climate change
Voyage to Iceberg Alley: Guest post by Marlo Garnsworthy
At the end of March, right around sunrise, oceanbites contributor Marlo Garnsworthy sailed out of the Straits of Magellan and into the southern Atlantic Ocean, bound for the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic waters known as Iceberg Alley. Giant petrels soared against a clear blue sky, and gentle waves rocked the ship—although the crew didn’t […]
When will global warming change the color of the ocean?
Climate change is predicted to transform the ocean – Dr. Stephanie Dutkiewicz and her colleagues want to know how and when global warming will change its color. Julia DohnerJulia is a PhD student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. Her focus is on biogeochemistry, which, as the name suggests, centers on the […]
Snakes On A Boat! How Do Sea Snakes Stay Hydrated During Long Ocean Trips?
Even sea snakes need fresh water hydration! Learn how sea snakes stay hydrated on long trips across the ocean in this recent oceanbites article. R J ParkerHi there! I’m a botanist with a Masters in Environmental Science and Management from Ryerson University. On the sciencey side, I like to write about population-level response to climate […]
One thousand ways to experience loss: a climate study
The experience of personal loss due to climate change is becoming ubiquitous. This study outlines how we can approach climate loss in the social sciences. Nyla HusainI’m a 4th year PhD student at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. I use models to study small-scale turbulence at the air-sea interface induced by airflow […]
The Blob: The movie monster attacking fish
The Pacific marine heatwave of 2013-2016, called the Blob, caused ocean temperatures in Alaska to spike, harming wildlife from whales to salmon. A new study shows that even if the animals could take the heat, they may have been starving. Kristin HuizengaI am a PhD student in Biological Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island […]
Ocean Acidification Reduces Habitat for Antarctic Organisms
A new study uses a climate model to predict that ocean acidification will reduce the viable habitat for many marine organisms in the Antarctic over the next century. This is because more acidic seawater dissolves the chemical compounds that the organisms need to form their shells. Channing PrendI’m a physical oceanography PhD student at Scripps […]
Can Firefighting Strategies Save the Corals?
Coral reefs provide many ecosystem services, but are dying at an alarming rate due to stressors such as disease. Find out how scientists are beta-testing disease mitigation techniques derived from firefighting. Constance SartorI am a Master’s student at the University of Guam. My current research interests are coral transcriptomics, microbiome characterization, and spatial epidemiology. I […]
A call for clouds in climate models
A new study suggests that clouds might play a bigger role regulating our climate than previously believed, and that they may disappear if carbon emissions continue to rise. Nyla HusainI’m a 4th year PhD student at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. I use models to study small-scale turbulence at the air-sea interface […]
What does it mean when scientists disagree?
In 2015, Senator James Inhofe brought a snowball onto the floor of the US Senate to demonstrate his skepticism of the widely held belief that the Earth’s climate is warming. While the stunt was lauded as ridiculous by the scientifically-literate community and generated a number of lasting cartoons and memes calling out the Senator’s obvious […]
Join Oceanbites on Twitter for a Climate Chat this Friday!
Climate change? Let’s chat. Join us for the next three Fridays to discuss the global impacts of climate change, potential solutions, and the call for political action by youth around the world. Nyla HusainI’m a 4th year PhD student at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. I use models to study small-scale turbulence […]
Lightheaded: Why some plankton may soon be gasping for breath
The amount of oxygen in the ocean is expected to decrease every decade due to climate change. In the Oxygen Minimum Zone, the area of the ocean with the least oxygen, what does this mean for the future of zooplankton? Kristin HuizengaI am a PhD student in Biological Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island […]
Hawksbills in hot water? Temperature and Precipitation Impacts on Hawksbill Sea Turtle Nests
Climate change is already having effects on sea turtles. All seven species of sea turtle are dependent on temperature for habitat selection and physiology. The impacts of temperature and moisture on hatchling development have real long-term impacts on marine turtle populations. Matthew LarsenI am a second year master’s student at Coastal Carolina University in the […]
A Person (or Fish) on the Inside: Scientists Discover New Ally to Fight Coral Bleaching.
Our ocean continues to warm at a rate faster than anyone expected and coral reefs are facing an absolutely massive threat. Scientists are hard at work, attempting to solve the global crisis that is climate change-induced coral bleaching and death. But what if these scientists had someone on the inside to help? Rishya NarayananRishya is pursuing […]
Climate-driven events leave an imprint on corals in the Great Barrier Reef
Last year, it was reported that half of the Great Barrier Reef had just died after heat stress caused severe coral bleaching in 2016 and 2017 back-to-back. Now, researchers believe that the way to study coral loss going forward is to understand how one climate-driven disturbance relates to those that came before it. Nyla HusainI’m […]
Acid loving algae? How ocean acidification may contribute to harmful algal blooms
Climate change isn’t just changing temperatures–climate change is changing the pH of our ocean, with big impacts on marine food webs! Read up on a recent study describing how elevated carbon dioxide lead to harmful algal bloom conditions in the Northwest Atlantic. Anna RobuckI am a third year PhD student at the University of Rhode […]
Coral Cultures- A Test of Strength
What corals can best tolerate the effects of climate change? Check out this review of a recent paper by Yuan et al. to find out! Melanie FeenI am a first year graduate student at the Graduate School of Oceanography at University of Rhode Island. I use robots and satellites to research the biological carbon pump, […]
Do we know what it means to engineer the climate?
At this point, it’s undeniable that the climate is changing rapidly. What are our options for mitigation? Many scientists are considering strategies that involve engineering the climate – also known as geoengineering. Nyla HusainI’m a 4th year PhD student at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. I use models to study small-scale turbulence […]
Digging Deep: Burrowing Animals are Just One Element of a Healthy Mudflat
Despite mudflats supporting fisheries, providing homes for birds, and serving as a buffer between land and sea, these ecosystems are still threatened by human development. Researchers looking for ways to protect mudflats found that in order for mudflats to remain healthy, 4 important roles must be filled by the animals living in them. Kristin HuizengaI […]
Threats to Cetaceans: There’s More than Meets the Eye
Researchers spent seven years specifically studying deceased, stranded cetaceans along the coastline of the Canary Islands in Spain to figure out what most likely caused their deaths. They found that while human activity accounted for a large portion, something else was responsible for a much larger percentage of cetacean death. Rishya NarayananRishya is pursuing an […]
Millennial algae are not as productive: lazy, or less sea ice opportunities?
Why aren’t Arctic phytoplankton as productive as they used to be? Is it a lazy millennial thing, or something more complex and systematic? Researchers use observations to learn more about this generation of phytoplankton, and what it could mean for Gen Z and beyond… Nyla HusainI’m a 4th year PhD student at the University of […]
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