Climate Change
Aquaculture as a means of food and protection?
The low lying coast of Bangladesh is burdened with natural weather patterns that bring storm surges, heavy rainfall, and intense…
Biogeochemistry Chemistry
Waiter, there’s a whale in my soup: investigating the South Pacific garbage patch
Plastic debris has been found in both the North Pacific and North Atlantic since the early 1970s. It accumulates in…
Chemistry
Emissions from International Shipping Vessels Contribute to Ocean Acidification
Ship emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides (SOx, NOx) can be deposited and form sulfuric and nitric acid in surface…
Biology
Top predators reveal the extent of mercury pollution in Canadian waters
Common loons, walleye, northern pike, and yellow perch play integral roles in ecosystem dynamics and environmental policy decisions. In this…
Chemistry
Model Suggests 40% of Global Dioxin Emissions End Up in Oceans
Researchers at the University of British Columbia recently presented a global model simulating how dioxins, a group of very toxic,…
Biology Chemistry Climate Change
How will phytoplankton communities change in a warming world?
A global marine ecosystem model was used to predict how primary productivity and carbon export by phytoplankton will change in…
Biology Chemistry Geology
Passing gas makes islanders feel a burn: CO2 degassing, low pH and the similarities between an underwater Greek volcano and two Cameroon lakes
Roughly 360 years ago, on a September afternoon in the Aegean sea, the sky was blotted out as metals tarnished…
Biology Chemistry
Disconcerting trends of pollutants in the Scandinavian Otter Population
Fluorinated compounds are an emerging class of persistent pollutants that have a global presence in the environment, biota, and humans,…
Geology
Catastrophic floods or drought? What caused the water level drop of glacial Lake Agassiz?
Formed from the meltwater of a colossal ice sheet that once blanketed North America, glacial Lake Agassiz experienced a sudden…
Biology Chemistry
Coral Reefs Suffering from Ocean Acidification
Researchers investigated natural trends in carbonate chemistry of the Davies Reef flat in the central Great Barrier Reef on diel…
Biology Climate Change Fisheries
Fish follow climate velocities through space and time
We expect marine species to respond to climate change by either adapting or changing geographical ranges. But observed shifts in…
Fisheries
Disease affects New England Lobsters
Lobster, an important crustaceous member of inshore rocky bottom ecosystems in southern New England and a favorite sweet-meated-treat of many…
Biology
Life in plastic, it’s fantastic…for microbes in the plastisphere
Scientists find a diverse and distinct community of microorganisms that live on plastic trash at the surface of the North…
Biology Chemistry
Ear wax holds untold treasures for whale researchers
Ingested contaminants, along with hormones, are preserved in the whale’s earplug. Unlike muscle and blubber, ear wax does not allow…
Biology Geology
Determining marine bird distribution in Glacier Bay, Alaska using fine spatial-scale hydrographic modeling
Researchers in Glacier Bay surveyed fifteen species of marine birds and linked the observations to instantaneous measurements of current speed…
Biology Chemistry
Intense Weight Loss by Migratory Humpback Whales Could Increase Health Risks Posed by Pollutants
Australian and Norwegian researchers measured levels of pesticides and PCBs in southern hemisphere humpback whales to find out whether extreme…
Biogeochemistry Biology Chemistry Climate Change Ecology Fisheries Geology Paleoceanography Policy
Welcome to oceanbites!
I’m excited to announce the launch of oceanbites.org! Inspired by the successful and informative astrobites.org, oceanbites is a blog where…