http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/oceanography/ Oceanography news. Learn about ocean currents, coastal erosion, sea level rising and other topics in physical oceanography. en-us Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:05:01 EST Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:05:01 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/oceanography/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109121117.htm Large blooms of tiny marine plants called phytoplankton are flourishing in areas of open water left exposed by the recent and rapid melting of ice shelves and glaciers around the Antarctic Peninsula. This remarkable colonization is having a beneficial impact on climate change. As the blooms die back phytoplankton sinks to the sea-bed where it can store carbon for thousands or millions of years. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109121117.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110171741.htm California experienced centuries-long droughts in the past 20,000 years that coincided with the thawing of ice caps in the Arctic, according to analysis of stalagmites from a cave in the Sierra Nevada. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110171741.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110141840.htm Researchers have created a glacier in a freezer that could help scientists understand how glaciers slide across their beds. That could help researchers predict how climate change accelerates glacier sliding and contributes to rising sea levels. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110141840.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106095636.htm The seriousness of current global warming is underlined by a reconstruction of climate at Maxwell Bay in the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Peninsula over approximately the last 14,000 years, which appears to show that the current warming and widespread loss of glacial ice are unprecedented. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106095636.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106140757.htm Despite the fact that summer 2009 had more sea ice than in 2007 or 2008, scientists are seeing drastic changes in the region from just five years ago and at rates faster than anticipated. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106140757.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109194741.htm It sounds like a classic horror story -- eyeless, mouthless worms lurk in the dark, settling onto dead animals and sending out green "roots" to devour their bones. In fact, such worms do exist in the deep sea. They were first discovered in 2002 by researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, who were using a robot submarine to explore Monterey Canyon. But that wasn't the end of the story. After "planting" several dead whales on the seafloor, a team of biologists recently announced that as many as 15 different species of boneworms may live in Monterey Bay alone. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109194741.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106201613.htm Deep under the sea, a fossil the size of a sand grain is nestled among a billion of its closest dead relatives. Known as foraminifera, these complex little shells of calcium carbonate can tell you the sea level, temperature, and ocean conditions of Earth millions of years ago. That is, if you know what to look for. Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106201613.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105121207.htm The Alps are growing just as quickly in height as they are shrinking. This paradoxical result comes from a new study by a group of German and Swiss geoscientists. Due to glaciers and rivers, about exactly the same amount of material is eroded from the slopes of the Alps as is regenerated from the deep Earth's crust. The climatic cycles of the glacial period in Europe over the past 2.5 million years have accelerated this erosion process. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105121207.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171559.htm Deep-sea ecosystems occupying 60 percent of the Earth's surface could be vulnerable to the effects of global warming, warn scientists. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171559.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102172037.htm In 2005, a gigantic, 35-mile-long rift broke open the desert ground in Ethiopia. At the time, some geologists believed the rift was the beginning of a new ocean as two parts of the African continent pulled apart, but the claim was controversial. Now, scientists from several countries have confirmed that the volcanic processes at work beneath the Ethiopian rift are nearly identical to those at the bottom of the world's oceans. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102172037.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091103112237.htm Large-scale distributions of two important nutrient pools -- dissolved organic nitrogen and dissolved organic phosphorus have been systematically mapped for the first time over the Atlantic Ocean in a new study. The findings have important implications for understanding nitrogen and phosphorus biogeochemical cycles and the biological carbon pump in the Atlantic Ocean. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091103112237.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102111845.htm A rocket carrying the European Space Agency's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite blasted off successfully today. SMOS is the first-ever satellite to attempt to measure ocean salinity from space. It will provide global maps of soil moisture over land and surface salinity over the ocean. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102111845.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102121628.htm Scientists have discovered that interactions between iron supply, transported through the atmosphere from deserts, and large-scale oceanic circulation control the availability of a crucial nutrient, nitrogen, in the Atlantic. Their findings have potentially important implications for understanding global climate, both past and future. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102121628.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028140043.htm Researchers are using a remotely operated vehicle and satellite-linked data loggers to learn more about turtle behavior in commercial fishing areas and to develop new ways to avoid catching turtles in fishing gear. This marks the first time an ROV has been used to follow turtles in the wild to learn about their behavior and how they interact with their habitat Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028140043.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028112803.htm For the first time, a group of scientists working in the Kuril Islands off the east coast of Russia has documented the scope of tsunami-caused erosion and found that a wave can carry away far more sand and dirt than it deposits. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028112803.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091030095513.htm In October, the hydraulic benthic interactive sampler HyBIS made 10 dives over the Casablanca Seamount, a four-kilometer high seamount located some 300 miles west of Morocco. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091030095513.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029111907.htm A new European Earth observation satellite will be launched in the early hours of Monday November 2 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. The European Space Agency Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite will measure moisture levels in the Earth's soils and the saltiness of the world's oceans from space for the very first time. Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029111907.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028192617.htm An international team of environmental scientists has shown that sea-level rise in North Carolina is accelerating, a jump that appears to have occurred during a time of industrial change. Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028192617.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028112622.htm The United Kingdom's deepest diving Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, Autosub6000, has been put through its paces during an extremely successful engineering trials cruise on the RRS Discovery, Sept. 27 to Oct. 17, 2009. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028112622.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091023163509.htm While most people head to Myrtle Beach for vacation, a group of scientists have been hitting the famous South Carolina beach for years to figure out how to keep the sand from washing away. Their work is a model for beach preservation that can apply elsewhere. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091023163509.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026162546.htm Relatively minor increases in ocean acidity brought about by high levels of carbon dioxide have significant detrimental effects on the growth, development, and survival of hard clams, bay scallops, and Eastern oysters, according to researchers. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026162546.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917161736.htm Predicting harmful algal blooms, or HABs, in the Great Lakes is now a reality as NOAA announces an experimental HAB forecast system in Lake Erie. HABs produce toxins that may pose a significant risk to human and animal health through water recreation and may form scum that are unsightly and odorous to beach visitors, impacting the coastal economy. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917161736.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090902133639.htm Two related research expeditions by NOAA scientists to track the habitat preferences and movements of fish at Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary may help managers protect overfished species such as red snapper and grouper. Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090902133639.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090813142508.htm Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary is among the healthiest coral reef ecosystems in the tropical Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, according to NOAA researchers. Their report offers insights into the coral and fish communities within the sanctuary based on data collected in 2006 and 2007. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090813142508.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091020111420.htm Researchers are building the environmental equivalent of the ASX200 as a means of monitoring the health of Australian marine ecosystems. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091020111420.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022141121.htm The expansion of oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) affects the processes by which carbon is captured and sequestered on the seafloor. Researchers describe the metagenome of an abundant but uncultivated microbe from a fjord on the coast of British Columbia, Canada that is silently helping to shape the ecology of OMZs worldwide. Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022141121.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022101702.htm The fossil remains of some of the first animals with shells, ocean-dwelling creatures that measure a few centimeters in length and date to about 520 million years ago, provide a window on evolution at this time, according to scientists. Their research indicates that these animals were larger than previously thought. Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022101702.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090824205526.htm A team of German and British scientists have used fossilised shark teeth to reconstruct the climate of the North Sea during the Palaeogene period, between 40 and 60 million years ago. The results suggest that the North Sea was for a brief period isolated from surrounding oceans, resulting in surface-water freshening and a significant reduction in the diversity of life. Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090824205526.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091019123111.htm Scientists have produced the first preliminary predictions of the potential impact of climate change on the Australian seabed. Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091019123111.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930165036.htm NOAA and Norwegian researchers recently completed a comparative analysis of marine ecosystems in the North Atlantic and North Pacific to see what factors support fisheries production, leading to new insights that could improve fishery management plans and the ecosystems. Mon, 19 Oct 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930165036.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016140633.htm The combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the second warmest September on record, according to NOAA. Scientists also reported that the average land surface temperature for September was the second warmest on record, behind 2005. Additionally, the global ocean surface temperature was tied for the fifth warmest on record for September. Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016140633.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091015203837.htm The Arctic Ocean sea ice is thinning, new data show, supporting the emerging thinking that the Ocean will be largely ice-free during summer within a decade. Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091015203837.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091009120836.htm An international group of scientists aboard the Deep-Sea Drilling Vessel CHIKYU return from a 40-day scientific expedition off the shore of the Kii Peninsula, Japan on Oct. 10, 2009. Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091009120836.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091013132131.htm Rip currents -- powerful, channeled currents of water flowing away from the shore -- represent a danger to human life and property. Rip currents are responsible for more than one hundred deaths on our nation's beaches each year, and if rip currents persist long enough they can cause beach erosion. However, researchers found that rip currents along at least one beach in Long Island, New York lasted on average a little over one minute, not long enough to substantially alter the shoreline. Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091013132131.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091013201754.htm After 15 years of research in the waters of the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans, scientists have unveiled the largest genetic study of humpback whale populations ever conducted in the Southern Hemisphere. Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091013201754.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091012095703.htm A positive effect of climate change that is helping to support a £30m industry has been uncovered by new research. Ocean warming in UK waters is increasing stocks of the great scallop Pecten maximus, according to a study published in the journal Marine Biology. However the researchers have warned that further rises in water temperatures could have the opposite effect on scallops and better management of these fisheries is needed to protect sensitive seabed habitats. Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091012095703.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091012095533.htm Oxygen deficiency in the Baltic Sea has never been greater than it is now. But it is not an effect of climate change but rather of increased inputs of nutrients and fertilizers. Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091012095533.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091011184428.htm The strikingly banded rocks scattered across the upper Midwestern United States and elsewhere throughout the world are actually ambassadors from the past, offering clues to the environment of the early Earth more than two billion years ago. Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091011184428.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091009092348.htm A new study has found that sea levels have been rising across the south coast of England over the past century, substantially increasing the risk of flooding during storms. Sat, 10 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091009092348.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091008152242.htm You must go back 15 million years to find carbon dioxide levels as high as they are today, Earth scientists report. "The last time carbon dioxide levels were apparently as high as they are today and sustained at those levels, global temperatures were five to 10 degrees Fahrenheit higher than they are today," said Aradhna Tripati, UCLA assistant professor of Earth and Space Sciences and lead author. Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091008152242.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006201354.htm A new map plots the most accurate predictions yet for land uplift and subsidence and shows that southern Ireland and Wales, and southern and eastern England are continuing to sink, whilst Scotland is rising, at rates less than previously predicted. Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006201354.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091007153747.htm Starting this month, a giant NASA DC-8 aircraft loaded with geophysical instruments and scientists will buzz at low level over the coasts of West Antarctica, where ice sheets are collapsing at a pace far beyond what scientists expected a few years ago. The flights, dubbed Operation Ice Bridge, are an effort to image what is happening on, and under, the ice, in order to estimate future sea-level rises that might result. Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091007153747.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006201350.htm Scientists from the UK and Japan have recorded the first observations of how albatrosses feed alongside marine mammals at sea. Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006201350.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091007124729.htm A team of Spanish scientists from a variety of fields has analyzed the effects of human activity on the peridunal lagoons in the Doñana National Park. Results show that the lagoons are in the process of regressing, largely due to the extraction of underground water for the Matalascañas tourist resort (Huelva). Moreover, the natural effects of the ecosystem itself are further aggravating the situation. Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091007124729.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006122328.htm Despite a slight recovery in summer Arctic sea ice in 2009 from record-setting low years in 2007 and 2008, the sea ice extent remains significantly below previous years and remains on a trend leading toward ice-free Arctic summers, according to the University of Colorado at Boulder's National Snow and Ice Data Center. Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006122328.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091005161336.htm The anticipated sea-level rise associated with climate change, including increased storminess, over the next 100 years and the impact on the nation's low-lying coastal infrastructure is the focus of a new, interdisciplinary study led by geologists. Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091005161336.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091005211748.htm Early in the 20th century, a succession of adventurers and scientists pioneered the exploration of Antarctica. A century later, they're still at it, albeit with a different set of tools. This fall, a team of modern explorers will fly over Earth's southern ice-covered regions to study changes to its sea ice, ice sheets, and glaciers as part of NASA's Operation Ice Bridge. Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091005211748.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930102530.htm Wild salmon and farmed salmon can now be distinguished from each other by a technique that examines the chemistry of their scales. Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930102530.htm