Aquatic creatures mix ocean water
Understanding mixing in the ocean is of fundamental importance to modeling climate change or predicting the effects of an El Niño on our weather. Modern ocean models primarily incorporate the effects of winds and tides. However, they do not generally take into account the mixing generated by swimming animals. view more (2009-11-23)
Oceans' uptake of manmade carbon may be slowing
The oceans play a key role in regulating climate, absorbing more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide that humans put into the air. view more (2009-11-19)
Study: Sea stars bulk up to beat the heat
A new study finds that a species of sea star stays cool using a strategy never before seen in the animal kingdom. The sea stars soak up cold sea water into their bodies during high tide as buffer against potentially damaging temperatures brought about by direct sunlight at low tide. view more (2009-11-18)
A glimpse at the Earth's crust deep below the Atlantic
Long-term variations in volcanism help explain the birth, evolution and death of striking geological features called oceanic core complexes on the ocean floor, says geologist Dr Bram Murton of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton. view more (2009-11-13)
How much water does the ocean have?
The calculation of variations in the sea level is relatively simple. It is by far more complicated to then determine the change in the water mass. view more (2009-11-13)
Earth's early ocean cooled more than a billion years earlier than thought: Stanford study
The scalding-hot sea that supposedly covered the early Earth may in fact never have existed, according to a new study by Stanford University researchers who analyzed isotope ratios in 3.4 billion-year-old ocean floor rocks. view more (2009-11-12)
Iowa State scientist develops lab machine to study glacial sliding related to rising sea levels
Neal Iverson opened his laboratory's walk-in freezer and said the one-of-a-kind machine inside could help scientists understand how glaciers slide across their beds. And that could help researchers predict how glaciers will react to climate change and contribute to rising sea levels. view more (2009-11-11)
Reducing greenhouse gases may not be enough to slow climate change
Because land use changes are responsible for 50 percent of warming in the US, policymakers need to address the influence of global deforestation and urbanization on climate change, in addition to greenhouse gas emissions. view more (2009-11-11)
Antarctica glacier retreat creates new carbon dioxide store
Large blooms of tiny marine plants called phytoplankton are flourishing in areas of open water left exposed by the recent and rapid melting of ice shelves and glaciers around the Antarctic Peninsula. view more (2009-11-10)
Past climate of the northern Antarctic Peninsular informs global warming debate
The seriousness of current global warming is underlined by a reconstruction of climate at Maxwell Bay in the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Peninsula over approximately the last 14,000 years, which appears to show that the current warming and widespread loss of glacial ice are unprecedented. view more (2009-11-09)
Tags reveal white sharks have neighborhoods in the north Pacific, say Stanford researchers
The white shark may be the ultimate loner of the ocean, cruising thousands of miles in a solitary trek, but a team of researchers has discovered that the sharks have maintained such a consistent pattern of migration that over tens of thousands of years the white sharks in the northeastern Pacific Ocean have separated themselves into a population... view more... (2009-11-04)
Calm before the spawn: Climate change and coral spawning
What's the point of setting up marine reserves to protect coral reefs from pollution, ship groundings and overfishing if climate change could cause far more damage? A study published this week in London in Proceedings of the Royal Society B provides the answer. view more (2009-11-04)
Iron controls patterns of nitrogen fixation in the Atlantic
Scientists including researchers from the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton and the University of Essex have discovered that interactions between iron supply, transported through the atmosphere from deserts, and large-scale oceanic circulation control the availability of a crucial nutrient, nitrogen, in the Atlantic. view more (2009-11-03)
Climate variability impacts the deep sea
Deep-sea ecosystems occupying 60% of the Earth's surface could be vulnerable to the effects of global warming warn scientists writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. view more (2009-11-03)
African Desert Rift Confirmed as New Ocean in the Making
In 2005, a gigantic, 35-mile-long rift broke open the desert ground in Ethiopia. At the time, some geologists believed the rift was the beginning of a new ocean as two parts of the African continent pulled apart, but the claim was controversial. view more (2009-11-03)
North Atlantic Fish Populations Shifting as Ocean Temperatures Warm
About half of 36 fish stocks in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, many of them commercially valuable species, have been shifting northward over the last four decades, with some stocks nearly disappearing from U.S. waters as they move farther offshore, according to a new study by NOAA researchers. view more (2009-11-03)
Soil moisture and ocean salinity satellite ready for launch
A new European Earth observation satellite will be launched in the early hours of Monday morning (2 November 2009) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. view more (2009-10-30)
Whales are polite conversationalists
What do a West African drummer and a sperm whale have in common? According to some reports, they can both spot rhythms in the chatter of an ocean crowded with the calls of marine mammals -- a feat impossible for the untrained human ear. view more (2009-10-27)
Ocean acidification may contribute to global shellfish decline
Relatively minor increases in ocean acidity brought about by high levels of carbon dioxide have significant detrimental effects on the growth, development, and survival of hard clams, bay scallops, and Eastern oysters, according to researchers at Stony Brook University's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. view more (2009-10-27)
Saving Sand: South Carolina Beaches Become a Model for Preservation
While most people head to Myrtle Beach for vacation, a group of scientists have been hitting the famous South Carolina beach for years to figure out how to keep the sand from washing away. view more (2009-10-26)
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