Book Review
Surprise impacts of desalination
The World Heath Organization predicts that by 2025, half of the world’s people will be living in water-stressed areas. Desalination…
Biological oceanography Physical oceanography Volcanoes
Phytoplankton Bloom Driven by Volcanic Eruption
A large volcanic eruption in 2018 deposited tons of lava into the Pacific Ocean. Scientists were puzzled that the lava-impacted…
deep sea
Zombie worms in whale bones
Looking for a cool Halloween costume? Dress up as a zombie worm that lives under the sea and injects acid…
Coastal Management Fisheries Harmful Algal Bloom Human Health ocean engineering technology Toxicology
Sailing Solo: An alternative way to monitor harmful algal blooms
Have you ever heard about a harmful algal bloom? Do you know what causes them? Or how scientists monitor them?…
Behavior
The story behind the story: Understanding how mother whales communicate and the challenges of studying an endangered species
How do North Atlantic right whale moms talk to their calves? A recent paper describes new quiet calls which have…
Remote Sensing
Fluid Lensing: Seeing through the Ocean’s Surface
What would the ocean look like without any water? With NASA’s up and coming FluidCam, we are able to see…
Behavior
Humpback Whales Harmonize with Changing Environments
A recent study explores how the occurrence of humpback whale song is associated with shifts in their environment, including the…
Climate Change
Caught in the Storm: Tropical Bird Sightings in Nova Scotia after Hurricane Dorian
Dorian was one of the biggest storms to hit Nova Scotia in recorded history, bringing with it Category 2 force…
Biology
How the anglerfish gets its light
Deep-sea anglerfishes are known for their prominent glowing lure extending from their heads. Bacteria are behind the scenes, enabling anglerfish…
Conservation Fisheries Human impacts Sharkbites Saturday
Sharks vs. Fishing Vessels: The fatal overlap
Article Global spatial risk assessment of sharks under the footprint of fisheries. Nuno Queiroz, Nicolas E. Humphries, et al. Nature…
Biology
Clinging, cloning jellyfish: How an old species is coming back with new force
On the fourth of July, 2019, happy beach-goers in Rhode Island escaped the directness of the sun by wading into…
Biological oceanography Biology Coastal Management Conservation Fisheries
SURFO SPECIAL: What’s it like to live in a dogfish eat dogfish world?
Brianna Villalon is a senior at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, studying marine biology and looking to gear her research toward…
Chemistry Hazards Human Health Toxicology Undergraduate Research
SURFO SPECIAL: Flame retardants: Not as friendly as we like to think
Jamillez Olmo Classen is a senior at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, majoring in Technology in Industrial Chemical…
Biology Coastal Management Ecology Undergraduate Research
SURFO SPECIAL: The world is your oyster: Collecting data on Matunuck Oyster Farm
Did you know that oysters act as a biological water purifier? Thus, many different environmental conditions like the tide and…
Climate Change
Lost in transmission: how the delivery of electricity has its own carbon emissions
The life cycle of electric power is more complex than we give it credit for. Learn how researchers have estimated…
Plastic Pollution
Traces of human plastic pollution in ocean sediment
Is the plastic we produce being stored in our oceans’ sediments? To answer this question scientists studied a sediment core…
Behavior Conservation Invasive Species
Robofish To The Rescue!
When mosquitofish were introduced all over the world to control mosquito populations nobody thought they would have such a negative…
Ecology Fisheries
SURFO Special: Keep clam and carry on! Comparing diet differences in awning clams and quahogs
Every summer, the URI Graduate School of Oceanography hosts undergraduate research interns called SURFOs. In this post, learn about Sommer…
Geology
SURFO Special: Surveying hazardous faults during Eastern Haiti’s 270-year earthquake hiatus
Every summer, the URI Graduate School of Oceanography hosts undergraduate research interns called SURFOs. In this post, learn about Kamal…
Ecology Sharkbites Saturday
There’s No Such Thing as Free Lunch: Observing the Foraging Behavior of Sharks Feeding on a Sperm Whale Carcass
All species in the animal kingdom must find food to survive. For some species, finding food can be difficult and…