Ocean Stories
Anthropocene brings some of the best minds to bear on tough questions about the future of the Earth’s largest ecosystems: Should nations farm their EEZs—and how can they do it ecologically? Are there economically viable ways to harvest plastic waste? Can we cultivate acid- and heat-resilient coral reefs?
Which countries are the wealthiest, when blue carbon is the currency?
Researchers calculated that mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass meadows store roughly the equivalent of the annual carbon emissions of France—with an estimated value of $190 billion per year.
How much is a mangrove forest worth? In some places, $850,000 per hectare.
Thousands of kilometers of shoreline would qualify as cost-effective candidates for mangrove forest and coral reef restoration, thanks to their ability to reduce flooding, new research shows.
Taming the Blue Frontier
Should the U.S. cultivate giant offshore fish farms in its piece of the sea or keep taking most of the fish we eat from foreign waters?
Researchers repurpose a medical tool to expose seafood fraud
A cancer-detecting device can be used to identify fish species in just 15 seconds
Which seafood is the most nutritious and the least carbon intensive?
A new study finds that species with exceptionally high nutrient levels overlap with those associated with low carbon emissions—pointing toward a more sustainable diet.
Letting the big fish get away could be an unexpected climate solution
Big fish sinking to the bottom of the sea could sequester millions of tons of carbon
Eyes on the High Seas
Illegal fishing is getting harder, thanks to public surveillance from space
Saltwater Aquaculture Moves Inland
Improved technology could give fish farms a sustainable foothold far from the ocean
Is plastic trash in the middle of the ocean becoming a new kind of island habitat?
Giant patches of plastic floating in the ocean have become home to an experiment in a new hybrid ecosystem, made up of stowaway species from coastal environments and organisms that dwell in the middle of the Pacific. Meet the "neopelagic" world.
A massive supply of fresh water exists as vapor above oceans. Scientists have an idea to tap it.
Desalinating the oceans is energy-hungry business, so why not economically and sustainably capture the water vapor floating above the oceans with cruise ship-sized structures?
