Any decision to authorise offshore drilling and other activities contributing to climate change will now need to be assessed under the law of the sea in addition to international climate agreements.
A pair of North Atlantic right whales interact at the surface of Cape Cod Bay, in Massachusetts, in March, 2023. Global warming is rapidly acidifying the oceans with dire implications for marine life.
(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, NOAA permit #21371)
Global warming is making the oceans more acidic. Our work aims to design realistic systems to reduce this acidity, and remove carbon from the atmosphere in the process.
Healthy corals like these on Australia’s Lady Elliot Reef could disappear by the 2030s if climate change is not curbed.
Rebecca Spindler
Just as the world’s zoos breed critically endangered animals in captivity to repopulate the wild, scientists are building a global effort to freeze corals for reef restoration.
One set of ideas runs counter to the mainstream consensus that technology will save us from climate change. Can degrowth ever win enough converts to persuade humanity to change course?
The first comprehensive assessment of trends in Southern Ocean ecosystems reveals an urgent need to address climate change. The summary for policymakers can guide decision-makers.
New Zealand’s kelp forests provide food and shelter for many marine species of commercial and cultural value. But they are at risk from warming oceans, run-off from land and marine invaders.
Karen Fisher, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Marine governance in New Zealand is fragmented, with several agencies operating under various statutes. But a more collaborative, ecosystem-based approach to better protect the ocean is emerging.
Seabirds forage on an oyster shell island on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Jon G. Fuller/VW Pics/ Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Climate change is making oceans more acidic globally. Now, scientists are finding that large storms can send pulses of acidic water into bays and estuaries, further stressing fish and shellfish.
The ocean twilight zone could store vast amounts of carbon captured from the atmosphere, but first we need a 4D monitoring system to ensure ramping up carbon storage does no harm.
From planting mangroves to dumping minerals in the ocean, there are lots of ideas for ocean carbon dioxide removal – and even more questions.
Fish stocks are in decline around the world, in part because of the way we value nature and fail to account for their long-term benefits.
(Shutterstock)
Tiny seashells draw carbon to the ocean floor when they die. This is the most significant geological process of carbon storage today, and it might increase in a warmer world, as it did in the past.
The Ariane submersible robot, used for sampling, inspection or mapping missions, can descend to a depth of 2,500 meters.
Olivier Dugornay / Ifremer
For the opening of the One Ocean Summit in Brest from February 9 to 11, 2022, France’s marine research institute looks at promising avenues of research to protect the planet’s largest ecosystem.
Sponges are ancient marine animals and have already shown robustness against stresses from climate change. New research now shows they can also tolerate low-oxygen conditions.
The ocean has been buffering us from the impacts of climate change, but it is reaching the limit of this capacity. Integrating ocean and climate policy will be crucial.