oceans

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'Giant Ocean Conveyor Belt' May Fall Sooner Than Thought

Scientists pen open letter warning that risk of AMOC ocean current failing is 'underestimated'

(Newser) - Last year, climate scientists sent up a red flag over the potential collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, a network of ocean currents in peril from climate change. That warning indicated it could be decades before that happens, but a new analysis suggests such a "devastating"...

Lost Containers Give Up Crocs, or Sit on Sea Floor

Scientists, environmental activists want action taken to prevent spills

(Newser) - Russ Lewis has picked up strange things along the coast of Long Beach Peninsula in Washington state over the years: Hot Wheels bicycle helmets with feather tufts, life-size plastic turkey decoys made for hunters, colorful squirt guns. And Crocs, so many mismatched Crocs. If you find a single Croc shoe,...

In the World's Oceans, 'a Cause for Great Concern'

Earth's seas have busted temperature records every day over the past year, per BBC analysis

(Newser) - This past April was the hottest on record, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, making it the 11th month in a row to claim that designation. Now, using data from that same agency, the BBC finds that the Earth's oceans are fighting a similarly heated battle—...

As They Got to the Seafloor, He 'Knew We Were Making History'

Explorer, retired Navy Capt. Don Walsh, part of first crew to reach deepest part of ocean, is dead at 92

(Newser) - Retired Navy Capt. Don Walsh, an explorer who in 1960 was part of a two-man crew that made the first voyage to the deepest part of the ocean—to the "snuff-colored ooze" at the bottom of the Pacific's Mariana Trench—has died. He was 92. Walsh died Nov....

Tiny Island Has Innovative Plan to Protect the Ocean

Pacific island Niue wants people to sponsor oceans

(Newser) - The tiny Pacific island nation of Niue has come up with a novel plan to protect its vast and pristine territorial waters—it will get sponsors to pay. Under the plan, launched by Niue's Prime Minister Dalton Tagelagi on Tuesday in New York, individuals or companies can pay $148...

California's Waves Are Getting Bigger
In California, 13-Foot
Waves Are a 'Harbinger'
new study
Aug 4, 2023 1:15 PM CDT

In California, 13-Foot Waves Are a 'Harbinger'

Study says giant swells have become more common, with signs pointing to climate change

(Newser) - Waves are getting bigger, and surf at least 13 feet tall is becoming more common off California's coast as the planet warms, according to innovative new research that tracked the increasing height from historical data gathered over the past 90 years. Oceanographer Peter Bromirski at the Scripps Institution of...

The Ocean Is Changing Color
The Ocean Is
Changing Color
new study
Jul 24, 2023 12:02 PM CDT

The Ocean Is Changing Color

Scientists detect shift in most of world's oceans, and they point the finger at a warming climate

(Newser) - The ocean's color isn't what it used to be. In a study in Nature , scientists say they've detected a color shift in 56% of the world's oceans over the last 20 years, reports Space.com . And while seawater can be a variable thing, the pace of...

UN Chief Says New Treaty Gives Oceans a 'Fighting Chance'

Members adopt first treaty to protect high seas marine life

(Newser) - Members of the United Nations adopted the first-ever treaty to protect marine life in the high seas on Monday, with the UN's chief hailing the historic agreement as giving the ocean "a fighting chance." Delegates from the 193 member nations burst into applause and then stood up...

Scientists: Trash Mess in Space Mirrors Problem in Oceans

Cleanup effort must start with a binding global treaty, experts say

(Newser) - There have been calls to action to clean up the trash in the world's oceans, and now researchers are warning of the urgency to do the same thing in space. The efforts are more similar than they might sound, Time reports. "As a marine biologist I never imagined...

Antarctic Seafloor Mapped in Unprecedented Detail

New deepest spot revealed along with seamounts and channels

(Newser) - We have the clearest view yet of what's below the Antarctic or Southern Ocean , one of the most remote and harsh regions on Earth, thanks to a five-year mapping effort that, among other things, revealed a previously unknown deepest point. The Factorian Deep at the southern end of the...

US Marine Animals Are Drowning in Plastic—Literally

Report mentions 1.8K cases of animals consuming or being entangled in plastic since 2009

(Newser) - Plastic pollution is taking a disastrous toll on marine animals in the US, particularly those threatened with extinction, according to a new report . It tells of 1,792 cases in which 40 different species of animals consumed or were entangled in plastic since 2009. Of those, 88% involved animals that...

Cousteau's Grandson Wants to Build This
Cousteau's Grandson
Wants to Build This
longform
Aug 30, 2020 2:40 PM CDT

Cousteau's Grandson Wants to Build This

Fabien Cousteau seeks funding for a $135 million underwater station

(Newser) - The legendary Jacques Cousteau loved working underwater amid incredible sea life. Now his grandson Fabien—himself an accomplished aquanaut and ocean conservationist—is revisiting that passion by trying to fund an aquatic habitat the Smithsonian calls an "international space station of the sea." The Proteus station would include...

Scientists Learn How 'Snot Palaces' Are Made
Scientists Turn Up
Stunning 'Snot Palaces'
new study
Jun 6, 2020 2:30 PM CDT

Scientists Turn Up Stunning 'Snot Palaces'

They do more with 4 inches than you'd expect

(Newser) - Master builders of the sea construct the equivalent of a complex five-story house that protects them from predators and funnels and filters food for them—all from snot coming out of their heads. And when these delicate mucus homes get clogged, the tadpole-looking critters—called giant larvaceans—build a new...

24-Year-Old Relaunches Device to Trap Ocean Plastic

After 4 months of repair, Boyan Slat's floating boom is back at it in the Pacific Ocean

(Newser) - A floating device designed to catch plastic waste has been redeployed in a second attempt to clean up a huge island of trash swirling in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii. Boyan Slat, the 24-year-old creator of the Ocean Cleanup project, announced on Twitter that a 2,000-foot-long floating...

Deepest Dive Ever Makes Sad Discovery
At 35K Feet, Divers
Make Grim Discovery
in case you missed it
May 18, 2019 12:35 PM CDT

At 35K Feet, Divers Make Grim Discovery

But explorer Victor Vescovo also makes history

(Newser) - Those candy wrappers you threw out? The deepest deep-sea dive ever may have just found them, the BBC reports. American explorer Victor Vescovo journeyed down a record 35,853 feet in the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench on May 1 and stumbled on two signs of human presence on Earth—...

Why a World Leader Just Gave Speech Underwater

Seychelles President Danny Faure makes plea to protect oceans from a submersible

(Newser) - In a striking speech delivered from deep below the ocean's surface, the Seychelles president on Sunday made a global plea for stronger protection of the "beating blue heart of our planet." President Danny Faure's call for action, the first live speech from an underwater submersible, came...

Scientists Heading to One of the Last 'Unexplored Frontiers'

Nekton Mission will investigate Indian Ocean ecosystems

(Newser) - Scientists prepared Thursday to embark on an unprecedented, years-long mission to explore the Indian Ocean and document changes taking place beneath the waves that could affect billions of people in the surrounding region over the coming decades. The ambitious expedition will delve into one of the last major unexplored frontiers...

The 'Argo' Network Has Bad News About This Water
New Ocean
Measurements
Are Bad News
new study
Jan 12, 2019 5:30 PM CST

New Ocean Measurements Are Bad News

Oceans are heating up faster than we knew, scientists say

(Newser) - Oceans are heating up about 40% faster than previously measured, scientists say—which only seems to confirm the world's biggest headache. Published Thursday in Science , a review of recent studies says ocean temperatures are more in sync with dire climate model simulations than scientists knew. The new measurements confirm...

Ocean Study Has Horrific Implications for Climate Change Fight
Ocean Study Has
Horrific Implications
for Climate Change Fight
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Nov 4, 2018 8:43 AM CST

Ocean Study Has Horrific Implications for Climate Change Fight

Heat is going into oceans, not space, researchers say

(Newser) - A recent United Nations report warned that the world had just a dozen years left to avoid some of the most catastrophic effects of climate change. A new study suggests that assessment was far too optimistic. Researchers using a new method to calculate the amount of heat absorbed by the...

Biggest Fish in the Ocean Continues to Confound Us

Scientists tried new research techniques on the whale shark, but they haven't learned much yet

(Newser) - It's the biggest shark—and the biggest fish—in the sea. Yet despite its hulking appearance, the whale shark has only tiny, almost useless teeth and is sometimes so docile that entire boatloads of people can swim alongside the enigmatic, spotted beast. It's also one of the least...

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