The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
The U.S. government is planning to use sound blasting to conduct research on the ocean floor along most of the East Coast, using technology similar to that which led to a court battle by environmentalists in New Jersey. The U.S. Geological Survey plans to map the outer limits of the …
The WWF contracted RPS Applied Science Associates to model 22 different oil spill scenarios and map the spread of the oil, potential impact on the water and shoreline, and interaction with sea ice, wildlife and the surrounding ecology. Types of oil spills analyzed included shipping spills, shallow-water blowouts and deep-water …
The Beaufort Sea is a unique ocean environment that covers approximately 476,000 km² (184,000 sq. mi), spanning the Canadian-U.S. border and stretching across the northern coasts of Alaska, Yukon and the western Northwest Territories. This remote sea has always been dominated by sea ice. However, as the Arctic warms due …
Coral reef expert says 'damning' report found coal dust had spread hundreds of kilometres from dredging sites Coal dust has spread throughout the Great Barrier Reef and exceeds toxic levels near the shore, a Senate inquiry has heard. Senators are touring Queensland this week to examine how the Australian and …
Australian Institute of Marine Science says the government report on the Barrier Reef focuses on positive conclusions Australia’s marine research agency has warned that the government has downplayed the declining health of the Great Barrier Reef and there is “clear potential for conflicts of interest” in development decisions. The Australian …
Microorganisms and their viruses are increasingly recognized as drivers of myriad ecosystem processes. However, our knowledge of their roles is limited by the inability of culture-dependent and culture-independent (e.g., metagenomics) methods to be fully implemented at scales relevant to the diversity found in nature. Here we combine advances in bioinformatics …
Coral faces a heightened risk of fatal disease if the seabed near it is dug up, according to a landmark study that will reignite the debate over whether dredging projects near the Great Barrier Reef should take place. The research, conducted by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef …
There's less than expected on the surface. Scientists are trying to find where in the ocean it's gone. Their work, published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, did find millions of pieces of plastic debris floating in five large subtropical gyres in the world's oceans. …
In recent decades, coral reef ecosystems have declined to the extent that reefs are now threatened globally. While many water quality parameters have been proposed to contribute to reef declines, little evidence exists conclusively linking specific water quality parameters with increased disease prevalence in situ. Here we report evidence from …
China's Supreme People's Court will establish a special tribunal for handling major cases related to air, water and soil pollution, the body announced. The special tribunal will “try to hear environmental cases without regard to where those incidents occur, in order to avoid administrative interference from local governments,” said Supreme …
The amount of money needed to “offset” the impact of a dredging project on the Great Barrier Reef could be as much as $1bn – which is $998m more than the project developer has suggested. Documents obtained under freedom of information reveal huge uncertainty over the investment needed to maintain …
They are the glimmering jewels in the depths of our oceans, but plant-eating tropical fish are beginning to threaten Australia's forests under the sea. Climate-driven changes are causing the fish to extend their range into temperate regions, threatening kelp forests and seagrass meadows, a study from the University of NSW …
Oil that matches the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been found in the bodies of sickened fish, according to a team of Florida scientists who studied the oil's chemical composition. "We matched up the oil in the livers and flesh with Deepwater Horizon like a …
With Goa tar balls phenomenon getting wider attention of environmentalists and parliamentarians, the Center on Tuesday announced calling a high-level meeting of stakeholders, including experts from across the country, later this month to find out exact reason of the deposition of polluting substances along the state coasts every year during …
Litter is now found in even the most remote areas of the oceans, say scientists trying to understand how much rubbish is lying at the bottom of Europe's seas. The new study, published in Plos One, shows for the first time that there seems to be no area of the …
The Sindh Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has approved at least three projects of coal-fired power plants along the coast, ignoring reservations of experts over their construction, it emerged on Sunday. According to sources, one of the approvals has been given on an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report that lacks details …
Summer winds are intensifying along the west coasts of North and South America and southern Africa and climate change is a likely cause, a new study says. The winds, which blow parallel to the shore and draw cold, nutrient-rich water from the deep ocean to the surface in a process …
Seaplanes won't affect fishing activities at the waterdrome and they are environmentally safer than boats plying in the backwaters, says the final impact assessment report on seaplane operations on inland fishing. “Seaplanes do not discharge sewage or oily bilge water and the aircraft is not treated with toxic anti-fouling paints …
Every year plastic waste costs marine ecosystems $13 billion in damages, says a report released recently by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The estimated 10-20 million tonnes of plastic waste that finds its way into oceans, smothers coral reefs, routinely entangles marine wildlife, and more insidiously, degrades into ‘microplastics’ …
The people of Palau, a small island nation in the northwestern Pacific, have long realized that the health and prosperity of their nation depends on the ocean. Because of this realization, Palauans have always worked to protect their ocean resources. That’s why Palau has drawn the world’s top scientists and …
