All posts tagged: Reef

Real-life Snuffleupagus found swimming in the Great Barrier Reef

Real-life Snuffleupagus found swimming in the Great Barrier Reef

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. It’s undeniable. The bright reddish-orange hues, the fuzziness, the snout…there simply is no other way to put it. This unique fish looks exactly like Mr. Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street. “Once you see it, the resemblance to Snuffleupagus is impossible to ignore,” declared marine biologist David Harasti. The similarity is so strong that even the team from the beloved children’s show gave their full backing to name the seahorse relative after Big Bird’s woolly pal. But while the hairy ghost pipefish Solenostomus snuffleupagus was recently described for the first time in the journal Fish Biology, Harasti has long suspected its existence. In fact, he spent nearly 20 years trying to find it. The saga began during a dive near Papua New Guinea in 2001. While combing through coral, Harasti spotted a unique and wholly unfamiliar creature swimming through the water. Although it appeared to be some type of pipefish, no specific species came to mind. There are definite similarities between …

REEF celebrates 21 years of the iconic Fanning flip-flop with updated Spring/Summer styles

REEF celebrates 21 years of the iconic Fanning flip-flop with updated Spring/Summer styles

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more › Sign Up For Goods 🛍️ Product news, reviews, and must-have deals. It’s only April, but we’re already prepping for pool season and bringing the beach chairs and beverage coolers down. And that means we’re also auditing our beat-up footwear, making it the perfect time for some new sandals. It just so happens that REEF knows a thing or two about warm-weather wear, and the Fanning, its most mischievous flip-flop with a built-in bottle opener on the bottom, turns 21 with new styles just in time for Spring/Summer 2026. See It The original Fanning earned its place by being more than a blank slab of rubber, and that’s why it still deserves a toast now that it’s legal. Developed and named for pro surfer Mick Fanning, it landed in 2005 with a more athletic stance and supportive upper than your average flip-hop. The new Fanning + is an even more plush expression of easygoing meets multisurface-ready. Wet …

Experts warn of rapid loss of water in the Baltic Sea: ‘A vibrant reef is turning into an underwater wasteland’

Experts warn of rapid loss of water in the Baltic Sea: ‘A vibrant reef is turning into an underwater wasteland’

While global water and ocean levels are rising, the Baltic Sea lost 275 billion tonnes of water at the beginning of February. It is now 67 cm lower than the average recorded in 1886. The situation, although it has not happened for 140 years, is caused by atmospheric factors. On the surface, these should not be a cause for concern, but, as Dr Tomasz Kijewski of the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences told Euronews, such a deviation is a glaring example of the impact of climate change on the environment. The Arctic plays the first fiddle here. ‘The open refrigerator effect’ If water levels are rising, why has so much water disappeared in the Baltic Sea basin? Experts explain that it is the result of strong winds, a high pressure zone and the absence of significant atmospheric fronts. “The long-lasting strong easterly winds persisting since the beginning of January have pushed water masses through the Danish Straits towards the North Sea, resulting in a drop in levels throughout the basin,” reads …

China Blames Military Drills for Reef Damage Around Disputed Shoal

China Blames Military Drills for Reef Damage Around Disputed Shoal

BEIJING, Dec 29 (Reuters) – China ‌said ​without naming ‌any country that military activities ​such as bomb-dropping training in the ‍waters around Scarborough Shoal ​have damaged the coral ​reefs ⁠there, state broadcaster CCTV said on Monday citing an ecological report. The report, conducted by the country’s natural resources ministry, ‌also said that “illegal fishing” and frequent intrusion ​activities ‌in recent years ‍have ⁠threatened the ecosystem around the shoal. China and the Philippines both claim territorial rights to Scarborough Shoal, one of Asia’s most contested maritime features prized ​for its rich fisheries, its protective lagoon and proximity to major shipping lanes. But sovereignty has never been established. It is effectively under Beijing’s control although Filipino boats continue to operate there. In September, China approved the creation of a national ​nature reserve at the shoal, a plan the Philippines condemned as a “clear pretext for occupation”. (Reporting by Liz ​Lee and Qiaoyi Li; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters. Photos You Should See – December 2025 Source link