Oceans

Climate

Arctic sea ice shrinks to second-lowest low on record

A warm summer helped shrink sea ice in the Arctic Ocean to a statistical tie with 2007 for the second smallest sea ice minimum on record.

Oceans

First U.S. ocean monument named in the Atlantic

A region of ocean off the coast of Cape Cod has become the first U.S. marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean, President Barack Obama announced.

Oceans

Fish escapes from marine farms raise concerns about wildlife

Farmed salmon, sea bass and other fish frequently escape from sea cages into the ocean. Will these runaways harm native wildlife?

Earth

Wave-thumping ‘weather bomb’ storms send elusive S waves through Earth

A rare type of deep-Earth tremor called an S wave generated by a rapidly strengthening storm could help scientists map the planet’s mantle and core.

Oceans

Lack of nutrients stalled rebound of marine life post-Permian extinction

Warm sea surface temperatures slowed the nitrogen cycle in Earth’s oceans and delayed the recovery of life following the Permian extinction, researchers propose.

Earth

Americas’ hookup not so ancient after all

Debate lingers over when the Isthmus of Panama formed and closed the seaway that separated North and South America millions of years ago.

Climate

India’s monsoon winds trace back nearly 13 million years

The intense monsoon winds that carry torrential rain to India each year first started blowing around 12.9 million years ago, new research suggests.

Science & Society

Sea life stars in museum’s glass menagerie

See Leopold and Rudolf Blaschkas’ delicate glass jellyfish, anemones, sea worms and other marine invertebrates at the Corning Museum of Glass.

Animals

Pup kidnapping has a happy ending when a seal gets two moms

A female fur seal kidnapped another seal’s pup. But this turned out to be a positive the young seal, scientists found.

Oceans

50 years ago, humans could pick the oceans clean

Scientists have long recognized that we might overfish the oceans. Despite quotas, some species are paying the price of human appetite.

Oceans

Sea ice algae drive the Arctic food web

Even organisms that don’t depend on sea ice depend on sea ice algae, a new study finds. But Arctic sea ice is disappearing.

Climate

Phytoplankton’s response to climate change has its ups and downs

In a four-year experiment, the shell-building activities of a phytoplankton species underwent surprising ups and downs.