The survivors floated down the Amur, wintered at the river's mouth and in the spring turned north into the Sea of Okhotsk.

ECONOMIST: The Amur River

Officials at the New York Aquarium, which was damaged by superstorm Sandy, said the Coney Island institution would reopen in late spring, when a new sea-lion demonstration also will have its debut.

WSJ: Aquarium Reopening in Spring After Repairs

While the summer is the obvious time to head to the beach, there is something sublime about the crisp sea air on a spring or autumn day when the sands are empty save for the occasional dog walker and jogger.

BBC: Visiting the Hamptons off season

Entire family clans set out to sea, usually in the spring and summer when the water was calm.

FORBES: The British Are More Germanic Than They Think

The flooding, which began on the night of 31 January, was caused by a combination of a high spring tide, deep atmospheric low pressure which raised sea levels and exceptionally strong northerly gales, which led to a surge of sea water over coastal defences.

BBC: Flooded street in King's Lynn

Details of the revised competition to advance carbon capture and storage (CCS) - which is where power station emissions are caught and buried under the sea bed - will be announced later in the spring.

BBC: Ed Davey

In the spring of 2007 Odyssey Marine Exploration, an American-deep-sea treasure hunting company based in Tampa, recovered 594, 000 silver coins from a Spanish shipwreck.

FORBES: Is an Eel Killing Your Deal?

Regulations aimed at protecting fish stocks in the Irish Sea mean their boats are tied up for 10 weeks during the spring.

BBC: The assembly prepares to close for elections

The Union's most southern states took a particular interest in the Arab Spring, and the violence taking place on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea.

BBC: 2011 in the European Parliament