Why can"t we just tow stranded whales and dolphins back out to sea?
On Tuesday night, a pod of almost 100 long-finned pilot whales stranded itself on a beach on Western Australia's south coast. Over the course of Wednesday, more than 100 parks and wildlife staff and 250 registered volunteers worked tirelessly to try.....»»
Dolphins sense military sonar at much lower levels than regulators predict, study shows
For the first time ever, a team including several UC Santa Cruz scientists have directly measured the behavioral responses of some of the most common marine mammals to military sonar. And the finding that surprised them most was that these animals we.....»»
Modeling study shows that marshes provide cost-effective coastal protection
Images of coastal houses being carried off into the sea due to eroding coastlines and powerful storm surges are becoming more commonplace as climate change brings a rising sea level coupled with more powerful storms. In the U.S. alone, coastal storms.....»»
Polar bears are sustaining ice-related paw injuries in a warming Arctic
Polar bears in some parts of the high Arctic are developing ice buildup and related injuries to their feet, apparently due to changing sea ice conditions in a warming Arctic. While surveying the health of two polar bear populations, researchers found.....»»
The case of a robot shark in a marine park raises questions about animal welfare
After five years of renovation, Shenzhen's Xiaomeisha Sea World finally opened its doors to the public. But the marine park soon found itself the object of international discussion as it was revealed their advertised real whale shark was actually a r.....»»
Right whales are migrating in new areas, prompting need for better protections, report finds
Endangered Atlantic right whales are venturing to new areas, researchers have found in a recently released report, and many of those areas do not have speed limits on vessels......»»
A blueprint for mapping melting ice sheets: Open-source tool can help make radar systems at a fraction of the cost
Researchers in the Stanford Radio Glaciology lab use radio waves to understand rapidly changing ice sheets and their contributions to global sea-level rise. This technique has revealed groundwater beneath Greenland, the long-term impacts of extreme m.....»»
Pilot expeditions work to preserve the white shark in the Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a paradise. Pristine waters and an incredible coastline spanning multiple continents are renowned the world over. Below those picturesque, and sometimes crowded, waters swims a legendary creature facing a treacherous and unce.....»»
How Cells Resist the Pressure of the Deep Sea
Cell membranes from comb jellies reveal a new kind of adaptation to the deep sea: curvy lipids that conform to an ideal shape under pressure......»»
Microplastic pollution is everywhere, even in the exhaled breath of dolphins
Bottlenose dolphins in Sarasota Bay in Florida and Barataria Bay in Louisiana are exhaling microplastic fibers, according to our new research published in the journal PLOS One......»»
Scientists find southern killer whales of the Pacific have access to enough food, deepening mystery of their struggles
A pair of marine mammal scientists at The University of British Columbia, has found that claims that a lack of access to salmon is what is driving the crash in population numbers for southern resident killer whales of the Pacific are wrong......»»
Ocean eddy currents funnel extreme heat and cold to the life-filled depths
On land, we're familiar with heat waves and cold snaps. But the deep sea also experiences prolonged periods of hot and cold......»»
Dolphins Are Exhaling Microplastics
New research highlights how extensive plastic pollution is—and how nonhuman species, including dolphins, are exposed......»»
Bizarre fish has sensory “legs” it uses for walking and tasting
Some sea robin species can use their legs to sense prey. Evolution has turned out bizarre and baffling creatures, such as walking fish. It only gets weirder from there. Some of th.....»»
Incorporating effects of sea spray into models to improve hurricane intensity forecasting
Hurricanes are massive, complex systems that can span hundreds of miles as they swirl around the low pressure of the storm's eye. In such a complicated situation, predicting how powerful a hurricane will grow is a difficult undertaking......»»
Roadside Assistance via satellite now available in the UK, with Green Flag
Apple last year launched its Roadside Assistance via satellite feature in the US, intended to provide help to those stranded by car trouble in areas without mobile coverage. That service has now been quietly extended to the UK. You’ll need an iP.....»»
Global temperature analysis reveals deep ocean marine heat waves are underreported
While marine heat waves (MHWs) have been studied at the sea surface for more than a decade, new research published today in Nature has found 80% of MHWs below 100 meters are independent of surface events, highlighting a previously overlooked aspect o.....»»
Study suggests dolphins could be exposed to potentially harmful microplastics through inhalation
U.S. researchers have detected microplastic particles in air exhaled by wild bottlenose dolphins, suggesting that inhalation may be a relevant route of exposure to these potentially harmful contaminants. Miranda Dziobak of the College of Charleston i.....»»
Ship-mounted camera systems help increase protections for marine mammals
Vessel strikes and entanglement are some of the leading causes of injury and death to marine animals such as whales. Increasingly urbanized waterways, warming oceans, changes in prey distribution—and in some cases, increasing species populations—.....»»
Reoxygenating oceans: Startups lead the way in Baltic Sea
European scientists have teamed up with two startups in a pioneering experiment to tackle one of the major problems facing sea life—the depletion of oxygen in the ocean, causing the disappearance of fish and marine biodiversity......»»
Ancient climate analysis reveals unknown global processes
According to highly cited conventional models, cooling and a major drop in sea levels about 34 million years ago should have led to widespread continental erosion and deposited gargantuan amounts of sandy material onto the ocean floor. This was, afte.....»»