Antarctica"s ocean brightens clouds
The teeming life in the Southern Ocean, which encircles Antarctica, contributes to brightening the clouds that form there, according to a study published today in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. The clouds are bright because of their high density.....»»
Cloud-inspired method of guiding light: Waveguiding mechanism could provide new ways to look inside the human body
Scientists have taken inspiration from the way sunlight passes through clouds to discover an entirely new way of controlling and guiding light......»»
Antarctic krill genes could reveal how they"re responding to climate change
As Antarctic krill face unprecedented challenges in the Southern Ocean, a new project has been launched to better understand these important invertebrates......»»
International SWOT satellite spots planet-rumbling Greenland tsunami
The international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission, a collaboration between NASA and France's CNES (Center National d'Études Spatiales), detected the unique contours of a tsunami that sloshed within the steep walls of a fj.....»»
Scientists witness stunning, unprecedented carnage in the ocean
Scientists observed the largest-ever predatory event in the ocean when a mass of Atlantic cod consumed over 10 million capelin in the Barents Sea off of Norway. On an unassuming morning off the Norwegian coast, millions of small fish called cap.....»»
To tackle plastic scourge, Philippines makes companies pay
Long one of the world's top sources of ocean plastic, the Philippines is hoping new legislation requiring big companies to pay for waste solutions will help clean up its act......»»
Astrophysics study explores turbulence in molecular clouds
On an airplane, motions of the air on both small and large scales contribute to turbulence, which may result in a bumpy flight. Turbulence on a much larger scale is important to how stars form in giant molecular clouds that permeate the Milky Way......»»
Global fleet of undersea robots reveals the phytoplankton hidden beneath the ocean"s surface
Phytoplankton—microscopic plant-like organisms—are the foundation of the marine food web, sustaining everything from tiny fish to multi-ton whales while also playing a critical role in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere......»»
Recent whale deaths highlight risks from Antarctica"s booming krill fishery
Two humpback whales were found dead and another seriously injured this year in huge nets used to collect krill for fishmeal and omega-3 pills near Antarctica, The Associated Press has learned......»»
"New wave" as start-up sweeps up Thai ocean plastic
As a long-tail boat arrives at a fishing village on the southern Thai island of Koh Chang, residents gather to sell their wares—not seafood, but plastic......»»
Sinuses prevented prehistoric crocodile relatives from deep diving, paleobiologists suggest
An international team of paleobiologists have found that the sinuses of ocean-dwelling relatives of modern-day crocodiles prevented them from evolving into deep divers like whales and dolphins......»»
Uranus" moon Miranda may have an ocean beneath its surface, study finds
A new study suggests Uranus' moon Miranda may harbor a water ocean beneath its surface, a finding that would challenge many assumptions about the moon's history and composition and could put it in the company of the few select worlds in our solar sys.....»»
How far south did Polynesian seafarers sail?
Prehistoric Polynesian seafarers were highly skilled and undertook some of the longest and most technically demanding voyages in prehistory—but did they ever sail into very high latitudes with landfall in Antarctica, as some scholars have argued?.....»»
Researchers find Weddell seals avoid extreme dives at midday
Erebus Bay, Antarctica, is home to the southernmost population of the world's southernmost living mammal—the Weddell seal. These seals may look like couch potatoes when they are resting on the ice, but Weddell seals go to great lengths to make a li.....»»
The Cloud Latency Map measures latency across 100+ cloud regions
Kentik launched The Cloud Latency Map, a free public tool allowing anyone to explore the latencies measured between over 100 cloud regions worldwide. Users can identify recent changes in latencies globally between various public clouds and data cente.....»»
Newly discovered cyanobacteria could help sequester carbon from oceans and factories
An international coalition of researchers from the United States and Italy has discovered a novel strain of cyanobacteria, or algae, isolated from volcanic ocean vents that is especially adept at growing rapidly in the presence of CO2 and readily si.....»»
Oceanographers record the largest predation event ever observed in the ocean
There is power in numbers, or so the saying goes. But in the ocean, scientists are finding that fish that group together don't necessarily survive together. In some cases, the more fish there are, the larger a target they make for predators......»»
From fish to clean water, the ocean matters—how to quantify the benefits
Nature protection, conservation and restoration is "not a trivial matter but key to human survival," according to scientists quoted in a 2005 UN report. To demonstrate this, they developed the concept of "ecosystem services"—the benefits that peopl.....»»
Treat or Trick? Astronomical Objects Are Beautiful—And Creepy
If you’ve ever seen faces in clouds, these heavenly entities will leave you haunted.....»»
Melting Arctic sea-ice could affect global ocean circulation, study warns
The warming climate in polar regions may significantly disrupt ocean circulation patterns, a new study indicates. Scientists discovered that in the distant past, growing inflows of freshwater from melting Arctic sea-ice into the Nordic Seas likely si.....»»
A cooling shift: Slowing ocean circulation may temper Arctic temperature rise
The Arctic is warming at three to four times the global average. However, new research suggests the slowing of a key ocean current could reduce projected Arctic warming by up to 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century......»»