climate change
Sea-sick – Examining ocean diseases through literature
From coral bleaching to sea star wasting disease, stories of an unhealthy ocean have been all over the news. But are the animals in the sea actually sicker than before? Without long-running data sets tracking disease over time, it can be hard to see if diseases are growing more prevalent. In spite of this, Dr. […]
Jellyfish Blooms Could Increase the Risk of Bacteria-Spread Illnesses in Humans and Marine Animals
Happy Thanksgiving! With Black Friday right around the corner, it might be surprising to hear that humans aren’t the only species that swarm to certain areas. Ashley MickensI am a senior Environmental Earth Science and Sustainability major at Miami University of Ohio. While my undergraduate research focused on biogeochemical cycles in lakes and streams, I […]
Sea-Level rise may be higher than previously estimated
Kulp, S.A., Strauss, B.H. New elevation data triple estimates of global vulnerability to sea-level rise and coastal flooding. Nat Commun 10, 4844 (2019) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12808-z As a part of the natural cycle, sea-levels have increased or decreased throughout our planet’s history. Water frozen in ice caps would melt during the hotter periods, contributing to the sea level […]
Upwelling: a coral safety net?
Corals in Panama begin to find refuge in areas where upwelling of cooler water occurs. Is this behavior just a temporary fix in the face of climate change? Constance SartorConstance is a graduate student at the University of Guam studying coral genetics. She also paints murals integrating art and science at various aquariums and scientific […]
Do you have to understand marine science to care about marine conservation? Wetland research says No.
Ware J, Callaway R (2019) Public perception of coastal habitat loss and habitat creation using artificial floating islands in the UK. PLoS ONE 14(10): e0224424. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224424 In places where coastal ecosystems have been dramatically altered by human activity, green infrastructure projects like artificial wetlands, eelgrass plantings, and artificial floating islands provide novel opportunities to […]
A silver lining: How warming waters in the Gulf of Maine gave lobsters a leg up
Warming coastal waters in New England have been linked to a decline in lobsters in southern New England, but a new article by Goode et al. proposes that it is precisely this warming that boosted the Maine lobster fishery to where it is now. Kristin HuizengaI am a PhD student studying Biological Oceanography at the […]
Power plays in low carbon pathways: how elite groups may influence a green transition
Learn how elite groups can guide and shape climate initiatives (spoiler alert: it’s spoooooky) – and what we can do to move towards a just transition away from fossil fuels. Nyla HusainI’m a PhD student at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. I use models to study how small-scale physical processes at the […]
Gentoo Penguins as Indicators of Climate Change in the Southern Ocean
Carpenter-Kling, T., et al. “Gentoo penguins as sentinels of climate change at the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Archipelago, Southern Ocean.” Ecological Indicators 101 (2019): 163-172. The newest indicator of climate change is here, and it is penguin puke? While it might seem a little far-fetched, researchers in the Southern Ocean are using the stomach contents of […]
Telling the complicated story of Atlantic Salmon with the help of genetic technology
Plamu Salmo salar (or “Atlantic Salmon”, “Black Salmon”, or “Plamu” as it’s known in my neck of the woods) is a culturally, ecologically, and economically vital fish species that has experienced widespread declines over the last century. Damming, habitat degradation, climate change, and aquaculture are all thought to pose significant threats to salmon health, […]
Are dolphins losing their minds in blooming ocean waters?
Polluted water is a great source of food for harmful algal blooms, which release even more toxins into the water. And now scientists say that algal blooms may give dolphins Alzheimer’s disease-like brain damage. Anastasia YandulskayaI am a PhD candidate at Northeastern University in Boston. I study regeneration of the nervous system in water salamanders […]
On the case: Scientists use many sources to find the culprit in kelp disappearance
The extensive decline of the Great Barrier Reef has received a lot of press attention in recent years, yet reefs aren’t the only down-under ecosystem struggling. In a recent paper in Estuaries and Coasts, researchers Carnell and Keough from the University of Melbourne and Deakin University have reported an equally alarming decline in kelp forests […]
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 PhD student at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. I use models to study how small-scale physical processes […]
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 a multimedia […]
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 PhD student at the University of Rhode Island […]
Who Governs the Ocean Around Antarctica?
Antarctica is often considered an untouched wilderness. While its location is remote, the region is hardly undisturbed by human activity. Exploitation of marine species, tourism, scientific research activities, and anthropogenic climate change are all impacting Southern Ocean ecosystems. A recent policy paper examines the governance challenges for the Antarctic, particularly those due to climate change. […]
What’s happening to carbon in the warming Arctic?
The Arctic, warming at unprecedented rates, is undergoing profound changes. Using recent atmospheric CO2 measurements, Su-Jong Jeong and his colleagues investigate how the carbon cycling in the Arctic has been changing, and what it means for the future of the region. Julia DohnerJulia is a PhD student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, […]
Losing Coral Reefs Will Cost Us More Money
Coral reefs are extremely important ecosystems. Sadly, climate change, pollution, and various other threats are causing us to lose some of these critical habitats. A group of scientists estimated just how much it will cost us in the future if we lose these important corals. Ashley MarranzinoI received my Master’s degree from the University of […]
The ongoing story of Hurricane Harvey
With the start of the 2018 hurricane season, we explore what happened last year during one of the costliest hurricanes in U.S. history – and why. Nyla HusainI’m a PhD student at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. I use models to study how small-scale physical processes at the air-sea interface – like […]
The future according to the Paris Agreement? Not so simple.
Meet the Paris Agreement goal and limit the human-caused rise in average global temperature to 1.5 ˚C? Sounds good. Do we know what the world would look like if we reached this goal? Not really. Climate scientist Sonia Seneviratne and her colleagues dig into the large uncertainty in what a 1.5 ˚C-warmed world might look […]
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