

Scientists warn that overheating of the oceans could have devastating consequences for ocean species that are used to colder waters and unprepared for warmer waters like today.

“The heat puts a strain on marine organisms, as it does on land. Elsewhere in the world, we have seen massive dieoffs of marine plants and animals from oceanic heat waves, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses to fisheries, carbon storage, cultural values ​​and habitat loss. Until we drastically reduce emissions, these heatwaves will continue to destroy our ecosystems. However, since this is happening below the surface of the sea, it will go unnoticed,” Daniela said.

ESA

Already Dr. Dan Smale of the Marine Biological Association has been studying ocean heatwaves for over a decade and was surprised by the temperatures. “I always thought they would never have an ecological impact on the cold waters of Britain and Ireland, but this is unprecedented and potentially devastating. Current temperatures are very high, but still not fatal for most species, but stressful for many. If it continues through the summer, there could be mass dieoffs of algae, seaweed, fish and oysters,” he warned.

Piers Forster, Professor of Climate Physics at the University of Leeds, told the Guardian: “Met Office and NOAA sea surface temperature analysis shows temperatures have reached an alltime high.”

What is behind the record warming?

This year’s warmer waters could help strengthen storms that form in the North Atlantic and eventually spawn hurricanes, scientists say. What is causing the unusual warming is not clear. But here’s a summary of several factors that could play a role.

LEON SIMONS

LEON SIMONS

Firstly, there is a shortage of dust in the Sahara. Occasionally huge clouds of dust from the Sahara float over the ocean. The dust is carried by strong winds through a semipermanent highpressure system dubbed the “Azores High” due to its proximity to these islands.

But lately the rallies in the Azores have weakened and shifted towards South West Africa. As a result, the winds that normally pick up dust from the Sahara and carry it west across the North Atlantic are calmer and mostly dustfree, says Michael Mann, a climate researcher at the University of Pennsylvania.

As a result, solar radiation that would normally be scattered back into space by dust reaches the sea surface and warms the water. Should the trade winds pick up, the increasing dust from Africa could help cool the area down a bit.

Second: reducing air pollution. In 2020, new emissions regulations came into effect for longdistance cargo ships that emit highsulphur exhaust plumes. There is speculation that less pollution could lead to more warming. As fewer clouds scatter sunlight back into space, more radiation reaches the ocean’s surface.

However, some studies suggest that the cooling effect of ship plumes may have been less: not only do exhaust plumes have a short lifespan, pollutants can also cause natural clouds to evaporate more quickly, leading to warming rather than cooling.

Three, global warming trends. This year marks the return of El Niño, a weather phenomenon characterized by higher than average sea surface temperatures along the equator west of South America.

Every El Niño has its own story. But in general, El Niño increases average surface temperatures on land and sea around the world. Manmade climate change has done the same. However, there is still a great deal of uncertainty as to how current conditions could affect it.

The exceptionally warm waters of the North Atlantic tend to amplify storm systems that later develop into tropical depressions and then hurricanes. But the El Niño, now strengthening in the equatorial Pacific, could impede their formation by strengthening the upperatmospheric winds that make hurricanes more difficult to form. How active this year’s hurricane season will be depends on which of these forces is dominant: warm water or stronger El Niño wind divergence.