Modified sponge could recover oil contaminants from Arctic waters
Researchers have developed a sustainable and economical way to recover oil from ultra-cold industrial wastewater and oil spills......»»
Q&A: Arctic capillaries—an eye-opening symptom in a swiftly changing landscape
As the pace of warming in the Arctic continues to surpass the global average, a complex and expansive network of capillary-like features is emerging across the landscape. These new and rapidly evolving features have the potential to accelerate change.....»»
Why are sharks coming to Boston Harbor? Researchers believe it"s a nursery ground
Once unthinkable when the harbor was nasty and polluted, today's cleaner waters have actually become a desirable shark habitat as young sharks migrate here yearly......»»
Thanks to humans, Salish Sea waters are too noisy for resident orcas to hunt successfully
The Salish Sea—the inland coastal waters of Washington and British Columbia—is home to two unique populations of fish-eating orcas, the northern resident and the southern resident orcas. Human activity over much of the 20th century, including red.....»»
An Amazon river dries up, creating hellish crossing for villagers
Only the youngest and strongest villagers now brave the crossing of a vast, blistering stretch of sand where, in normal times, the waters of the mighty Madeira River flow in the Brazilian Amazon......»»
Shallow waters make the best carbon sinks, researchers find
Marine phytoplankton take up atmospheric carbon and carry it to the seafloor when they die and sink (a process known as organic carbon sedimentation). This biological carbon pump is a powerful part of Earth's carbon cycle, yet scientists don't have a.....»»
With the right plants, wetlands can recover, says researcher
Wetlands, such as bogs and marshes, have largely disappeared in the Netherlands. With humidification and the growth of the right plants, wetlands can be restored. This is evident from research by Renske Vroom, who will receive her doctorate on this s.....»»
The Golden Age of offbeat Arctic research
The Cold War spawned some odd military projects that were doomed to fail. Enlarge / At the US Army’s Camp Century on the Greenland ice sheet, an Army truck equipped with a railroad wheel conversion rides on 1,300 feet of track.....»»
Aggressive seagrass species discovered in Biscayne Bay
An invasive species of seagrass has been on a steady march across the world, taking over ecosystems well beyond its native waters of the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. Scientists have long wondered when it would reach the waters off the coas.....»»
New filter removes chemical contaminants from water even at very low concentrations
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products pose a major environmental threat. These chemicals, found in everyday items like medicines and cosmetics, can pollute waterways, harming the plants and animals living in the waterways and the humans who use.....»»
How plant coverage is affecting the Arctic carbon cycle
Researchers at Columbia University's Department of Earth and Environment Science have discovered new implications for the Arctic carbon cycle in the face of climate change. Their paper, published in Communications Biology, shows how differing plant c.....»»
Study of cloud movement in the Arctic could provide better understanding of climate change in the region
Special features of the Arctic climate, such as the strong reflection of the sun's rays off the light snow or the low position of the sun, amplify global warming in the Arctic. However, researchers are often faced with the challenge of modeling the u.....»»
Last voyage of an ocean drilling ship? Here"s why scientists don"t want to see the JOIDES Resolution mothballed
My favorite place in the world isn't a fixed location. It's the JOIDES Resolution, an internationally funded research ship that has spent its service life constantly on the move, from deep in the Antarctic to high in the Arctic......»»
NASA mission gets its first snapshot of polar heat emissions
NASA's newest climate mission has started collecting data on the amount of heat in the form of far-infrared radiation that the Arctic and Antarctic environments emit to space. These measurements by the Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-Infrared Experim.....»»
Thousands of jellyfish clones are multiplying in British Columbia lakes
An invasive, freshwater jellyfish is popping up in B.C. waters in the thousands and future sightings could increase rapidly, according to UBC research......»»
Why do typhoons like to cluster? Researchers identify key weather patterns
This August, Japan and South Korea, particularly Japan, have experienced a dramatic surge in typhoon activity. From August 8 to August 13, within just six days, Typhoons Maria, Son-Tinh, Ampil, and Wukong consecutively formed over the waters east of.....»»
New marine species found "hidden" in plain sight
An international team of researchers delved into museum collections and discovered new species of sponge-associated zoantharian, a small colonial organism similar to anemones......»»
A celebrity "Russian spy" whale spotted with harness found dead in Norwegian waters
A white beluga whale named "Hvaldimir," first spotted in Norway not far from Russian waters with a harness that ignited rumors he may be a Moscow spy, has been found dead......»»
The Mediterranean dried out 5.5 million years ago, offering sobering lessons for humanity today
What would happen if humans dried out the Mediterranean sea, turning it into a giant salt lake? Would its wildlife survive, and if so, how long would it take to recover?.....»»
New species of Antarctic dragonfish highlights its threatened ecosystem
A new species of Antarctic dragonfish, Akarotaxis gouldae or Banded Dragonfish, has been discovered in waters off the western Antarctic Peninsula by researchers at William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS). The species, named in ho.....»»
Promising antibiotic candidates discovered in microbes deep in the Arctic Sea
Antibiotics are the linchpin of modern medicine: without them, anyone with open wounds or needing to undergo surgery would be at constant risk of dangerous infections. Yet we continue to face a global antibiotics crisis, as more and more resistant st.....»»