Oil spills raise arsenic levels in the ocean

Imperial College London News Release For Immediate Release: Friday 2 July 2010 Oil spills can increase levels of toxic arsenic in the ocean, creating an additional long-term threat to the marine ecosystem, according to research published today in the journal Water Research. Arsenic is a poisonous chemical element found in minerals and it is present […]

Graph of the Day: Average Global Sea Surface Temperature, 1880–2009

This graph shows how the average surface temperature of the world’s oceans has changed since 1880. This graph uses the 1971 to 2000 average as a baseline for depicting change. Choosing a different baseline period would not change the shape of the trend. The shaded band shows the likely range of values, based on the […]

Sea temperatures at all-time high, mass coral bleaching underway

Coral reefs support a quarter of the world’s marine life, but rising ocean temperatures are killing them. The impact of their decline could be huge, says marine biologist Olivia Durkin A a result of rising sea temperatures, we are seeing the degradation and eventual destruction of one of the most beautiful ecosystems on Earth. Corals […]

Polar oceans key to temperature in the tropics

Newcastle, UK (SPX) Jun 23, 2010 – Scientists have found that the ocean temperature at the earth’s polar extremes has a significant impact thousands of miles away at the equator. Newcastle University’s Dr Erin McClymont is part of an international team of researchers who have published research in Science, demonstrating a close link between the […]

Toxic metals threaten whales — ‘I don't see any future for whale species except extinction’

By ARTHUR MAX (AP)24 June 2010 AGADIR, Morocco — American scientists who shot nearly 1,000 sperm whales with tissue-sampling darts discovered stunningly high levels of toxic and heavy metals in the animals that they say could affect the health of both ocean life and the millions who eat seafood. A report Thursday noted high levels […]

Exotic Henslow crabs invading North Sea

(PhysOrg.com) — Climate change has led to masses of bizarre swimming crabs to invade the North Sea – hundreds of miles from their usual home, new research has revealed. The exotic Henslow swimming crabs have moved from the warm seas off Portugal to the increasingly comfortable waters off Britain’s east coast. Experts made the discovery […]

Graph of the Day: Ocean Heat Content, 1955–2008

This figure shows changes in ocean heat content between 1955 and 2008. Ocean heat content is measured in joules, a unit of energy, and compared against the long-term average, which is set at zero. • In three different data interpretations, the long-term trend shows that ocean heat content has increased substantially since 1955. • Although […]

Oceans choking on CO2, face deadly changes

By Michael Perry, ReutersJune 17, 2010 SYDNEY (Reuters) – The world’s oceans are virtually choking on rising greenhouse gases, destroying marine ecosystems and breaking down the food chain — irreversible changes that have not occurred for several million years, a new study says. The changes could have dire consequences for hundreds of millions of people […]

Arctic bird droppings loaded with environmental poisons, biologists say

By Jane George, Nunatsiaq News June 15, 2010 High Arctic seabirds carry a “cocktail” of contaminants, confirms new research, which analyzed the excrement of Arctic terns and eiders nesting on a small island north of Resolute Bay. The seabirds’ cocktail is not a particularly healthy mix for the birds or the land they nest on, […]

Climate changes in the Atlantic can affect drought in distant regions

(University of Haifa) Cyclical changes in atmospheric pressure and sea surface temperature in the North Atlantic Ocean affect drought in the Sahel region on the southern Sahara rim. This has been revealed in an international study carried out by researchers from the University of Haifa, the French National Meteorological Service, Columbia University and the University […]

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