ocean

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Fifth of Coral Reefs Dead: Study

Pollution leads to warmer, more acidic seas, scientists say

(Newser) - A fifth of the world’s coral reefs have died or been destroyed, says a study released to the UN yesterday. In it, marine scientists warned that the future of marine life and the $30 billion economic value of reefs are increasingly threatened by climate change. The report also zeroed...

Hit Pirates With Somalia Blockade
 Hit Pirates With 
 Somalia Blockade 
OPINION
Dec 4, 2008 12:18 PM CST

Hit Pirates With Somalia Blockade

Policing them where they hold their prey is more effective than ocean patrols

(Newser) - The Somali pirates terrorizing shipping lanes are clever, Peter Fromuth writes in the Washington Post, but their biggest advantages are those pirates have enjoyed throughout history: “big seas, many prey, and few protectors.” There are too many targets for warships to mount effective patrols on open waters. Instead,...

Ocean Census Surprises Scientists
Ocean Census Surprises Scientists
Nov 10, 2008 10:32 AM CST

Ocean Census Surprises Scientists

Effort to chart all undersea life by 2010 finds 5K new species

(Newser) - Somewhere under the Antarctic Ocean, brittle starfish completely cover a submerged mountain. In the Pacific, sharks congregate in a region with few food sources but plenty of opportunity for romance. Those facts, along with an accounting of more than 5,000 newly discovered species, are part of the results of...

Noisy Humans 'Drowning Out' Marine Mammals

Report urges humans to turn down industrial volume in world's oceans

(Newser) - Whales and dolphins are seriously suffering from the noise that human industry and militaries release into the ocean, an animal-welfare group warns—and we need to turn the volume down before we do irreversible damage. Sonar is implicated for mass stranding and deaths of whales and dolphins, the BBC reports,...

Bucki the Whale Escapes Baltic for Open Ocean

The humpback strayed into the small sea in July

(Newser) - Bucki's going home, a little thinner but seemingly none the worse for wear. The humpback whale, which strayed into the Baltic Sea in July, has finally made his way back into the Atlantic Ocean, Der Spiegel reports. The whale is only the third in modern history spotted in German waters...

Poisonous Invader Cruises Caribbean

(Newser) - A poisonous, fast-multiplying species known as the red lionfish has invaded the warm waters of the Caribbean and poses a serious threat to the native sealife and the fragile ecosytem, reports the AP. "This may very well become the most devastating marine invasion in history," said one expert....

Jellyfish Surge Is Ocean Call for Help

Ocean is 'sending us a message,' warns expert

(Newser) - Jellyfish populations are surging because of rising sea temperatures and overfishing, which leaves them with few predators and no competition for plankton, reports the New York Times. Fishermen are finding nets “filled with more jellyfish than fish,” said one, and swimmers are reporting increasing numbers of jellyfish stings,...

Fish Found at Record Depth
 Fish Found at Record Depth
Jul 31, 2008 1:50 PM CDT

Fish Found at Record Depth

New device can retrieve live creatures from high-pressure deep-sea zones

(Newser) - Scientists have captured a live fish from a record 7,500 feet under the Atlantic Ocean, the BBC reports. A new device allows recovery of live creatures from much farther down than was previously possible. The expedition to learn more about life around hydrothermal vents deep beneath the ocean also...

Fears Mount Over Gulf of Mexico 'Dead Zone'

Only Dolly kept oxygen-free area from becoming largest ever

(Newser) - Scientists are  increasingly concerned about the growing "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico, an oxygen-poor mass of water that cannot sustain most sea life, which now covers 8,000 square miles, nearly the largest ever. Created by fertilizer runoff from the Mississippi, the zone would be even bigger...

Overfishing Oceans Leads to 'Rise of Slime'

Depleted stocks throw ecosystems out of whack

(Newser) - Overfishing results in more than just the depletion of one species—it can mean the degradation of entire ecosystems. As the populations of large, predatory fish such as sharks and tuna decline, their prey flourishes, with sometimes-devastating results. The Christian Science Monitor looks at the problem of the world's increasingly...

Out of Land, Monaco Eyes Ocean

Tiny, rich principality wants landmark on stilts, but environmental concerns loom

(Newser) - Monaco, flush with cash from tourism and its status as a tax haven, is trying to acquire the one thing it lacks: space. Its square mile of space is full (it's the world's second-most-densely populated country), moving Prince Albert II to decide to build an artificial offshore district—on stilts,...

Ocean Sharks Face Extinction
 Ocean Sharks Face Extinction 
May 22, 2008 1:40 PM CDT

Ocean Sharks Face Extinction

Study finds severe effects of intentional, unintentional fishing

(Newser) - Ocean sharks are threatened with extinction, with 11 species designated “high-risk” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and five more also in danger. Sharks are dwindling from intentional fishing, which targets them for their meat and fins, and “bycatch” fishing that lands them in nets meant...

Pollution Decreasing Off US Shores: Study

Past 20 years have seen general contaminant decline

(Newser) - Levels of pesticides and other toxic chemicals in US coastal waters are generally decreasing, McClatchy reports. A 20-year study by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's Mussel Watch looked at levels of 140 chemicals and found decreasing trends. Laws banning many of the chemicals were passed in the 1970s, but...

Ocean Dead Zones Expanding
 Ocean Dead Zones Expanding 
May 2, 2008 9:28 AM CDT

Ocean Dead Zones Expanding

Climate-related trend mirrors causes of past massive extinction

(Newser) - The inhospitable oxygen-starved layers of the oceans, once relegated to the deep sea, are now encroaching on coastlines, reports the Los Angeles Times. The dead zones, linked to global warming, have moved up into continental shelves, a study in Science says. They interfere with commercial fishing and entice predators that...

Shark Kills Man; SoCal Beaches Closed

First area fatality since 1994 sparks fears of great white rampage

(Newser) - Beaches north of San Diego were closed today after a man was fatally injured by a shark, the Union-Tribune reports. While witnesses could identify “the culprit” only as a “big gray shark,” an expert contacted by the Los Angeles Times said, “This almost certainly was a...

Sea of Plastic Dooms Oceans, Expert Says

Pacific pollution—as big as Africa—is too deep and broad to fix

(Newser) - A noted oceanographer says the aquatic pollution in the Pacific Ocean is too significant to be cleaned up. “We are damned to a future of pollution by plastic,” Charles Moore said after showing that the amount of Pacific plastic has ballooned fivefold in the last 10 years. A...

Fewer Sharks, But More Attacks
Fewer Sharks, But More Attacks
Feb 27, 2008 4:26 PM CST

Fewer Sharks, But More Attacks

Growing human presence in water will keep encounters rising, scientists say

(Newser) - Shark populations are way down, but attacks on humans are up, LiveScience reports. There were 71 shark attacks worldwide in 2007, continuing a four-year upswing, says shark expert George Burgess, although populations of the fish have shrunk 50% during the past 20 years. Even so, as human populations expand rapidly,...

Trawling Scars Ocean Floors
Trawling Scars Ocean Floors
Feb 20, 2008 2:22 PM CST

Trawling Scars Ocean Floors

'Most destructive' common fishing method destroys underwater ecosystems

(Newser) - Scientists can now see the destruction caused to the ocean floor by bottom trawling in satellite photos, LiveScience reports. The pictures show huge plumes kicked up from the ocean's bottom as fishing nets dragged along the floor wreak havoc on undersea ecosystems. "Bottom trawling is the most destructive of...

Bizarre Antarctic Sea Life Found
Bizarre Antarctic Sea Life Found
Feb 20, 2008 10:51 AM CST

Bizarre Antarctic Sea Life Found

New species discovered just as they're threatened by global warming

(Newser) - A host of bizarre giant creatures lurk in the little-known waters of Antarctica, the Daily Telegraph reports. Thousands of specimens have been gathered by a mission to study Antarctic marine life before it is wiped out—including giant sea spiders the size of dinner plates, huge sea worms, and mammoth...

Oceans Get Gloomy Report
Oceans Get Gloomy Report
Feb 15, 2008 9:20 AM CST

Oceans Get Gloomy Report

Global warming, pollution, fishing all affect marine life

(Newser) - More than 40% of marine ecosystems are being dramatically altered by a combination of pollution, fishing, and global warming, researchers warn in a new study. In fact, no area of the ocean remains unaffected by human activity, reports National Geographic. The biggest problem is global warming, which not only changes...

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