Tuesday, July 25th, 2017
In the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, far from the urban, developed world, there’s a small, lush, green island with white sand beaches. However, this uninhabited, remote corner of the tropics—Henderson Island—also has a trash problem. The beaches of Henderson Island have the highest density of plastic waste in the world, according to a
Monday, December 19th, 2016
Monitoring drought vital to success of humanitarian relief “Really?” and “Strange, but true” might be popular reactions to the idea that periodic El Niño events in the Pacific Ocean could have a long distance influence on drought conditions in Africa, almost half-a-world away. Unlikely as it may seem, these connections are widely accepted by climate
Wednesday, July 27th, 2016
A team of scientists have used air bubbles in polar ice from pre-industrial times to measure the sensitivity of the Earth’s land biosphere to changes in temperature. The paper published today in Nature Geoscience has verified and quantified the relationship for the first time and shown how it impacts the cycles of carbon between land,
Friday, July 8th, 2016
Members of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) must do more to follow through on critical commitments to protect tuna and shark populations in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The IATTC, the world’s oldest regional fishery management organization (RFMO) for tuna, meets June 27 to July 1 in La Jolla, California. According to a recent Pew
Thursday, June 23rd, 2016
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A major climate event millions of years ago that caused substantial change to the ocean’s ecological systems may hold clues as to how the Earth will respond to future climate change, a Florida State University researcher said. In a new study published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Assistant Professor of Geology
Monday, June 20th, 2016
CHARLOTTE, NC- Animals can adapt to their environment through changes to their DNA, but more recently, research has shown that non-genetic components may be important, too. UNC Charlotte biological sciences professor Adam Reitzel is leading an international team to investigate how epigenetic regulations and microbial communities are influencing the adaptation of coastal marine species to
Wednesday, June 1st, 2016
The waters surrounding Antarctica may be one of the last places to experience human-driven climate change. New research from the University of Washington and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology finds that ocean currents explain why the seawater has stayed at roughly the same temperature while most of the rest of the planet has warmed. The
Wednesday, April 27th, 2016
April 26, 2016—As an island nation, the sea has a deep and profound effect on the lives of many communities across the UK. The seas around the UK influence our weather, climate and local environments. Improving our understanding of the marine environment and how it affects us is the focus of a major collaboration programme
Wednesday, April 20th, 2016
The billions of single-celled marine organisms known as phytoplankton can drift from one region of the world’s oceans to almost any other place on the globe in less than a decade, Princeton University researchers have found. Unfortunately, the same principle can apply to plastic debris, radioactive particles and virtually any other man-made flotsam and jetsam
Thursday, April 7th, 2016
CORVALLIS, Ore.—The ocean chemistry along the West Coast of North America is changing rapidly because of global carbon dioxide emissions, and the governments of Oregon, California, Washington and British Columbia can take actions now to offset and mitigate the effects of these changes. That is the conclusion of a 20-member panel of leading West Coast
