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?
A baby sea turtle’s mad dash for the sea is perilous. A fake egg could make it safer.
A team of scientists dubbed “Nerds Without Borders” developed a sensor—disguised as a turtle egg—to predict when hatchlings head for the sea.
Scientists can now train coral to spawn on demand
Climate change has ravaged coral reefs on a massive scale. This breakthrough could revolutionize efforts to rebuild them.
The astonishing salt marsh-building power of the humble, tiny mussel
Researchers transplanted 200,000 of them and tracked the elevation of marshlands over 3 years; they contributed to new land at 5x the predicted rate.
Eyes on the High Seas
Illegal fishing is getting harder, thanks to public surveillance from space
A hot ocean is a hungry ocean
Ecosystems, fisheries managers and people who rely on fishing could be in for a wild ride, as scientists find that warmer oceans make for hungrier fish.
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.
On the hunt for heat-tolerant genes, coral farmers discover there is no “super coral.”
In reef restoration, as in the stock market, scientists find that a diverse and flexible portfolio is the best way to hedge ones bets in a changing world.
The unrealized potential of seaweed farming to clean up agricultural pollution
A research team calculated how strategically-planted beds of seaweed could help to clean up one of the world’s most polluted coastal environments, the Gulf of Mexico
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?
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.
