ocean

From the Surface of Jupiter's Moon—Europa Reveals Icy Glass

Medicine & Technology The European Space Agency (ESA) has just published a striking picture of Europa, Jupiter's icy moon. In the image the surface looks like shattered glass; it reveals many interlocking cracks in the moon's icy crust which were formed by an ocean below the moon's surface. Now a team from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) led by planetary scientist Kevin Hand has identified the cracks as sea salt.

Overfishing Leads to Aggressive Competition in Caribbean Coral Reefs

While they may make great loofas, in the coral communities of the Caribbean reefs sponges are a greater threat than perhaps even humans. Aggressive competitors for resources and space, these nefarious neighbors have been known to use shading, smothering, snot and even toxins to kill their coral counterparts, literally living on what’s left of their remains. And without many natural predators, these sponges continue to damage reef-building corals unless kept under control.

Introducing the Pocket Shark

Researchers studying the feeding habits of sperm whales ended up finding more than they could have expected when they came across on the second ever known specimen of an incredibly rare and very small shark dubbed the "Pocket Shark." The first pocket shark was discovered 36 years ago near Peru but hasn't been seen since.

Vampire Squids Reveal Far More Secrets Below—How These Deep-Sea Dwellers Are Changing The Biology Game

It’s no real big secret that researchers still don’t know much about what lies deep within the ocean’s unreachable depths. And thus it is ever evident that marine ecologists also do not known a lot about life at the lower depths. But with a new study published this week in the journal Current Biology, researchers now reveal that even the creatures they have found and studied in detail may house some strange secrets of the vast oceans, as well.

Two Sperm Whale Deaths Spark Conversation of Conservation Efforts in Florida

In light of two deaths this week, Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is bringing attention to important conservation work along the Floridian shores and are asking the public to stay informed on critically endangered species in the area, whose lives may depend on the help of humans.

After Shark Attack, Mother and Newborn Sperm Whales are Put Down on Neptune Beach

A story that should have celebrated the birth of another whale into the world ended in tragedy Monday, after the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission made the decision to put two sperm whales down. Though often rapid response units are able to successful push whales back out to shore after a brief beaching, the circumstances surrounding the beaching led local officials to make the life-or-death decision.

Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria—Could Swimming This Spring Break Land You In the Hospital?

Using coastal waters can often be quite a finicky endeavor. Working your plans around algal blooms, red tides and even the occasional sewage mishap, can often be a pretty unpleasant mess. But it turns out that swimmers and surfers may have more to fear than getting a little dirty at the beach. Aside from Giardia, a parasite that is often passed in coastal waters, it turns out that recreational swimmers at local beaches may also be at a significantly higher risk of transmitting deadly antibiotic resistant bacteria—landing them in the hospital or worse.

Gulf Stream Slowed by Greenland Ice Sheet Melting

The 2014-15 winter was one of the warmest ever recorded in history according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. However, there is one area of the North Atlantic that hasn't been affected by this warming trend and the phenomenon has been the same since around 1970.

How the Neurons of A Sea Slug Could Change Neurobiology Forever

It’s a common belief that when you think of neurobiology you often imagine the brain and the central nervous system one neuron at a time. And for many years, that’s exactly how researchers had to approach the larger questions. By tagging in particular neurotransmitters, that would convey the passing of one signal from neuron to neuron, researchers were able to follow the path of a signal back and forth along an axon. But now, with new imaging technology and a new model organism in mind, researchers in neurobiology are seeking new ways in which we study the brain—mapping neural circuits and their functions in great detail, on the large scale.

Tide of the Decade Sweeps Across France’s Atlantic Coast, Turning Islets into Islands

How strong are the sun and the moon’s pull on the tides? A lot stronger than you may have ever believed. In what happened to be a perfect trifecta of cosmic events, this Friday’s alignment allowed for a supermoon, a total solar eclipse, and perhaps one of the greatest ocean surges our generation has seen since the turn of the 21st century. In fact, in what happened to be a tourist’s dream, the picturesque Mont Saint Michel Abbey on the coast of France was turned into a island for a brief while as the “tide of the century” submerged the path that leads to its fortified walls.

Arctic Winter Ice Reaches All Time Low

While much of the northeastern and central United States froze to death this snowy winter, the cold chill didn't extend to the north as scientists have discovered that the winter ice levels are at record lows.

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.
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