SITKA, AK — It’s early morning in southeast Alaska. Stars have yet to fade from the night sky. A group of scientists sets out in search of a different kind of star. Sea stars, commonly known as starfish, have been… Read More ›
Warming Oceans
Southern Hemisphere Oceans ‘Warming Quickly’
Durack and Lawrence Livermore colleagues worked with a Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist to compare ocean observations with ocean models. They concluded that the upper levels of the planet’s oceans — those of the northern and southern hemispheres combined — had been warming during several decades prior to 2005 at rates that were 24 to 58 percent faster than had previously been realized.
35,000 Walrus Haul Out on Beach–Not Ice
Pacific walrus that can’t find sea ice for resting in Arctic waters are coming ashore in record numbers on a beach in north-west Alaska. An estimated 35,000 walrus were photographed on Saturday about five miles north of Point Lay, according… Read More ›
“Giant Hotspot” in Alaskan Waters Attracts Unusual Species
“The Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea have become … unusually warm in a way that has species showing up in very odd places and could have lasting implications for fisheries in both places,” said Michael Milstein of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. “Parts of the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea are close to 5 degrees F higher than average. Warm conditions like this in the past have had effects on fisheries.”
“Unusual Summertime Warming” off California Coast
From JPL, California Institute of Technology Unusual summertime warming off California Coast (September, 2014) Visit Neptune 911 for Kids, for a “kids version” of this story. Date: Thursday, September 4, 2014 Recently an episode of intensified coastal warming off California… Read More ›
Gulf of Maine’s Prize Seafood Leaves for Cooler Seas
FRIENDSHIP, Maine — Imagine Cape Cod without cod. Maine without lobster. The region’s famous rocky beaches invisible, obscured by constant high waters. It’s already starting to happen. The culprit is the warming seas — and in particular the Gulf of… Read More ›
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 ›
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 ›
Puffin Population Stressed by Changing Ocean
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Atlantic puffin population is at risk in the United States, and there are signs the seabirds are in distress in other parts of the world. In the Gulf of Maine, the comical-looking seabirds have been… Read More ›
Neptune 911! 