Oceanography News

May 1, 2025

Top Headlines

One of Earth's Ancient Volcanic Mysteries Solved

Apr. 30, 2025 — A new study traces a 120-million-year-old 'super-eruption' to its source, offering new insights into Earth's complex geological ...

'Scratching' More Than the Ocean's Surface to Map Global Microplastic Movement

Apr. 30, 2025 — An international team of scientists has moved beyond just 'scratching the surface,' to understand how microplastics move through and impact the global ocean. For the first time, scientists have ...

When Sea Stars Fall, Sea Otters Rise: Sea Otters Benefit from Prey Boom Triggered by Loss of Ochre Sea Stars

Apr. 30, 2025 — In 2013, a sea star wasting syndrome decimated populations of Pisaster along the west coast of North America and along the Monterey Peninsula in California, where this study was conducted. The orange ...

'Cryosphere Meltdown' Will Impact Arctic Marine Carbon Cycles and Ecosystems, New Study Warns

Apr. 25, 2025 — A new study has found worrying signs that climate change may be undermining the capacity of Arctic fjords to serve as effective carbon sinks. The findings suggest that the capacity of polar oceans to ...

Latest Headlines

updated 8:50pm EDT

Trawling-Induced Sediment Resuspension Reduces CO2 Uptake

Apr. 24, 2025 — When bottom trawls are dragged across the seafloor, they stir up sediments. This not only releases previously stored organic carbon, but also intensifies the oxidation of pyrite, a mineral present in ...

Melting Glaciers at the End of the Ice Age May Have Sped Up Continental Drift, Fueled Volcanic Eruptions

Apr. 23, 2025 — Scientists believe that the motion of Earth's continents through plate tectonics has been largely steady over millions of years. New research, ...

Why Are Patagonian Glaciers Rapidly Losing Mass?

Apr. 23, 2025 — Over the past two decades, satellite-based planetary observations have recorded rapid mass loss of Patagonian glaciers, contributing approximately 0.07 mm per year to global sea-level rise. A study ...

How Activity in Earth's Mantle Led the Ancient Ancestors of Elephants, Giraffes, and Humans Into Asia and Africa

Apr. 21, 2025 — What roils beneath the Earth's surface may feel a world away, but the activity can help forge land masses that dictate ocean circulation, climate ...

First Confirmed Footage of a Colossal Squid -- And It's a Baby!

Apr. 16, 2025 — An international team of scientists and crew on board Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor (too) was the first to film the colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) in its natural ...

Pioneering Research Reveals Arctic Matter Pathways Poised for Major Shifts Amidst Climate Change

Apr. 14, 2025 — A new study has shed unprecedented light on the highly variable and climate-sensitive routes that substances from Siberian rivers use to travel ...

Fishing for Cephalopod DNA Allows for Efficient Marine Surveying

Apr. 14, 2025 — New DNA probes allow for efficient surveying of the hidden lives of squids and octopuses in the deep sea. This development provides an effective tool for marine ecological research and conservation ...

Deep-Sea Mining Risks Leads Study to Urge Shift to Circular Solutions

Apr. 14, 2025 — Deep sea mining operations are expected to increase the negative impact on environmental indicators by up to 13 per cent, a change categorized as having 'great' significance, relative to the ...

Crustal Brines at an Oceanic Transform Fault

Apr. 11, 2025 — A team presents new details of an oceanic transform fault at the Gofar fault in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The work reveals unexpected brine deposits beneath the seafloor near the fault, which could ...

New Projections Reveal More Extreme Erosion on O'ahu's Shores

Apr. 11, 2025 — O'ahu's sandy beaches are at risk. New research has determined that 81% of O'ahu's coastline could experience erosion by 2100, with 40% of this loss happening by 2030. Importantly, these forecasts of ...

New Study on Natural Oil Seeps in the Deep Sea

Apr. 10, 2025 — What is the role of dissolved organic matter in the deep sea? In a study relating to this question, researchers have investigated the composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in detail. Their ...

Coral Reefs Exude Myriad Chemicals, Fueling Dynamic Microbial Recycling of Nutrients

Apr. 9, 2025 — New research revealed the remarkable chemical diversity of substances exuded by coral reefs and demonstrated that thousands of different chemicals derived from tropical corals and seaweeds are ...

With New Database Researchers May Be Able to Predict Rare Milky Seas Bioluminescent, Glowing Event

Apr. 9, 2025 — Milky seas are a rare bioluminescent phenomenon where vast areas of the ocean glow at night, sometimes for months. This glow, likely caused by Vibrio harveyi bacteria, has been reported by sailors ...

One-Third of Australia's Coastal Terrestrial Aquaculture at Risk from Sea Level Rise by 2100

Apr. 7, 2025 — New research has highlighted more than 43% of Queensland, Australia's current productive aquaculture sites are expected to be impacted by sea level rise. Of the projected inundation caused by ...

Riding the AI Wave Toward Rapid, Precise Ocean Simulations

Apr. 3, 2025 — Scientists have developed an AI-powered fluid simulation model that significantly reduces computation time while maintaining accuracy. Their approach could aid offshore power generation, ship design ...

Southern Ocean Warming Will Mean a Wetter West Coast, US

Apr. 2, 2025 — As global temperatures warm, the Southern Ocean -- between Antarctica and other continents -- will eventually release heat absorbed from the atmosphere, leading to projected long-term increases in ...

New Computer Model Reveals How Bronze Age Scandinavians Could Have Crossed the Sea

Apr. 2, 2025 — People living in Bronze Age-era Denmark may have been able to travel to Norway directly over the open sea, according to a new study. To complete this study, the research team developed a new computer ...

Thinner Arctic Sea Ice May Affect Global Ocean Circulation

Mar. 31, 2025 — One of the ocean currents in the Arctic Ocean is at risk of disappearing this century because of climate change, according to a new study. As a result, the North Atlantic could be flooded with ...

Drone Experiment Reveals How Greenland Ice Sheet Is Changing

Mar. 28, 2025 — A new study measured water vapor in Greenland's air, collecting data crucial for improving climate models and forecasting Arctic ...

Melting Ice, More Rain Drive Southern Ocean Cooling

Mar. 27, 2025 — Researchers found increased meltwater and rain explain 60% of a decades-long mismatch between predicted and observed temperatures in the ocean around ...

Ocean Eddies -- The Food Trucks of the Sea

Mar. 25, 2025 — How is organic matter transported from productive coastal areas to the open ocean? Researchers have now shown that eddies play a crucial role in this process. The swirling currents contain large ...

Ecosystem Disrupted Following the Disappearance of Great White Sharks

Mar. 25, 2025 — A new study has uncovered evidence of far-reaching ecosystem consequences following the disappearance of Great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) from False Bay, South Africa. The research spans ...

5,700-Year Storm Archive Shows Rise in Tropical Storms and Hurricanes in the Caribbean

Mar. 24, 2025 — A storm, even once it has passed, can leave traces in the ocean that last for thousands of years. These consist of sediment layers composed of coarse particles, which are different from the finer ...

Aotearoa Once Home to Elephant Seals

Mar. 20, 2025 — Southern elephant seals are the 'canary in the coal mine' for the Southern Ocean, offering insight into how the ecosystem may react to future climate change and human impact, new research ...

Study Identifies Viruses in Red Tide Blooms for the First Time

Mar. 20, 2025 — Identifying viruses associated with red tide can help researchers forecast the development of blooms and better understand environmental factors that can cause blooms to terminate. The study marks an ...

Coastal Guardians Pioneer a New Way to Protect the Florida Keys' Shorelines

Mar. 18, 2025 — Nature-based solutions like restoring mangroves, and hybrid solutions, protect vulnerable shorelines. However, they need careful planning to be effective. A new GIS-based tool, combined with varied ...

Top Locations for Ocean Energy Production Worldwide Revealed

Mar. 17, 2025 — Until now, a global evaluation of ocean current energy with actual data was lacking. Using 30 years of NOAA's Global Drifter Program data, a study shows that ocean currents off Florida's ...

'Surprising' Cause of Sargassum Blooms in Caribbean

Mar. 13, 2025 — Researchers identified a strong negative North Atlantic Oscillation in 2009--2010 as the tipping point that pushed sargassum into the tropical Atlantic, confirming vertical mixing, not rivers, as the ...

Earth's 'Dirty Mirror' Effect Is Accelerating Climate Change

Mar. 11, 2025 — Cloudy areas over oceans are reflecting less sunlight to space than ...

Arctic Sea Ice Loss Drives Drier Weather Over California and Wetter Over Spain and Portugal

Mar. 11, 2025 — On decadal timescales, the loss of Arctic ice favors the climate of the south-west of the United States -- and California in particular -- becoming drier on average, especially in winter. This ...