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A bloom of harmful algae can be seen just offshore in this summer 2018 image of a Florida shoreline.
  Robin Hamman/Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)
 
Oceans
Sep 19, 2018
New tools aim to better predict blooms of toxic algae
Better understanding the threats from ‘toxic tides’ can protect the environment — and our health
a red-footed booby chick sitting in a tree
The poop of seabirds, such as this red-footed booby chick, contains nitrogen that leaches into coral ecosystems. That nitrogen helps the reefs stay robust.
N. Graham
 
Ecology
Aug 1, 2018
Bird poop helps keep coral reefs healthy, but rats are interfering
Nitrogen from bird guano makes for more productive reef ecosystems
upwelling
Upwelling brings cold water from the depths of the ocean to the surface. Those cold waters are rich in nutrients, which helps life thrive. Here, areas of upwelling in the ocean highlighted in red.
NOAA
Scientists Say
 
Earth
Jul 23, 2018
Scientists Say: Upwelling
This is a process in which something moves up and out
researchers stand in the water with a narwhal
Researchers put a sound recording device on a male narwhal to capture its underwater clicks, buzzes and calls.
S. Blackwell
 
Animals
Jul 20, 2018
Here’s what narwhals sound like underwater
Multi-day eavesdropping reveals a range of clicks, calls and buzzes
ocean octopuses
Sixteen out of these 17 deep-sea octopuses are brooding young. However, young and old, all are fated to die.
Phill Torres, Geoff Wheat
 
Animals
Jun 18, 2018
Deep-sea expedition led researchers to doomed octopus nursery
The good news: A healthy population of octopods may be nearby
041818_CG_krill_feat.jpg
A single swimming brine shrimp moves the water near its body. The green lines trace the movement over time of particles in the water as the shrimp swims. Large numbers of the animals moving together could create currents strong enough to stir oceans.
Isabel Houghton
 
Oceans
May 30, 2018
Small swimmers may play huge role in churning the seas
Masses of shrimp and krill stir up currents that could loft nutrients up from the deep
staghorn coral
Staghorn coral may be able to last 100­ to 250 years thanks to its ability to adapt to warming waters, a new study shows. Here, a healthy staghorn grows off Magnetic Island in the central part of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
M. Matz et al/PLOS Genetics 2018
 
Oceans
May 18, 2018
Ocean heat waves are on the rise — and killing coral
But some coral species may be survivors, new research shows
beach garbage
Fishing nets and ropes make up nearly half of the mass of plastic in the Pacific Ocean’s notorious garbage patch, a new study suggests.
NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Program/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
 
Pollution
Apr 30, 2018
Pacific garbage patch may be 16 times bigger than thought
Fishing nets and ropes make up roughly half of the debris
global fishing map
This map shows where fish were harvested from the world’s oceans in 2016. To make the map, researchers tracked the activity of more than 70,000 fishing vessels. Colored dots represent the average hours of fishing activity within an area spanning 10,000 square kilometers (3,860 square miles).
Global Fishing Watch
 
Oceans
Mar 21, 2018
More than half the world’s ocean area is actively fished
New mapping highlights location — and intensity — of those fishing efforts
Cuban corals
A colorful coral reef in Cuba provides housing for numerous creatures, as well as refuge for young fish, such as the silvery ones schooling in the background.
Courtesy of Noel López Fernández
 
Ecosystems
Mar 15, 2018
Exploring the mysteries of Cuba’s coral reefs
Lessons that scientists learn here could help them safeguard other such ‘animal forests'