Oceans

Oceans are large bodies of salt water covering approximately 71% of Earth’s surface and forming the main component of the hydrosphere. They regulate climate and weather by storing heat and circulating water, carbon, and nutrients, and support most marine life, including plants, animals, and microscopic organisms. Oceans are divided into horizontal zones, such as continental shelves and open ocean, and vertical zones, including the photic, mesopelagic, and aphotic layers. Ocean currents transport water, heat, gases, and nutrients globally, while human activities along coasts and in open waters impact ecosystems and contribute to pollution, overfishing, and climate change effects such as warming, acidification, and sea level rise.

Image: Buck's horn plantain (Plantago coronopus)
Combined effects of plastic pollution and seawater flooding amplify threats to coastal plant speciesScience

Combined effects of plastic pollution and seawater flooding amplify threats to coastal plant species

Two of the planet’s more pressing environmental stressors have the potential to alter the growth and reproductive output of plants found right along the world’s…
SourceSourceAugust 2, 2024 Full article
Image: Glacier
Underwater mapping reveals new insights into melting of Antarctica’s ice shelvesScience

Underwater mapping reveals new insights into melting of Antarctica’s ice shelves

By University of East Anglia Clues to future sea level rise have been revealed by the first detailed maps of the underside of a floating…
SourceSourceAugust 1, 2024 Full article
Image: rat tail fish
Deep-sea discovery calls into question origins of lifeNewsScience

Deep-sea discovery calls into question origins of life

By Euan Paterson | Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) A discovery in the dark depths of the Pacific Ocean is challenging the scientific consensus…
SourceSourceJuly 22, 2024 Full article
Image: blue and white bubbles in water
Deep ocean ‘dark oxygen’ find could rewrite Earth’s historyNewsScience

Deep ocean ‘dark oxygen’ find could rewrite Earth’s history

By Juliette Collen | AFP Paris, France - In the total darkness of the depths of the Pacific Ocean, scientists have discovered oxygen being produced…
SourceSourceJuly 22, 2024 Full article
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Canada designates largest marine protected zoneNews

Canada designates largest marine protected zone

Montreal, Canada (AFP) - Canada said Thursday it had designated the country's largest marine protected zone off the coast of Vancouver, as it moves to…
SourceSourceJuly 12, 2024 Full article
Image: corals, clownfish
Coral reefs: battlegrounds for survival in a changing climateClimate

Coral reefs: battlegrounds for survival in a changing climate

By Harrison Tasoff | University of California - Santa Barbara Coral reefs, those vibrant underwater cities, stand on the precipice of collapse. While rising ocean…
SourceSourceJuly 9, 2024 Full article
Image: Ocean
Weaker ocean circulation could enhance CO2 buildup in the atmosphere, study showsClimate

Weaker ocean circulation could enhance CO2 buildup in the atmosphere, study shows

New findings challenge current thinking on the ocean’s role in storing carbon. By Jennifer Chu | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) As climate change advances,…
SourceSourceJuly 8, 2024 Full article
Image: clown fish on coral reef
‘Urgent’ for Australia to protect Great Barrier Reef: UNESCONews

‘Urgent’ for Australia to protect Great Barrier Reef: UNESCO

Sydney, Australia (AFP) - Australia must take "urgent" action to protect the Great Barrier Reef, including setting more ambitious climate targets, the UN's cultural organisation…
SourceSourceJune 25, 2024 Full article
Image: Sea waves
Scientists document self-propelling oxygen decline in the oceansClimateScience

Scientists document self-propelling oxygen decline in the oceans

By University of Copenhagen, The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences Scientists from the University of Copenhagen have made significant strides in understanding ancient ocean…
SourceSourceJune 22, 2024 Full article
Image: Dolphins in the ocean
Research finds dolphins with elevated mercury levels in Florida and Georgia, USScience

Research finds dolphins with elevated mercury levels in Florida and Georgia, US

In a study with potential implications for the oceans and human health, scientists reported elevated mercury levels in dolphins in the U.S. Southeast, with the…
SourceSourceJune 14, 2024 Full article
Image: whale
Gray whales shrinking fast as climate warmsClimate

Gray whales shrinking fast as climate warms

Washington, United States | AFP | Muser NewsDesk (Updated) Pacific coast gray whales have shrunk in length an astonishing 13 percent since 2000, adding to…
SourceSourceJune 13, 2024 Full article
Image: sharks swimming in ocean
We’ve measured the cost of unsustainable industrial fishing on coastal communities – and it’s vastNews

We’ve measured the cost of unsustainable industrial fishing on coastal communities – and it’s vast

By Miren Gutiérrez, The Conversation Shark finning – the practice of removing the fins from a captured shark and discarding the rest, often still alive, back…
SourceSourceJune 10, 2024 Full article
Image: Whale's Tail (s. climate, law, ocean)
Oceanic ‘peace’ pact signed in Costa Rica ahead of 2025 UN talksNews

Oceanic ‘peace’ pact signed in Costa Rica ahead of 2025 UN talks

By Alberto PEÑA | AFP San José, Costa Rica - Over two dozen countries signed a wishful "declaration of peace with the ocean" on Saturday…
SourceSourceJune 9, 2024 Full article
Image: Fisheries
Aquaculture overtakes wild fisheries for first time: UN reportNews

Aquaculture overtakes wild fisheries for first time: UN report

San José, Costa Rica | AFP | Muser NewsDesk Aquaculture is playing an increasingly important role in meeting the world's food needs, surpassing wild fisheries…
SourceSourceJune 7, 2024 Full article
Image: Working industrial cargo ship in the sea (mining)
WWF takes Norway to court over deep sea miningNews

WWF takes Norway to court over deep sea mining

Oslo, Norway (AFP) - The World Wide Fund for Nature's (WWF) Norwegian chapter said Thursday it would take legal action against Norway for opening up…
SourceSourceMay 23, 2024 Full article
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Small island states win key climate case in UN courtNews

Small island states win key climate case in UN court

By Femke COLBORNE | AFP Berlin, Germany (UPDATED) - The UN maritime court on Tuesday ruled in favour of nine small island states who brought…
SourceSourceMay 21, 2024 Full article
Plastic pollution - oceans
A novel approach to tackling marine plastic pollution: evaluating cleanup technologiesScience

A novel approach to tackling marine plastic pollution: evaluating cleanup technologies

Marine plastic pollution poses a significant threat to our oceans and marine life, necessitating innovative solutions to address the growing crisis. In response to the…
Muser NewsDeskMuser NewsDeskNovember 13, 2023 Full article