Oceans
- Climate
Phytoplankton rapidly disappearing from the Indian Ocean
Phytoplankton populations in the Indian Ocean fell 30 percent over the last 16 years largely due to global warming, new research suggests.
- Climate
2015 smashed heat records
Spurred by global warming and a “super El Niño,” 2015 now ranks as the warmest year since record-keeping began in 1880.
- Animals
Whales are full of toxic chemicals
For decades, scientists have been finding troublesome levels of PCBs, mercury and other toxic chemicals in whales and dolphins.
- Oceans
Ocean heating doubles
Earth’s oceans now absorb twice as much heat as they did 18 years ago, with more than a third of that warmth going into the ocean depths.
- Animals
The moon drives the migration of Arctic zooplankton
In the darkness of the Arctic winter, the moon replaces the sun as the driver of zooplankton migration, a new study finds.
- Oceans
Phytoplankton flunk photosynthesis efficiency test
Nutrient-poor ocean waters make phytoplankton photosynthesis inefficient
- Animals
Fog ferries mercury from the ocean to land animals
Scientists have traced mercury in the waters of the Pacific Ocean to animals, including mountain lions, in California.
- Climate
Ice rafts traveling farther and faster across the Arctic Ocean
Climate change may be causing Arctic sea ice to travel farther and faster than it did 15 years ago, taking pollutants and other material along for the ride.
- Animals
Algal toxin impairs sea lion memory
California sea lions that have brain damage linked to domoic acid poisoning have impaired spatial memory, a new study finds.
- Climate
Thinning ice leads to winter warming in the Arctic
Thinning Arctic sea ice could boost heat-trapping water vapor in the air during autumn and winter, leading to more ice loss.
- Life
‘Racing Extinction’ documents plight of endangered species
The new documentary "Racing Extinction" offers hope that people can halt the sixth mass extinction.
- Oceans
Rising temperatures complicate efforts to manage cod fishery
Higher water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine could play a role in Atlantic cod crashes.
