The Southern (Antarctic) Ocean is our planet’s primary storage of heat and carbon, and it’s home to extraordinary life forms, from tiny algae and spineless creatures to penguins, seals and whales.
Hundreds of organizations are working around the world to restore damaged coral reefs. New research shows that rapid ocean warming threatens these efforts.
They’re more used to taking visitors to the reefs, but COVID-19 gave tour operators time to help check the condition of the corals. What they found doesn’t bode well.
Coral bleaching last summer was severe and widespread. And for the first time, severe bleaching has struck all three regions of the Great Barrier Reef.
A new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report makes clear human-induced climate change threatens the health and function of the ocean and cryosphere - the frozen regions of the Earth.
In a study that cultivated coral ‘gardens’ with varying numbers of species, plots with more species were healthier. This finding could inform strategies to help coral reefs survive climate change.
Karin Limburg, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Tiny calcified formations inside fishes’ ears can be used to trace a fish’s life history – and potentially, how climate change has affected its growth and development.
Lowell D. Stott, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Thousands of years ago, carbon gases trapped on the seafloor escaped, causing drastic warming that helped end the last ice age. A scientist says climate change could cause this process to repeat.
Craig Stevens, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research and Ben Noll, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
Marine heatwaves may become the new normal for the Tasman Sea and the ocean around New Zealand, and oceanographers are developing models to better predict their intensity.
Australia is facing an increase in extreme heat, fire danger weather, floods and marine heatwaves, according to the latest biennial snapshot from the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO.
Urbanisation is the main reason for rising temperatures and water pollution, but receives little attention in discussions about the health of water streams, reefs and oceans.
Marine sponges are ancient organisms that have survived mass extinctions. Many are more tolerant of climate change and may dominate over corals in future reef systems.
The 2016 heatwave that caused mass bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef didn’t just kill corals - it also significantly changed the makeup of fish communities that call these reefs home.
The 2016 bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef was the worst on record. Now a new analysis points the finger squarely at human-induced warming, and warns that the entire reef’s future is at stake.
Reef Life Survey, a citizen science project where hundreds of volunteer scuba divers survey thousands of ocean sites, has revealed new insights into marine mysteries.