Latest and Breaking Oceanography News

DNA evidence shows that marine reserves help to sustain fisheries
24 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Cell Press) Researchers reporting online on May 24 in the Cell Press journal Current Biology present the first evidence that areas closed to all fishing are helping to sustain valuable Australian fisheries. The international team of scientists applied a forensic DNA profiling approach to track the dispersal pathways of fish larvae throughout a network of marine reserves on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Deep sea animals stowaway on submarines and reach new territory
24 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Wiley-Blackwell) Marine scientists studying life around deep-sea vents have discovered that some hardy species can survive the extreme change in pressure that occurs when a research submersible rises to the surface. The team's findings, published in Conservation Biology, reveal how a species can be inadvertently carried by submersibles to new areas, with potentially damaging effects on marine ecosystems.

El Niño weather and climate change threaten survival of baby leatherback sea turtles
23 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Drexel University) When critically endangered leatherback turtle hatchlings dig out of their nests, they enter a world filled with threats to survival. Now, Drexel University researchers have found that the climate conditions at the nesting beach affect the early survival of turtle eggs and hatchlings. They predict, based on projections from multiple models, that egg and hatchling survival will drop by half in the next 100 years as a result of global climate change.

From green rust in Indonesia to historical sulfide concentrations in the Black Sea
23 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Geological Society of America) The Geological Society of America has posted a new batch of Geology papers online ahead of print (May 23, 2012). Locations studied include the Rainy Lake zone, Ontario, Canada; the Black Sea; Lake Matano, Indonesia; the Great Bahama Bank; Lake Eyre, Australia; the Burullus Lagoon of the Nile Delta, Egypt; and Tungurahua volcano, Ecuador. Studies involve work both in the field and in the lab.

Scientists discover a new sensory organ in the chin of baleen whales
23 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Smithsonian) Lunge feeding in rorqual whales (a group that includes blue, humpback and fin whales) is unique among mammals, but details of how it works have remained elusive. Now, scientists from the Smithsonian and University of British Columbia have solved the mystery. They discovered a sensory organ in the chin of rorqual whales that communicates to the brain. The organ orchestrates the dramatic adjustments needed in jaw position and throat-pouch expansion to make lunge feeding successful.

New means of safeguarding world fish stocks proven
22 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Bangor University) Powerful and versatile new genetic tools that will assist in safeguarding both European fish stocks and European consumers is reported in Nature Communications. The paper reports on the first system proven to identify populations of fish species to a forensic level of validation.

WhaleWatch: Satellite tracking to help reduce number of whales entangled in fishing gear
22 May 2012, 4:00 am
(University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science) A new project aims to reduce the number of whales entangled in fishing gear by identifying the areas they are most likely to visit. WhaleWatch uses satellite data and migration models of gray whales and several endangered species to identify high-risk areas and help develop conservation policies for reducing ship strikes and entanglements off the US West Coast. Gray whales are the species most often hit by ships and entangled in fishing gear.

New study by WHOI scientists provides baseline measurements of carbon in Arctic Ocean
21 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have conducted a new study to measure levels of carbon at various depths in the Arctic Ocean. The study, recently published in the journal Biogeosciences, provides data that will help researchers better understand the Arctic Ocean's carbon cycle -- the pathway through which carbon enters and is used by the marine ecosystem.

Finding fingerprints in sea level rise
18 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Harvard University) As described in a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, graduate students Eric Morrow and Carling Hay demonstrate the use of a statistical tool called a Kalman smoother to identify "sea level fingerprints" -- tell-tale variations in sea level rise -- in a synthetic data set. Using those fingerprints, scientists can determine where glacial melting is occurring.

May GSA Bulletin postings take global geology tour
18 May 2012, 4:00 am
(Geological Society of America) GSA Bulletin papers posted online 3-18 May 2012 cover a variety of locations: the Coast Range basalt province, southwest Washington State, USA; the Faroe Islands of the northeast Atlantic margin; Wairarapa fault, North Island, New Zealand; the eastern Mediterranean Sea offshore of southern Crete; the southern central Andes of Argentina; the Adriatic Carbonate Platform of southwest Slovenia; the Atacama Desert, Chile; Questa caldera, northern New Mexico, USA; the Norwegian Caledonides; and Lake Tahoe, USA.