As the world gets hotter, fish are getting smaller. The future of aquatic ecosystems – and fisheries – could depend on understanding how and why it’s happening.
Kevin Trenberth, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
2016 was the world’s warmest year on record, due in part to a very strong El Niño event. But 2023 (and 2024) could beat that record – what should we expect?
Warm water along the equator off South America signals an El Niño, like this one in 2016.
NOAA
One of the most damaging invasive species in the oceans has breached a major barrier – the Amazon-Orinoco river plume – and is spreading along Brazil’s coast. Scientists are trying to catch up.
Scientists have detected a 30% slowdown of the deep ocean currents that form in Antarctica, with profound consequences for Earth’s climate, sea level and marine life.
Surfing has a range of health benefits.
BART SADOWSKI PL/Shutterstock
Brain injury survivors report the sport can give constant opportunities for learning and a way to reevaulate emotions.
Diazotroph (Trichodesmium) bloom in the Coral Sea, captured on 1 September 2019 by the Landsat 8 satellite. The interaction between the physics and biology of the ocean is manifested in these green filaments that snake through the currents.
Joshua Stevens/NASA
Domitille Louchard, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich e Mar Benavides, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)
The ocean absorbs a quarter of the CO₂ emitted by humans, thanks in particular to phytoplankton, including diazotrophs. Knowing how to model them is crucial to understanding the ocean’s role in climate.
Craig Stevens, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
The world’s oceans regulate our climate, but they are entering uncharted territory, with record surface warming and changes to Antarctica’s deep meltwater which drives global currents.
Warning sign at Lido Key Beach in Sarasota, Fla., March 15, 2023, during a toxic algae bloom.
Jesus Olarte/AFP via Getty Images
The tiny organisms that cause harmful blooms of algae can have a big impact on your trip to the shore. A toxicologist explains what causes these events and how to keep people and pets safe.
Marine heat waves can reach the ocean floor as well as surface waters.
Sebastian Pena Lambarri via Unsplash
By analyzing small samples of killer whale fat, scientists can learn about the diets of different killer whale populations. This has implications for our understanding of changing ecosystems.
The Drake Passage, seen from Antarctica, is one of the most turbulent ocean regions on Earth.
Lilian Dove
Working with underwater robots, scientists show how deep sea mountains and fast currents between Antarctica and South America play a crucial role in stabilizing the climate.
In a plot reminiscent of the 2004 movie The Day After Tomorrow?, Australian scientists are warning that the Southern Ocean’s deep “overturning” circulation is slowing and headed for collapse.
Tiny pieces of plastic litter have a harmful impact on marine animals, including mussels.
Popova Tetiana/Shutterstock