oceans

More than half of the deep blue sea is turning green, but scientists aren’t sure why. In the past two decades, 56 percent of Earth’s oceans have become greener — an area larger than the planet’s total land mass, according to a new study by a team of scientists from the United States and the […]

We already know that plastic is a top threat to marine life, with over 12.7 million metric tons of plastic waste entering the oceans each year. But a new study has found that 92% of global coral reefs surveyed, even remote reefs, are covered in plastics. The study, published in the journal Nature, surveyed 84 […]

A new study, led by researchers at the University of Washington, has linked mass seabird die-offs to marine heat waves. The study, published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series, analyzed data collected from residents along coasts from Alaska to central California from 1993 to 2021. The researchers were looking to find if these marine […]

For the first time since 2016, El Niño conditions are brewing in the tropical Pacific Ocean, which means the world is likely in store for rising temperatures and an increase in extreme weather, the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported in a press release. The last major El Niño event was the hottest year […]

Quick Key Facts What Is ‘Carbon Sequestration’? Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing atmospheric carbon dioxide — the most commonly produced greenhouse gas — and storing it in the Earth. Most of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is formed by the combustion of fossil fuels, primarily coal and petroleum. The amount of atmospheric […]

Rising demand for metals like nickel, cobalt, copper and manganese to make batteries used in smartphones and electric vehicles, along with depleting land-based deposits, has led to increased interest in deep-sea mining. But research suggests that the process of extracting mineral deposits from the ocean floor could destroy habitats and decimate species. According to a […]

According to a new study by the Global FinPrint project, overfishing is causing coral reef sharks to be driven toward extinction much more than previously thought.

“Blue foods,” or foods sourced from aquatic environments, are an important dietary component for more than 3.2 billion people on Earth. But the vast majority of global marine food supplies are threatened by climate change, according to a new study.  The study found that more than 90% of blue foods — including fished and farmed […]