A group of researchers from Germany argues that small-scale oceanic circulation patterns called eddies are responsible for controlling the concentration of oxygen in so-called oxygen-minimum zones (OMZ) of the Atlantic Ocean. Water hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation, is slowly becoming a… Read More ›
Month: November 2013
“Yes,” Says Research, Fish Consume Plastic Debris
The fish, which are found in the ocean’s gyres, come to the surface to feed at night, where they ingest the plastic particles which resemble the size of their usual prey.
Several samples of the myctophids uncovered significant loads of plastic the size of appropriate particles inside the guts of the animal.
“We believe these organisms may hold part of the response to where is the plastic going, because … they are the dominant species in the gyres of the ocean.”
Humpback Whale “Fishing” Off Norfolk, UK Coastline
A humpback whale has been seen off the coast of Norfolk for the first time. The huge animal, estimated to be 50ft in length and weighing several tons, has been spotted numerous times just off the beach at Caister-on-Sea in… Read More ›
5 Easy Ways To Protect Our Oceans
Neptune 911 is about ocean education for everyone, from every continent’s coastline and all the earth between. The California Coastal Commission has offered five easy ways we can each help our ocean’s health: Leave beaches, parks, and neighborhoods cleaner than… Read More ›
540 Scientists Predict “Hot, Sour, Breathless” Oceans
Seth Borenstein reports for Associated Press: WASHINGTON (AP) — Greenhouse gases are making the world’s oceans hot, sour and breathless, and the way those changes work together is creating a grimmer outlook for global waters, according to a new… Read More ›
Microscopic Life in the Plastisphere
VAST AMOUNTS OF of plastic debris floating in the ocean are supporting new forms of microscopic life and whole new ecosystems. Scientists writing in the journal Environmental Science & Technology are collectively calling this new life the ‘plastisphere’. Previous studies have thoroughly… Read More ›
A Fleet of Drones Explore Atlantic Ocean
By WILLIAM HERKEWITZ ATLANTIC CITY — Five miles offshore from the Golden Nugget casino, Michael F. Crowley, a marine scientist at Rutgers University, heaves three lifeboat-yellow drones off the back of his research vessel. The gliders, as he calls them,… Read More ›
Why Are Pacific Coast Sea Stars Melting?
Starfish are dying in massive numbers due to a disease outbreak that melts the animals into a white goo, leaving researchers scrambling to explain the troubling phenomenon. Dubbed Sea Star Wasting Syndrome, the disease is most prominent on the Pacific… Read More ›
Sea Urchins Used for Acidification Research
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The violet bottom-dwelling, prickle-backed spheres wriggling in the tank in Gretchen Hofmann’s lab aren’t really known for their speed. But these lowly sea urchins adapt so quickly they’re helping answer a question that’s key to understanding ocean acidification:… Read More ›
Stairway to Plastisphere
Also seen in SLO New Times By Charmaine Coimbra A new report from UCLA School of Law’s Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment and UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability Plastic states, “Plastic litter is one of… Read More ›
Neptune 911! 