Our Scans · (LF.14) 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] Key Insight: The Salton Sea region could become a global template for critical mineral extraction-combining energy, battery, and environmental value in a single project model. Farmonaut
• [New] Trivia Point: The Salton Sea holds more than 600,000 tons / year of recoverable lithium capacity-enough to help meet up to 40% of projected US lithium demand in the late 2020s and 2030s. Farmonaut
• [New] Nearly 600,000 tons of lithium could be sustainably extracted yearly from California's Salton Sea using geothermal brine processes. Farmonaut
• [New] Direct Lithium Extraction at Salton Sea could meet nearly 40% of U.S. lithium demand sustainably. Farmonaut
• [New] Sea fog and reduced visibility are expected to impact ports across the central and western US Gulf Coast, including Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Freeport, Galveston and Port Arthur. ENGINE
• [New] Amsterdam's city government is weighing a significant shift in its tourism and sustainability policies by proposing a full phase-out of ocean-going cruise ships by 2035. Smart Meetings
• [New] Increased scrutiny of Black Sea fixtures, tighter contractual language around force majeure and war-risk allocation, and greater insistence on indemnities where port calls near Russian export hubs are unavoidable. gCaptain
• [New] The UN High Seas Treaty now enforces stricter environmental stewardship across international waters, a shift expected to influence offshore infrastructure such as ports, cabling and interconnectors. Whole Life Carbon
• [New] The political compromise now ensures that no licenses for deep-sea mining will be issued during the current legislative term, which ends in 2029. The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News |
• [New] Norway recently paused deep-sea mining licenses until 2029, while BMW, Volvo and Google have pledged not to purchase metals produced from deep-sea mines until environmental risks are better understood. The Conversation
• [New] Black Sea shipping remains highly exposed due to the increasing tempo of military operations between Russia and Ukraine, as well as a variety of hybrid threats. All About Shipping
• [New] The Red Sea corridor remains relatively stable for maritime transit, despite the security environment in Yemen continuing to present localized risks that could rapidly escalate. All About Shipping
• [New] The South China Sea and China's regional ambitions remain Vietnam's paramount security threat. The Diplomat
• The High Seas Treaty or Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions Agreement, will govern about two-thirds of the planet's oceans including vast areas beyond any country's borders. Australian Broadcasting Corporation
• A deeper understanding of how iron controls photosynthesis at the molecular scale could help researchers better anticipate changes in ocean productivity and shifts in the global carbon cycle. ScienceDaily
• As long as Earth continues to absorb more energy than it releases, ocean heat content will keep rising and new records will continue to be set. ScienceDaily
• More than 190,000 protected areas would need to be established in order to meet the 30 by 30 target to bring 30% of the oceans under formal protection by 2030. gCaptain
• The combination of rising oceans and sinking land means the world's largest cities will face even greater challenges from catastrophic floods in the future. Live Science

Last updated: 26 January 2026