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 …
A survey of coral reefs off the Hawaiian island of Oahu has shown warm ocean waters recently contributed to a higher rate of coral bleaching than the state has seen in decades, sparking concerns about the ecosystem, a state official said on Tuesday. The findings from dives last week by …
Rising carbon dioxide levels in oceans adversely change the behavior of fish through generations, raising the possibility that marine species may never fully adapt to their changed environment, research has found. The study, published in Nature Climate Change, found that elevated CO2 levels affected fish regardless of whether their parents …
Oceans in the Southern Hemisphere, which make up 60 percent of the world's oceans, are warming far worse than previously thought, according to a new study. Using satellite observations and a large collection of climate models, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists have found that long-term ocean warming in the …
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority “committed suicide” when it permitted millions of cubic metres of dredge spoil to be dumped near the reef, a coral reef expert says. Former Australian Institute of Marine Science chief scientist Dr Charlie Veron also says the authority no longer has the expertise …
BP Plc (BP/) is seeking to undo payments to some victims of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill in a move opposing lawyers warn could open the floodgates to challenging hundreds of thousands of individual damage-claim awards. BP, which is struggling to hold down the estimated $9.2 billion cost of …
Hawai'i's sea turtles are afflicted with chronic and often lethal tumors caused by consuming non-native algae, "superweeds," along coastlines where nutrient pollution is unchecked. The disease that causes these tumors is considered the leading cause of death in endangered green sea turtles. The new research was just published in the …
HONOLULU – Warm ocean temperatures have caused large expanses of coral to bleach in the pristine reefs northwest of Hawaii’s main islands, scientists say. Mass bleaching has occurred at Lisianski atoll, about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) northwest of Honolulu, said Courtney Couch, a researcher at the Hawaii Institute of Marine …
This fourth edition of the United Nations progress report on the state of global biodiversity calls for bold and accelerated innovative global action to meet the globally-agreed strategic plan for biodiversity and its Aichi targets by 2020. It has been been officially launched on opening day of the Twelfth Meeting …
Scientists assigned a grade for global ocean health on Tuesday, giving the world's waters a "D" on an annual oceans report card, citing overfishing, pollution, climate change, and lack of protections as key problems. But the score for nations' territorial waters—generally those that are within 200 miles (322 kilometers) of …
A new international report "An updated synthesis of the impacts of ocean acidification on marine biodiversity" shows beyond doubt that ocean acidification is an issue of serious environmental and policy concern. This timely synthesis has considered the impacts of ocean acidification across many levels of biodiversity, and as such represents …
Global wildlife populations have declined by more than half in just 40 years according to “Living Planet Report 2014” produced by World Wildlife Federation in collaboration with Zoological Society of London & the Global Footprint Network. The biggest recorded threat to biodiversity globally comes from the combined impacts of habitat …
For centuries, Turkish rulers in Istanbul have realized the strategic importance of the narrow Bosporus strait, which famously divides east and west, and have pledged to build a waterway that bypasses the channel to more efficiently connect north and south. The latest proposed version of this crazy scheme is called …
A plan to improve the Great Barrier Reef’s water quality and conserve species such as turtles may not be enough to stave off a United Nations “in danger” listing for the ecosystem, environmentalists have warned. The draft Reef 2050 long-term sustainability plan, a joint strategy by the federal and Queensland …
Tiny marine algae can evolve fast enough to cope with climate change in a sign that some ocean life may be more resilient than thought to rising temperatures and acidification, a study showed. Evolution is usually omitted in scientific projections of how global warming will affect the planet in coming …
Offshore wind power provides a valuable source of renewable energy that can help reduce carbon emissions. Technological advances are allowing higher capacity turbines to be installed and in deeper water, but there is still much that is unknown about the effects on the environment. Here we describe the lessons learned …
BP Plc acted with gross negligence in setting off the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, a federal judge ruled, handing down a long-awaited decision that may force the energy company to pay billions of dollars more for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier …
The billionaire Indian magnate planning to ship millions of tonnes of coal through the Great Barrier Reef is facing accusations of massive exploitation of his Indian workforce - including underpayments and exposing them to cholera. Gautam Adani has won federal approval for what will be Australia's largest coal mine and …
KARACHI: Female snails at the Gadani Ship-breaking Yard have been found to have developed male sex organs due to exposure to a highly toxic chemical used in ship paints, a recent study of Karachi University’s Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology has showed. Scientists have warned that the chemical contamination …
There are at least five big patches of garbage floating around the planet's oceans and some are as big as the state of Texas, scientists said in a new study, published Tuesday in the journal Chaos. And now, there's an algorithm to track their movements. Researchers from the University of …
There should be a temporary ban on dumping dredged spoil in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef and there should be no further cuts to the government agencies that protect the world heritage-listed icon, a Senate inquiry has concluded. The report states that the “precautionary principle” demands that seabed …
