Pacific Ocean

How Can The Pacific and a ‘Warm Blob’ Be the Cause of California’s Drought?

For several years now it has appeared that the climate in the West has been drastically changing. Naysayers might say that the illusion of “climate change” is all in our heads, but for those who had to ration water this past summer in California, the concept of climate change is certainly no longer a joke. But the conversation may not be entirely full of gloom and doom. In fact, thanks to our beloved Pacific Ocean and that nice coastal breeze that we love so dear, we may just see cooler temperatures after all, but we’re not like to get more rain.

Tropical Cyclone Pam Devastates Vanuatu in the South Pacific

In the midst of unimaginable destruction, meteorologists say that a cyclone, designated “Cyclone Pam”, will continue to devastate islands in the South Pacific even after the storm brought torrential rains and fierce winds hour after hour since the start of the weekend.

Carbon Dioxide Caught Red Handed By Scientists

It is no secret that greenhouse gas emissions, and especially carbon dioxide, are on the rise much to the alarm of governments, scientists and environmentalists around the globe. These gases get their name from their effect of trapping the suns energy inside the atmosphere causing temperatures to rise. However, scientists had not directly observed this effect, until now.

A Race Against the Clock—Volunteers in New Zealand Try to Save Stranded Pilot Whale Pod

In a race against the clock, volunteers in New Zealand’s famous Golden Bay are attempting to save the near 200 pilot whales that beached themselves early Friday morning, Feb. 13. In what researchers say is the largest beaching event in over a decade, the pod of pilot whales became trapped on a sandbar known as the “Farewell Spit”, which is a common trap for migrating whales.

When Roses Bloom in Northern California, Researchers Take Notice

While the presence of small pink roses may seem like an innocuous blossom, researchers from the University of California, Santa Cruz are finding that as little creatures appear they signal warmer waters to come. No, these pink roses aren’t flora species, they’re hot pink sea slugs found traditionally in southern California tide pools. But as they’ve migrated north, researchers now believe that coastal water temperatures are on the rise, and this could have serious implications farther up on the food chain.

Is Climate Change To Blame for These Blooming Pink Nudibranchs?

While they be fun to look at, a new sight in northern California tide pools are causing quite a bit of concern as the shades of oceanic blue are filled with one-inch blotches of hot pink. The culprits, known as Hopkin’s Rose Nudibranch (Okenia rosacea), are sea slugs common to the warmer waters of southern California. But as water temperatures shift, researchers fear that their migration further up the coast may be a sign of what’s to come.

New Island Created By Volcano in Tonga

The Earth continues to change its landscape right before our eyes. A volcanic eruption in Tonga has created a new island, but one scientist says it could soon vanish just as quickly as it formed.

Scientists Baffled by Mysterious Sea Bird Deaths

Scientists have been trying to discover the cause of death of many sea birds up and down the shores of the Pacific Coast. These mysterious deaths have been increasing in number since October 2014 and researchers are, thus far, baffled by the cause -- although they continue to investigate.

What Manganese and the Trade Winds Tell Researchers about the Coral Bleaching Epidemic of the Pacific

Researchers from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), tasked with monitoring the overall health of Pacific coral reefs are sounding an alarm of international proportions to notify the public and government agencies that the Pacific Ocean coral reefs are facing a massive die-off known commonly as “coral bleaching”. Publishing their recent study in the journal Nature Geoscience, the researchers are pointing towards warming oceans and dying trade winds for the massive coral bleaching soon to hit these coral reefs, and are naming global climate change as a contributing factor.

Plastic Pollution Causes ‘Tons’ of Problems as New Estimates Reveal Litter on the Rise

While the biochemistry of the world’s oceans may be a complex study, with a myriad of variants, researchers are certain of one simple fact—man-made plastics do not belong in the oceans. And the pollution of our oceans is far more vast than the world would like to admit. But in a new study recently published in this week’s issue of the journal PLOS ONE researchers are saying that the Earth’s oceans may contain more than 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic particulates, weighing nearly 270,000 tons combined which is far larger than previous studies ever estimated the pollution to be.
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