Oceans
- Climate
2018 was the fourth-hottest year on record, and it’s getting even hotter
Record-level rains and temperatures struck different regions of the world in 2018, the fourth warmest year on record.
- Climate
Collapsing ice cliffs may not contribute to sea level rise
Scientists debate a controversial hypothesis that suggests that massive crumbling ice cliffs could speed up future sea level rise.
- Climate
Climate change might not slow ocean circulation as much as thought
New measurements may call for a rethink of what controls ocean circulation in the North Atlantic.
- Animals
Young emperor penguins brave icy, winter waters in their first year
Young emperor penguins learn survival skills on their own, including how to navigate Antarctica’s icy winter ocean.
- Tech
Desalination pours more toxic brine into the ocean than previously thought
Desalination plants help offset the world’s growing water needs, but they also produce much more supersalty water than scientists realized.
- Oceans
Floating seabirds provide a novel way to trace ocean currents
Seabirds idly drifting with ocean currents provide a novel way to track and understand how these flows change with time and location.
- Animals
Nearly 200 Great Barrier Reef coral species also live in the deep sea
There are more coral species lurking in the deep ocean that previously thought. That could be good news for their shallow water counterparts.
- Oceans
Volcanic eruptions that depleted ocean oxygen may have set off the Great Dying
Massive eruptions from volcanoes spewing greenhouse gases 252 million years ago may have triggered Earth’s biggest mass extinction.
- Climate
Warm tropical Atlantic waters juiced the 2017 hurricane season
Anomalously warm ocean waters in the tropical Atlantic Ocean drove 2017’s hurricane powerhouses.
- Oceans
A massive net is being deployed to pick up plastic in the Pacific
As the Ocean Cleanup project embarks, critics remain unconvinced that scooping up debris is the best way to solve the ocean’s plastic problem.
- Animals
A gentoo penguin’s dinner knows how to fight back
Cameras attached to gentoo penguins off the Falkland Islands revealed that, despite the birds’ small size, their lobster krill prey can sometimes win in a fight.
- Climate
Chances of an Atlantic hurricane season busier than 2005’s are slim — for now
The 28 named tropical storms that swirled through the Atlantic Ocean in 2005 is about as many as the region can produce in a year.
