Ocean Policy News

September 17, 2024

Top Headlines

'Marine Identity' Can Help Restore the Ocean

Sep. 17, 2024 — People's deep connection with the ocean -- their 'marine identity' -- can help us reset society's relationship with the seas, new research ...

Dams Built to Prevent Coastal Flooding Can Worsen It

Sep. 13, 2024 — The common practice of building dams to prevent flooding can actually contribute to more intense coastal flood events, according to a new study. By analyzing data and measurements from Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, dating back more than a ...

New Discovery About Ice Layer Formation in Ice Sheets Can Improve Sea Level Rise Predictions

Sep. 12, 2024 — A newly discovered mechanism for the flow and freezing of ice sheet meltwater could improve estimates of sea level rise around the globe. Researchers have found a new mechanism that explains the ...

Protecting Just 0.7% of World's Land Could Help Save a Third of Most Unique and Endangered Species

Sep. 6, 2024 — Conservation efforts directed towards just 0.7% of the world's land mass could help protect one third of the world's threatened and unique tetrapod (four-limbed vertebrate) ...

Latest Headlines

updated 8:00pm EDT

Reef Tourism Encourages Climate Action

Sep. 3, 2024 — New research has revealed that informing tourists visiting the Great Barrier Reef about climate impact doesn't negatively affect their experience and can help encourage climate ...

Coastal Cities Must Adapt Faster to Climate Change

Aug. 27, 2024 — Coastal cities play a key role in the global economy and have important functions for society at large. At the same time, they are severely affected by the impact of climate change. That is why their ...

Scientists Call for an Update in Environmental Decision Making That Takes Human Rights Into Account

Aug. 23, 2024 — Researchers argue that to protect human wellbeing global decisions with the potential to impact the environment must be guided by our understanding ...

Highest Prediction of Sea-Level Rise Unlikely

Aug. 21, 2024 — A new study challenges as highly unlikely an alarming prediction of sea-level rise that -- while designated as low likelihood --earned a spot in the latest UN climate report for its projection that ...

U.S. Capable of Achieving Seafood Independence

Aug. 15, 2024 — If the U.S. became seafood independent, or meet its entire seafood needs through its own production, it could offer opportunities for improving dietary outcomes as well as individual and national ...

Protecting Surf Breaks Mitigates Climate Change, Helps Coastal Communities

Aug. 13, 2024 — Safeguarding places to hang ten and shoot the curl is an opportunity to simultaneously mitigate climate change, fuel tourism and help surrounding ecosystems, research has ...

Ships Now Spew Less Sulfur, but Warming Has Sped Up

Aug. 12, 2024 — New findings document fewer ship tracks, reduced cloud cover, and boosted warming after ship emissions regulations took effect in ...

Just Say 'Climate Change' -- Not 'Climate Emergency'

Aug. 12, 2024 — The familiar terms 'climate change' and 'global warming' are more likely to resonate with people than other commonly used ...

A New Way of Thinking About the Economy Could Help Protect the Amazon, and Help Its People Thrive

Aug. 6, 2024 — To protect the Amazon and support the wellbeing of its people, its economy needs to shift from environmentally harmful production to a model built ...

Link Between Global Warming and Rising Sea Levels

Aug. 2, 2024 — A new study suggests that Earth's natural forces could substantially reduce Antarctica's impact on rising sea levels, but only if carbon emissions are swiftly reduced in the coming decades. By the ...

Women in Global Fisheries Industry Fall Through the Safety Net

Aug. 27, 2024 — Millions of women who work in the fisheries industry are being left behind as technologies develop to counter the effects of climate change and economic pressures. A new study examines this global ...

Barriers Designed to Prevent Saltwater Intrusion May Worsen Inland Flooding

July 31, 2024 — Building protection barriers without accounting for potential inland flooding risks from groundwater can eventually worsen the very issues they aim to ...

California a Botanical and Climate Change Hot Spot

July 29, 2024 — Climate-driven shifts in California's biodiversity call for innovation and continued environmental stewardfship, says a new study. California's 30x30 Initiative and efforts to harmonize ...

Marine Protected Areas Producing More 'Trophy-Size' Fish, Research Finds

July 23, 2024 — Marine Protected Areas are having a positive spillover effect, producing more 'trophy-size' fish just outside of the fully protected areas, and the effect is growing stronger over time, ...

The Most Endangered Fish Are the Least Studied

July 17, 2024 — The most threatened reef fishes are also the most overlooked by scientists and the general public. Scientists measured the level of human interest in 2,408 species of marine reef fish and found that ...

Hatcheries Can Boost Wild Salmon Numbers but Reduce Diversity, Studies Find

July 11, 2024 — The ability of salmon hatcheries to increase wild salmon abundance may come at the cost of reduced diversity among wild salmon, according to a new ...

Scientists Call for 'Major Initiative' to Study Whether Geoengineering Should Be Used on Glaciers

July 11, 2024 — Scientists have released a landmark report on glacial geoengineering -- an emerging field studying whether technology could halt the melting of glaciers and ice sheets as climate change ...

Drowning in Waste: Pollution Hotspots in Aquatic Environments

June 28, 2024 — A new study explores waste management systems and reveals that achieving zero waste leakage by 2030 is unlikely, potentially jeopardizing related Sustainable Development Goals. The authors emphasize ...

Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Pose an Acute Challenge for Cities With Combined Sewer Systems

June 27, 2024 — Older coastal cities, like Philadelphia, New York and Boston are at risk of being inundated by untreated sewage during floods. Due in part to the design of their combined sewer systems and in part ...

Rising Health Care Prices Are Driving Unemployment and Job Losses

June 24, 2024 — Rising health care prices in the U.S. are leading employers outside the health care sector to reduce their payroll and decrease their number of employees, according to a new study. The study found ...

Satellites to Monitor Marine Debris from Space

June 17, 2024 — Detecting marine debris from space is now a reality, according to a new study. Until now, the amount of litter -- mostly plastic -- on the sea surface was rarely high enough to generate a detectable ...

A Conservation Market Could Incentivize Global Ocean Protection

June 13, 2024 — Thirty-by-thirty: protect 30% of the planet by 2030. While conservation is popular in principle, the costs of actually enacting it often stall even the most earnest efforts. Researchers have now ...

Researchers Use 3D Visualization to Predict, Prevent Hurricane Damage

June 10, 2024 — The researchers say 3D visualization of hurricanes and storm surges allows them to understand how flooding will impact coastal communities by allowing them to vividly see how each building and road ...

Rate of Global Warming Caused by Humans at an All-Time High, Say Scientists

June 4, 2024 — Global warming caused by humans is advancing at 0.26 C per decade -- the highest rate since records began, according to new research by over 50 leading international ...

Marine Protected Areas Don't Line Up With Core Habitats of Rare Migratory Fish, Finds New Research

May 29, 2024 — 62% of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) designated to protect rare migratory fish species are outside of their core habitats, according to a new modeling ...

Beach Erosion Will Make Southern California Coastal Living Five Times More Expensive by 2050, Study Predicts

May 22, 2024 — Southern California's iconic sandy coastlines are vanishing at an alarming rate, and it's a warning sign for coastal communities worldwide, new research ...

'Vigorous Melting' at Antarctica's Thwaites 'Doomsday' Glacier

May 20, 2024 — Glaciologists show evidence of warm ocean water intruding kilometers beneath grounded ice at Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. The findings suggest that existing climate models are underestimating ...

U.S. Drought-Monitoring System Outpaced by Climate Changes

May 20, 2024 — A new study reports that the U.S. Drought Monitor's weekly maps of nationwide drought conditions -- which help direct emergency federal aid -- have captured the steady march of climate change, ...

90% of Floridians Believe Climate Change Is Happening

May 14, 2024 — The latest 'Florida Climate Resilience Survey' found that 90% of Floridians believe that climate change is happening. Belief in human-caused climate change has surged among Florida ...

Transformation of Ocean Management Is Underway

May 9, 2024 — Despite its benefits and recognition as a keystone practice of ocean stewardship and conservation, adoption of ecosystem-based management has been slow to take hold. To support this change in ocean ...