Tsunamis’ Magnetic Fields Can Be Detected Before Sea Levels Change

Seconds count when it comes to tsunami alerts, and scientists may have found a warning sign that can be detected even earlier than sea level rises: the magnetic fields created by these gigantic rushes of waves.   Even though the difference might only be a minute or two, that can save lives. Magnetic field data … Read more

‘Sea unicorns’ are especially sensitive to human noise | Science

One of the ocean’s most legendary creatures is also one of the most sensitive to human noise. A new study finds the unicornlike narwhal is affected by ship sounds more than most other whales and dolphins. The noises—which are growing more frequent as ships push further into the narwhal’s Arctic habitat—could disrupt the whales’ hunting … Read more

Spectacularly Rare, Enormous Eagle Shows Up in North America, 5,000 Miles From Home

Bird watchers in Massachusetts have been given an early Christmas present in the form of an incredibly rare sighting – a Steller’s sea eagle, which is native to Asia almost 8,000 km (5,000 miles) away.   The large sea eagles are native to the Kamchatka Peninsula in far eastern Russia, and also seen in Japan, … Read more

Archaeologists Find 2,000-Year-Old Lesson on Sea Level Changes Destroying Societies

Archaeologists have linked rising and lowering sea levels in the Atlantic Ocean to the ebbs and flows of ancient civilizations in southern Brazil. The findings, which incorporate several lines of past archaeological evidence, suggest even large, resilient, and cooperative coastal communities can easily go out with the tide.   When analyzing and dating a series … Read more

Glimpse of The Future as La Niña Raises Sea Levels in Western Pacific by Up to 20 cm

Severe coastal flooding inundated islands and atolls across the western equatorial Pacific last week, with widespread damage to buildings and food crops in the Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands.   On one level, very high tides are normal at this time of year in the western Pacific, and … Read more

Bizarre Transparent Fish That Sees Through Its Own Head Captured in Rare Footage

Thousands of feet beneath the surface of Monterey Bay off California, scientists recently captured footage of a fish with a bulbous, translucent head and green orb-like eyes that peer out through its forehead.   This bizarre creature, known as a barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma), is very rarely seen. Researchers with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research … Read more

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

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

Polar bears: Extreme lack of sea ice in Hudson Bay puts predators under pressure

Sea ice in Canada’s Hudson Bay has been unusually late to form, raising fears over the impact on polar bears that hunt for seals on the ice Environment 6 December 2021 By Adam Vaughan A lone polar bear along Hudson Bay Cindy Hopkins / Alamy An extreme lack of sea ice in Canada this winter … Read more

Deep sea mining: Race to exploit the sea floor puts ecosystems at risk

Governments are meeting in Jamaica this week to decide how rules for commercial mining of metals on the ocean floor will be thrashed out, but there are big sticking points Environment | Analysis 8 December 2021 By Adam Vaughan A field of manganese nodules in deep-sea waters near Hawaii NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and … Read more