Scientists are starting to use genetic information from bacteria to measure the health of vast areas of the ocean.
Tampa Bay’s sea grass meadows need sunlight to thrive. Algae blooms block that light and can be toxic to marine life.
Joe Whalen Caulerpa/Tampa Bay Estuary Program via Unsplash
Harmful algae blooms are an increasing problem in Florida. Once nutrients are in the water to fuel them, little can be done to stop the growth, and the results can be devastating for marine life.
Climate change has already made tropical oceans too hot for some marine species to survive. As they flee towards the poles, the implications for ecosystems and human livelihoods will be profound.
The grisly discovery of a disembodied foot on a NSW beach was a tragic twist in the mystery of missing woman Melissa Caddick. Such tragedies can also reveal hidden currents connecting the planet.
There are a lot of people, but the oceans are very big.
Rosley Majid/EyeEm via Getty Images
Even if every human being on Earth went for a dip in the ocean at the same time, they’d be just a drop in the bucket compared to the size of the planet’s seas.
Jeremiah Kiarie rounds up tilapia at Green Algae Highland fish farm in central Kenya on April 29, 2017.
Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images
Aquaculture is a growing source of healthy protein for millions of people around the world, but there are big differences between farming fish on land and at sea.
Female elephant seals take seven-month feeding trips during which they balance danger, starvation and exhaustion.
Dan Costa
By measuring how and when elephant seals sleep, researchers were able to figure out how elephant seals change their risk-taking behavior as they gain weight.
The Arctic is warming two to three times faster than any other place on Earth.
Kevin Xu Photography via Shutterstock
Some plastic sent overseas for recycling ends up as pollution, or goes up in toxic smoke. But there are steps we can take to ensure our waste is processed as intended.
In August 2019 in the port of Marseille. The docking of cruise ships intensifies air pollution.
Christophe Simon/AFP
Joël Guiot, Aix-Marseille Université (AMU) et Wolfgang Cramer, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)
The Mediterranean region, with its biodiversity, climate, demographics, and economic activities such as tourism, agriculture and fisheries, is particularly vulnerable to environmental risks.
ASEAN members could play a crucial role in reducing global marine plastic debris.
ANTARA FOTO/Noveradika/hp/11
The countries of the ASEAN region have important roles to play in tackling the global problem of marine plastic waste.
Two people walk their bicycles along a flooded street on the waterfront of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as Hurricane Irma passes through on Sept. 10, 2017.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Economic recovery and carbon neutrality are linked. Both depend on the ocean’s ability to continue to regulate climate.
A biologist examines microplastics found in sea species at the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research in Greece, Nov. 26, 2019.
Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP via Getty Images
Mar Benavides, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)
In the ocean, phytoplankton helped by diazotrophs play an outstanding role in withdrawing CO₂ from the atmosphere. But climate change is disturbing this delicate balance.