March 05, 2026

WATER WORLD Japan city gets $3.6 mn donation in gold to fix water system Tokyo (AFP) Feb 19, 2026 Osaka has received an unusual donation - 21 kilograms of gold - to pay for the maintenance of its ageing water system, the Japanese commercial hub announced Thursday. The donation worth $3.6 million was made in November by a person who a month earlier had already given $3,300 in cash for the municipal waterworks, Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama told a press conference. "It's an absolutely staggering amount," said Yokoyama, adding that he was lost for words to express his gratitude. "I was sh ... read more

Gyroscopic wave device targets broadband ocean power Osaka, Japan (SPX) Feb 18, 2026 Ocean waves offer a vast and predictable source of renewable energy, but many existing technologies only perform efficiently under limited sea conditions. In response, a researcher at The University ... more Artificial wetlands help clean runoff and support circular agriculture Madrid, Spain (SPX) Feb 16, 2026 On the occasion of World Wetlands Day, researchers at the Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering (IIAMA) at the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia are highlighting the role of artificial ... more Japan's 'godless' lake warns of creeping climate change Suwa, Japan (AFP) Feb 15, 2026 The Japanese priest and his parishioners gathered before dawn, hoping that climate change had not robbed them of the chance to experience an increasingly rare communion with the sacred. ... more Eternal City eternally damp as Rome suffers record rainfall; Calabria again under water Rome (AFP) Feb 14, 2026 Italy's southern Calabria region has asked that a new national state of emergency be called after days of heavy rains pounding the area caused flooding and mudslides, authorities said Saturday. ... more

Southern Indian Ocean waters lose salt as climate shifts currents Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 13, 2026 The Southern Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia is becoming markedly less salty, as rising global temperatures reshape wind patterns and ocean currents and drive more freshwater into the r ... more Johannesburg residents 'desperate' as taps run dry Johannesburg (AFP) Feb 11, 2026 Sitting in the middle of a Johannesburg road as traffic snaked around her, Susan Jobson banged empty bottles to protest the water cuts that have upended her life for nearly three weeks. ... more UK's crumbling canals threatened with collapse Whitchurch, United Kingdom (AFP) Feb 11, 2026 On a misty winter's day in the English midlands, engineers struggled to drag stranded narrowboats from a waterless, mud-filled canal that collapsed weeks earlier, in a delicate, multi-million-pound rescue operation. ... more Three-year heatwave bleached half the planet's coral reefs: study Paris, France (AFP) Feb 10, 2026 A study published on Tuesday showed that more than half of the world's coral reefs were bleached between 2014-2017 - a record-setting episode now being eclipsed by another series of devastating heatwaves. ... more Brazil suspends dredging of Amazon river after Indigenous protests Sao Paulo (AFP) Feb 7, 2026 Brazil announced on Friday the suspension of dredging operations on a major Amazon tributary, after Indigenous communities protested the work on rivers they see as vital to their way of life. ... more

Zoantharian cousins blur long held divide between Atlantic and Indo Pacific reefs Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 06, 2026 For decades, marine biogeography has treated the Atlantic and Indo Pacific oceans as distinct biological worlds, with reef communities and coral assemblages thought to share little overlap across th ... more Trump reinstates commercial fishing in protected Atlantic waters Washington, United States (AFP) Feb 7, 2026 US President Donald Trump on Friday issued a proclamation reopening commercial fishing in protected waters off the Atlantic coast, in a region renowned for its rich biodiversity. ... more Rock microbes reveal hidden groundwater carbon engine Berlin, Germany (SPX) Feb 03, 2026 Deep underground, microbial communities living on rock surfaces are emerging as powerful but largely overlooked drivers of groundwater chemistry and carbon storage. A team from the Cluster of Excell ... more Japan says rare earth found in sediment retrieved on deep-sea mission Tokyo (AFP) Feb 2, 2026 Sediment containing rare earth was retrieved from ocean depths of 6,000 metres (about 20,000 feet) on a Japanese test mission, the government said Monday, as it seeks to curb dependence on China for the valuable minerals. ... more US finalizes rule for deep-sea mining beyond its waters Washington, United States (AFP) Jan 20, 2026 President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday issued a new rule to fast-track deep-sea mining in international waters, bringing the United States a step closer to unilaterally launching the controversial industry. ... more

'So little we know': in submersibles revealing the deep sea Aboard Oceanxplorer, Indonesia (AFP) Jan 28, 2026 A dome-fronted submersible sinks beneath the waves off Indonesia, heading down nearly 1,000 metres in search of new species, plastic-eating microbes and compounds that could one day make medicines. This month, AFP boarded one of two submersibles belonging to OceanX, a non-profit backed by billionaire Ray Dalio and his son that brings scientists onto its OceanXplorer ship to study the marine world. The ship boasts labs for genetic sequencing, a helicopter for aerial surveys and a remotely operate ... read more South Africa embraces water tastings as Washington reels from sewage leak Stellenbosch, South Africa (AFP) Jan 29, 2026 Most tourists to Stellenbosch come for the wine but this small group was here for the water, sampling a selection of the world's finest varieties in an experience new to South Africa. ... more

Lunar soil study limits late meteorite role in supplying Earth oceans Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 26, 2026 A long standing idea in planetary science is that water rich meteorites arriving late in Earth history could have delivered a major share of the planet's water. A new study that mines the Moon's imp ... more OceanXplorer: a 'one-stop shop' for marine research Aboard Oceanxplorer, Indonesia (AFP) Jan 26, 2026 This month, AFP reported from OceanXplorer, a high-tech marine research vessel owned by billionaire-backed non-profit OceanX, as it studied seamounts off Indonesia. ... more Long-awaited first snowfall brings relief to water-scarce Kabul Kabul (AFP) Jan 23, 2026 Children sliding around on plastic bags, boys engaging in lively snowball fights, and families taking selfies on white-covered streets: residents of Kabul rejoiced on Friday at the long-awaited first snowfall of the winter. ... more Trump vows to relaunch Egypt-Ethiopia talks on dam row Davos, Switzerland (AFP) Jan 21, 2026 US President Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to restore negotiations between Egypt and Ethiopia over the latter's new mega-dam which he alleged 'blocks the Nile'. ... more Geoscientists use satellite to determine not the shape of water, but how water shapes land Blacksburg VA (SPX) Jan 21, 2026 What's the shape of water? In 2022, NASA launched the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite to answer this question by precisely measuring the height and extent of bodies of water. ... more

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