Oceans
- Earth
Ancient crystal growths in caves reveal seas rose 16 meters in a warmer world
The Pliocene era cave formations on the Spanish coast of Mallorca offer hints about how oceans could respond to human-driven climate change.
- Earth
How Kilauea’s lava fed a massive phytoplankton bloom
Kilauea’s heavy flow of lava into the ocean in 2018 added both food and heat to fuel a sudden bloom of ocean algae.
- Earth
Ocean acidification could weaken diatoms’ glass houses
Ocean acidification may lead to smaller, lighter diatoms in seawater, which could also shrink how much carbon the tiny ocean algae can help sequester.
- Life
How a newly identified bacterium saps corals of their energy
A parasitic bacterium that preys on corals quickly reproduces when it senses more nutrients in its host.
- Climate
Climate change may make El Niño and La Niña less predictable
Atlantic Niñas and Niños have been fairly reliable bellwethers for severe El Niño and La Niña events in the Pacific. A warming world may change that.
- Animals
Southern right whale moms and calves may whisper to evade orcas
Mother-calf whale pairs call to each other quietly to stay in touch while avoiding attracting the attention of predators, a study suggests.
- Oceans
A mysterious coral disease is ravaging Caribbean reefs
Scientists are racing to learn what’s behind a disease that’s “annihilating” whole coral species in hopes of stopping it.
- Oceans
The largest seaweed bloom ever detected spanned the Atlantic in 2018
Nutrient-rich water from the Amazon River may be helping massive seaweed mats to flourish each summer in the Atlantic Ocean.
- Oceans
The world’s fisheries are incredibly intertwined, thanks to baby fish
A computer simulation reveals how one nation's management of its fish spawning grounds could significantly help or hurt another country's catch.
- Oceans
Tiny plastic debris is accumulating far beneath the ocean surface
Floating trash patches scratch only the surface of the ocean microplastic pollution problem.
- Climate
The Southern Ocean may be less of a carbon sink than we thought
The Southern Ocean’s ability to suck up much of the carbon that humans pump into the atmosphere is in question.
- Animals
Endangered green sea turtles may be making a comeback in the U.S. Pacific
The numbers of green sea turtles spotted around Hawaii, American Samoa and the Mariana Islands have increased in the last decade.
