Marine

A ‘Pristine’ Reef of Rose-Shaped Corals Was Just Found Off The Coast of Tahiti

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Scientists have discovered a vast reef of “pristine” rose-shaped corals apparently unharmed by climate change in deep water off the coast of Tahiti, UNESCO announced Thursday. Mapping approximately three kilometers (two miles) long and up to 65 meters (213 feet) wide, UNESCO said it was “one of the most extensive healthy coral reefs on record”. … Read more

How Marine Wildlife can Coexist With Offshore Wind [Sponsored]

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This podcast was produced for Ørsted by Scientific American Custom Media, a division separate from the magazine’s board of editors. April Reese: Offshore wind in the US is poised for a boom. States from Rhode Island on down to Virginia all have plans to ramp up offshore wind over the next decade, and the Biden administration … Read more

Ocean Temperatures Just Smashed a New Record For The Sixth Year in a Row

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Ocean temperatures the world over are building at a relentless rate as humans continue to alter the atmosphere around them. In 2021, according to a new summary of two international datasets, the wave of warmth in our oceans hit a new peak, eclipsing the influence of cooler regional episodes.   While last year’s ocean warming … Read more

Microbes in The Ocean Depths Can Make Oxygen Without Sun. This Discovery Could Be Huge

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For most of life on Earth, oxygen is essential, and sunlight is usually needed to produce that oxygen. But in an exciting twist, researchers have caught a common, ocean-dwelling microbe breaking all the rules.   Scientists have found that a microbe called Nitrosopumilus maritimus and several of its cousins, called ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA), are able to … Read more

Scientists Unearth a Ginormous Triassic Sea Monster That Once Roamed The ‘Superocean’

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A sea monster that lived during the early dinosaur age is so unexpectedly colossal, it reveals that its kind grew to gigantic sizes extremely quickly, evolutionarily speaking at least.    The discovery suggests that such ichthyosaurs – a group of fish-shaped marine reptiles that inhabited the dinosaur-era seas – grew to enormous sizes in a span of only 2.5 … Read more

Shockingly Abundant Life Found Thriving in Darkness Under an Antarctic Ice Shelf

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Deep under the ice of Antarctica’s Ekström Ice Shelf there is nothing but complete darkness. Well, complete darkness and a thriving ecosystem that’s existed for thousands of years, according to a new paper by researchers from the UK and Germany.   “This discovery of so much life living in these extreme conditions is a complete … Read more

Orcas: Marine mammals are spreading further into the Arctic Ocean as sea ice melts

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Orcas – also known as killer whales – used to be unusual visitors to the Arctic Ocean off Alaska, but they are becoming more common there, which might be bad news for local ecosystems Life 2 December 2021 By Chen Ly Orcas in Prince William Sound near Alaska Calvin W. Hall/Design Pics Inc/Alamy Orcas are … Read more