Tag: ocean
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There is time to save the seas from our thoughtless extractivism
Lara Watson argues we should stop deep-sea mining before it wreaks havoc on marine environments.
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Can our oceans save us? The role of seaweed in large scale carbon capture
With governments such as the UK’s looking to rapidly accelerate investment into large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies that will target excessive carbon dioxide emitted found in the air, should policy-makers and ministers set their sights on the sea instead to find an effective solution to the mounting carbon emissions? Sami Cheqrouni-Espinar investigates. A…
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Sea otter decline accelerating effects of climate change
In a new study published by the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, researchers have found that the loss of key predators may be accelerating the effects of climate change in their habitats. The study focussed on the kelp forests of the Aleutian Archipelago off the western coast of Alaska, which have experienced a sharp decline…
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The sunscreen of the sea
Coral reefs are one of the most bountiful – and beautiful – ecosystems on the planet. These diverse, underwater rainforests host at least a quarter of all marine life, despite only occupying a tiny fraction of the ocean floor, and provide stability and filtration to our oceans and shores. However, in recent years more and…
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Turning invisible: lessons from cephalopod cells
Ellie Bennett looks at the way in which cephalopod cells might hold the key to turning our dreams of invisibility into a reality, albeit at the cellular level. There are few other classes of animal that conjure up such feverish images of deep-sea monsters or otherworldly aliens than that of the cephalopods. Translating from Greek…
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Sound: an invisible pollutant
When we think of ocean pollution, most of us visualise floating plastic, oil spills, or maybe even ocean acidification from rising CO2 levels. Samantha Cargill investigates why we now have to add noise pollution to the mix, too. Marine life exists in a world of sound. Almost all of the creatures in our oceans compose…
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Can whales learn deafness?
If you’re reading this on your computer then you’re probably within reaching distance of them. Go anywhere amongst the public and you’ll notice that a lot of people are wearing them. Headphones and earphones are becoming more and more commonplace throughout our lives. Some particularly sophisticated versions can even suppress environmental noises and enhance the…