Let's get one thing clear: Boaty McBoatface is the name of the mini submarine, not the boat.
You might remember the epically named vessel from when, in mid-2016, online voters were asked to choose a name for Britain's Natural Environmental Research Council's newest research ship. Voters overwhelmingly decided to name it Boaty McBoatface, but the ministry rejected the will of the people and gave the name to an attached mini submarine instead. Now, the honorable McBoatface is living up to its ambitious name, delivering new research on warming sea waters in results published Monday.
McBoatface took its inaugural plunge in April 2017, plopping into the Southern Ocean and traveling 112 miles to measure temperature, salt content, and turbulence along the sea floor, CNet notes. It found that "winds blowing over the Southern Ocean have been getting stronger due to the hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica and increasing greenhouse gases," a press release for the study says. That leads cold deep ocean waters to mix with the warmer waters above — a "significant contributor to rising sea levels," the release continues.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
McBoatface's discovery is the first of its kind, thoroughly mapping how global warming is churning waters and speeding sea level rise, CNN reports via the National Oceanography Centre. Can the David Attenborough — the name of the ship originally elected to be named Boaty McBoatface — say the same? Kathryn Krawczyk
Editor's note: This article originally misstated the type of vessel that was dubbed the David Attenborough, it has since been corrected. We regret the error.
-
Daylight Saving Time: a Spanish controversyUnder the Radar Spain’s prime minister has called on the EU to remove biannual clock changes in Europe
-
Quiz of The Week: 25 – 31 OctoberQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
The week’s best photosIn Pictures A monstrous parade, a hungry tortoise, and more
-
Hurricane Melissa slams Jamaica as Category 5 stormSpeed Read The year’s most powerful storm is also expected to be the strongest ever recorded in Jamaica
-
Renewables top coal as Trump seeks reversalSpeed Read For the first time, renewable energy sources generated more power than coal, said a new report
-
China vows first emissions cut, sidelining USSpeed Read The US, the world’s No. 2 emitter, did not attend the New York summit
-
At least 800 dead in Afghanistan earthquakespeed read A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit a mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan
-
Massive earthquake sends tsunami across PacificSpeed Read Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan and Hawaii were told to evacuate to higher ground
-
FEMA Urban Search and Rescue chief resignsSpeed Read Ken Pagurek has left the organization, citing 'chaos'
-
Wildfires destroy historic Grand Canyon lodgeSpeed Read Dozens of structures on the North Rim have succumbed to the Dragon Bravo Fire
-
Search for survivors continues after Texas floodsSpeed Read A total of 82 people are confirmed dead, including 28 children
