A new study using marine sponges collected off the coast of Puerto Rico has found that the planet has already warmed more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Researchers analyzed ocean temperature records from sea sponges going back 300 years, a press release from The University of Western Australia (UWA) said. They concluded that global heating had […]
Mexico, the United States and Caribbean countries are being pummeled by hurricane waves that have increased in size by 80 percent over the past four decades, according to a first-of-its-kind global trend study led by China’s Hohai University. The researchers looked at long-term differences in the surface area and height of tropical cyclone waves on […]
Norway’s parliament voted Tuesday for a bill to allow deep-sea mining in the Arctic waters of the Norwegian Sea. The government has said it plans to move forward with mining of the seabed for minerals sustainably, requiring environmental studies before approving licenses. However, environmentalists have said this practice cannot be done without harming marine life. […]
The yellowfin tuna that is commonly used to make sashimi and other dishes like poke bowls may become scarce if overexploitation rates don’t improve, particularly in the Indian Ocean, a press release from international research initiative the Sea Around Us said. A new study by an international team of researchers has found that, since the […]
The sandy beaches of Spain’s northwestern Galicia region have been inundated with millions of plastic pellets, sometimes referred to as “nurdles” or “mermaid tears,” reported Reuters. The pellets ended up in the sea when a container fell off the Liberia-registered ship Toconao, BNN Breaking reported, and are the remnants of common plastic items like plastic […]
A new baby orca whale was spotted recently in Washington State’s Puget Sound with the southern resident orca whales’ J pod, reported The Seattle Times. According to researchers, the calf is likely only a few days old. Brad Hanson, a wildlife biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told The Seattle Times that the […]
A 7.6-magnitude earthquake that struck Japan’s Noto Peninsula on New Year’s Day has killed at least 55 people, reported Reuters. Freezing temperatures were making the efforts of approximately 3,000 rescuers to reach people trapped beneath demolished buildings in isolated coastal areas more difficult. Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said access to the secluded northern portion […]
The Arctic Ocean may be the planet’s smallest ocean, but it is an important carbon sink that absorbs up to 198 million tons of carbon annually, according to a press release from NASA. However, a recent study has shown that thawing permafrost and runoff rich with carbon from the Mackenzie River in Canada is triggering […]
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released its annual Arctic Report Card for 2023, and the findings show that amid rising global temperatures in what is likely to be the hottest year ever recorded, 2023 was the warmest summer on record for the Arctic. The 2023 Arctic Report Card found that warming, caused […]