Oceans

A massive Antarctic glacier is less stable and could potentially cause more and more rapid sea level rise than previously predicted, a study published Monday in Nature Geoscience finds. The Thwaites Glacier, known as the “doomsday glacier” because it holds enough water to raise global sea levels by multiple feet, is especially susceptible to rising ocean […]

In Indonesia, three bottlenose dolphins that had spent years of their lives in a resort hotel pool and as part of a traveling circus are now swimming free. They were released off the coast of Bali after spending time in a rehabilitation center since their rescue in 2019. The dolphins, named Johnny, Rocky and Rambo, […]

Humans have long been thought to be distinct from other animals in our ability to form complex, multilevel alliances in order to reach shared goals.  However, new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Monday shows that male bottlenose dolphins do the same thing, and they do it for a very […]

The fifth round of United Nations talks that began in New York on August 15 and were aimed at securing a UN Ocean Treaty to protect marine life in the international waters of the High Seas has ended in another stalemate, reported The Guardian. The treaty would have established regulations for the protection of biodiversity […]

Manatees, large herbivores that grace the world’s coastal marine waters, estuaries, rivers, swamps and marine wetlands, are gentle creatures often referred to as “sea cows.” Their enormous size — an average manatee is ten feet long and weighs 1,200 pounds — might remind you of their closest relative, the elephant. According to Ocean Today, manatees […]

One of the biggest concerns about the climate crisis is that warming temperatures could trigger additional releases of greenhouse gas emissions that would in turn generate more warming. One example is the melting of the Arctic permafrost. Another is the release of methane from the world’s oceans. Now, scientists have found evidence that this latter […]

Plastic pollution is an international problem, as trillions of pieces of plastic have made their way into the ocean from commercial and household waste, blown from landfills and trash cans into sewers and rivers and out to sea. Marine animals can ingest and become entangled in ocean plastic, leading to sickness, starvation and death. Plastic […]

By Jessica Corbett As the fifth and final round of talks for an international treaty to protect the high seas began at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on Monday, conservationists across the globe warned world leaders that this may be the “last chance” for a necessarily ambitious agreement. The ocean has absorbed over 90% of heat from […]