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Our Oceans

12 March 2019
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Image credit - Unsplash/Jake Allison, licensed under Unsplash license
Mesophotic coral ecosystems, found 30-150m below the sea in tropical and subtropical regions, could make up half of all reefs worldwide but there is little known about them. Image credit - Gal Eyal
environment
19 October 2020

Understudied deeper water reefs could teach us how to better conserve corals

In three decades of diving at locations including the Red Sea and Great Barrier Reef, Gal Eyal has seen coral reefs transform in front of his eyes.

The number of fish parasites is rising with climate change and as fish farming becomes more common, say researchers. Image credit - Flickr/Artur Rydzewski, licensed under CC BY 2.0
environment
18 February 2020

Fish farmers seek new weapons to fight thriving parasites

Salmon farmers battling large numbers of parasites that flourish on fish farms are seeking – and finding – new ways to cut their losses and protect marine wildlife.

Assessing the health of an entire ocean is an 'extraordinarily ambitious agenda', says Prof. J Murray Roberts. Image credit - Hannah Roberts
interview | environment
06 February 2020

Q&A: To protect the Atlantic, we first need to understand it

The Atlantic Ocean is under threat from fishing, fossil fuel extraction and deep-sea mining, and the onus should be on these industries to prove that their exploitation is sustainable rather than requiring scientists to come up with reasons to protect it, says Professor J Murray Roberts, a marine biologist at the University of Edinburgh, UK.

Glaciers are typically found close to where people live and changes can directly affect people's lives, says Prof. Kääb. Image credit - Andreas Kääb
interview | environment | frontier research
06 January 2020

'Most ice on Earth is very close to melting conditions'

We need to understand how glaciers are shrinking in order to better adapt to climate change impacts such as changes to water supply, landslides and avalanches, says Professor Andreas Kääb, a glacier expert from the University of Oslo in Norway. 

There is still uncertainty around the knock-on effects of abrupt ocean changes. Image credit - Pixnio, CC0
environment | policy
25 September 2019

‘The biggest threat to our oceans is that we’ve taken them for granted’

People need to be persuaded that the ocean is not a problem or dangerous for humans, but that we are a problem for the oceans, according to former WTO trade chief Pascal Lamy, who kicked off discussions on Europe’s ambitions for protecting oceans over the next decade at a major research event in Brussels, Belgium.

Scientists are exploring how jellyfish could be used as a greater source of food, in medicines and nutraceuticals. Image credit - Pixabay/silverstrike24, licensed under pixabay license
environment
18 June 2019

Jellyfish researchers want you to start thinking about these creatures for your next meal

A few summers ago, Stefano Piraino was walking along the rocky shoreline on a small island off the coast of Sicily when he spotted a washed up jellyfish. Naturally, he tore a piece off and popped it into his mouth.

Whale watching is known to disturb the animals that tourists come to see. Image Credit - Flickr/spezz CC BY 2.0
environment
27 February 2019

Noisier waters linked to behaviour change, hearing loss in whales

Studies investigating whale-watching boats and the inner ears of marine mammals could soon provide new insight into the effects of noisier oceans on cetaceans – dolphins, whales and porpoises – who depend on their hearing for navigating, finding food and communicating underwater.

Sea ice is affected by water temperature while Greenland responds to atmospheric temperature rises. Image credit - Dr Teodóra Pados
environment
10 December 2018

Why we may be able to save the Greenland ice sheet

Studies of ice melt in the Arctic suggest that the world may have a fighting chance of preventing huge sea level changes that would result from the dramatic collapse of the vast ice sheets that cover Greenland, but that more work is needed to understand the wider effects.

Advocates of floating offshore wind platforms say they are cheaper to run and install, less disruptive to sea life, and have greater output than near-shore alternatives. Image credit - WindFloat
energy | environment
19 October 2018

Offshore wind farms to test business in deep water

As wind turbines become increasingly familiar sights along shorelines, developers of offshore floating platforms, which harness the powerful winds further out to sea, are seeking to establish their technologies as a major viable source of clean energy.