Some good may come from climate change after all. Dead zones, the most oxygen deprive portions of our world’s oceans, may actually be due for some shrinkage due to changing atmospheric patterns and water temperatures, according to a recently study…. Read More ›
Condition of Oceans
Capt. Moore: “Great Pacific Garbage Patch (is) Much Worse”
Editor’s Note: Captain Charles Moore recently completed the most recent research tour “Gyre Voyage 2014.” The following is a reduced version of the blog Captain Moore posted August 15, 2014. To read the entire blog click this link: Final Blog… Read More ›
Gulf Oysters Impacted Since 2010 BP Oil Spill
Fisherman Randy Slavich drags a clunky metal net through an underwater oyster bed in Lake Machias, a brackish body opening into the Gulf of Mexico. For generations, this has been a bountiful lake for harvesting oysters, long before millions of… Read More ›
Mercury “Tripled” Near Ocean Surfaces
Deep waters in the North Atlantic showed more mercury content than similarly deep waters of the South Atlantic and the Southern and Pacific Oceans…
Plastics: Choking the Sea–and Us
With 10-20 tons of plastic entering our oceans every year, the dire results are now obvious. This video showcases the latest statistics and data about how plastics are choking our seas, and likely us.
Acidification Impacting Alaska Fisheries
Studies show that red king crab and tanner crab, two important Alaskan fisheries, grow more slowly and don’t survive as well in more acidic waters. Alaska’s coastal waters are particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification because of cold water that can absorb more carbon dioxide, and unique ocean circulation patterns which bring naturally acidic deep ocean waters to the surface.
Underwater Gliders For Ocean Research
After tests about 40 miles offshore Galveston, Texas A&M oceanographers declared two new Slocum gliders ready to deploy in the Gulf of Mexico. A team of scientists and technicians from the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group (GERG), Department of Oceanography,… Read More ›
Acidification & Low-Oxygen Threatens Lowcountry Shellfish
That’s not a dire prediction linked to climate change. It’s already starting to happen as the ocean gets more acidic. And for the Lowcountry, ocean acidification might not even be the real threat. It might be what scientists call the one-two punch of acidification and low oxygen in the estuaries, the nursery for the shellfish we eat – shrimp, oysters, clams.
Sea Stars Dying from Warming Waters?
ORCAS ISLAND, Wash. — Drew Harvell peers into the nooks and crannies along the rocky shoreline of Eastsound on Orcas Island. Purple and orange starfish clutch the rocks, as if hanging on for dear life. “It’s a lot worse than… Read More ›
The Complexities of Ocean-Healing Conversation
(From Smithsonian Magazine / by Nancy Knowlton) – For European colonists, the oyster reefs of the Chesapeake Bay made ship navigation hazardous. Not for long, however. Overharvesting, pollution and disease took a heavy toll, reducing numbers to less than… Read More ›