Category: Physical Oceanography

Harp seal pup.  Photo credit: Matthieu Godbout.

Decrease in Sea Ice Increases Harp Seal Mortality Rates

Emily Tripp Senior Writer Over the last 32 years, warming in the North Atlantic has dramatically reduced winter sea ice cover in harp seal breeding grounds.  According to a new study from Duke University, this has led to a sharp rise in death rates among seal pups. “The kind of mortality we’re seeing in eastern [...]

Montipora capitata growing over Porites lobata.  Photo Credit: NOAA.

Coral Disease Threatens Hawaiian Corals

Emily Tripp Senior Writer Another outbreak of coral disease has damaged the reefs of Kane’ohe Bay, O’ahu. In March 2010, an outbreak of acute Montipora White Syndrome (MWS) destroyed over 100 colonies of rice coral, Montipora capitata.  The same disease has reappeared and is killing corals again in Kane’ohe Bay. To date, the outbreak has [...]

Hydrothermal Vent.  Photo Credit: NOAA.

New Discoveries at Unique Hydrothermal Vents

Emily Tripp Senior Writer In the first expedition to the “Dragon Vent” in the south-west Indian Ocean, scientists have discovered an incredible number of creatures.  Some are known to live in these inhospitable regions and some are entirely new to science. The exploration was led by Dr. Jon Copley, a marine biologist from the University [...]

Coral Reefs at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park off Key Largo, FL. Photo Credit: Todd Murray.

Florida Reefs Suffer in Cold Snap

Emily Tripp Senior Writer A new study from researchers at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) details the loss of coral reef species during the 2010 cold snap.  Their results are published in the August 2011 issue of PLoS ONE. “It was a major setback,” said Diego Lirman, associate professor [...]

Photo Credit: NASA

Latest Model Indicates Ice Caps Can Recover

By Henry Workman Marine Science Today Writer Today, the body of evidence that points towards the climate change driven melting of the polar ice caps is substantial, and continues to grow.  The environmental implications of this process have been consistently shown to be severe, and the problems associated with the subsequent rise in sea levels [...]

Hydrogen “Fuel Cells” in the Deep Ocean

Hydrogen “Fuel Cells” in the Deep Ocean

Emily Tripp Senior Writer Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Marine Microbiology and the Cluster of Excellence MARUM recently discovered mussels living near hydrothermal vents that have their own “fuel cells.”  Their results were published in the current issue of Nature. These real-life fuel cells are in the form of symbiotic bacteria whose energy [...]

Attempts to put out the fire, April 21, 2010. Photo Credit: USCG, Petty Officer 3rd Class Tom Atkeson

Did Bacteria Really Consume the Methane Released from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill?

Emily Tripp Senior Writer Scientists are arguing against a widely publicized study which concluded that bacteria consumed the methane released from the Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico.  This argument was sparked by a comment published in the May 27 issue of the journal Science. Samantha Joye, marine scientists, lead author, University of Georgia Athletic [...]

Coral Reefs in Papua New Guinea. Photo Credit - Mila Zinkova

Ocean Acidification Predicted to Destroy Coral Reef Diversity

Emily Tripp Senior Writer A new study from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS) concluded that ocean acidification and increasing ocean temperatures will likely decrease diversity and resilience of coral reef ecosystems within the century. The study was completed by RSMAS scientists Chris Langdon, Remy Okazaki and Nancy Muehllehner [...]

Boats pulled to higher ground in anticipation of the tsunami. Photo by Diego Grez.

Japanese Seafood Industry Still Suffering Effects of Tsunami

The earthquake and corresponding tsunami in Japan on March 11 have severely damaged the Japanese seafood industry, in addition to the already devastating human toll. Previously, Japan was considered to have one of the most vibrant seafood markets in the world.  The recent disaster has damaged all parts of the industry, from processing to importing. [...]

Illustration by Matt Rosen. www.cartoonsbymatt.deviantart.com

Gulf Oil Spill One Year Later

What was possibly the worst maritime oil spill in history began one year ago in a poorly drilled well deep in the Gulf of Mexico.  The explosion killed 11 workers and sank the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, causing a leak that spewed 206 million barrels of oil before it was capped, 87 days later. A [...]