DNA Shed by Deep-Sea Organisms Reveals a Dark Abyss Teeming With Tiny Life Forms

Sweeping the ocean floor at hundreds of points throughout the world, researchers have revealed an astonishing diversity of microscopic life thriving in the deepest and darkest parts of our planet.   The sediment collected at each spot was analyzed for environmental DNA (eDNA), which marine animals shed as they go about their lives. While sea … Read more

Ocean warming: Extreme marine heatwaves are the new normal

Since 2014, more than half of the ocean surface across the globe has recorded temperatures considered extreme compared with a historical average Environment 1 February 2022 By Adam Vaughan Map of the northern Pacific Ocean for May 2015, with red, pink and yellow colours indicating sea surface temperatures up to 3°C higher than average NASA … Read more

We May Finally Understand Why Clouds Are Different Between Earth’s Hemispheres

You might think that clouds are clouds all over Earth, but that’s not quite so. If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, the clouds there are different, more abundant, and more reflective than clouds found in the Northern Hemisphere, a fact scientists are well familiar with, but have not been able to fully explain.   Now, … Read more

Saturn’s ‘Death Star’ moon could have a secret underground ocean

Scientists have found “compelling evidence” that Saturn’s “Death Star” moon is hiding an ocean just beneath its surface, furthering the search for possible life in our solar system. Researchers say that Mimas, Saturn’s smallest, innermost moon — whose resemblance to Star Wars’ infamous battle station inspired its nickname — revealed the first clue that it could be a … Read more

Tiger Sharks, Tracked Over Decades, Are Shifting Their Haunts With Ocean Warming

Christopher Intagliata: For Scientific American’s 60-Second Science, I’m Christopher Intagliata. As it happens, tiger sharks have something in common with certain East Coasters.  Neil Hammerschlag: During the winter when it’s cold, they snowbird down near the Bahamas and off of Florida. And then during the summer, they migrate north. Intagliata: Neil Hammerschlag is director of the Shark Research & … Read more

Antarctic ‘Megaberg’ Released 152 Billion Tons of Freshwater Just Before Melting

Scientists have been keeping a close eye on the ‘megaberg’ designated as A68a since it split off from Antarctica back in July 2017 – and new research highlights just how much freshwater it’s released into the ocean during its late melting process.   Satellite monitoring systems indicate that for three months at the end of its … Read more

Shattered ‘alphabet soup’ iceberg flushed a lot of fresh water into the ocean

A rogue iceberg that drifted dangerously close to an Antarctic penguin population in 2020 and 2021 released billions of tons of fresh water into the ocean during its breakup. A new study, based on satellite data, tracks the aftermath of the once-mighty iceberg A-68a, which held the title of world’s largest iceberg for more than three years … Read more

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

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

The Moon That Resembles The Death Star Has Been Hiding Another Epic Secret

The Solar System may be an even soggier place than we suspected. New analysis of one of Saturn’s moons suggests that it may harbor a liquid ocean. No, not the usual suspects – the new culprit is Mimas, the little moon with a big crater, which gives it more than a passing resemblance to the … Read more

Moon’s crust may have formed from ‘slushy’ magma ocean long ago

The moon’s crust might have formed from an unevenly layered “slush” of magma that once covered the entire body, a new study reports. It’s the latest turn of the wheel on scientists’ picture of how the moon and its features formed, a picture that’s been continually changing ever since Apollo astronauts brought moon rocks back … Read more