Dear Deeply Readers,
Welcome to the archives of Oceans Deeply. While we paused regular publication of the site on September 1, 2018, we are happy to serve as an ongoing public resource on ocean health and economy. We hope you’ll enjoy the reporting and analysis that was produced by our dedicated community of editors and contributors.
We continue to produce events and special projects while we explore where the on-site journalism goes next. If you’d like to reach us with feedback or ideas for collaboration you can do so at [email protected].
Sara Aminzadeh Executive Director, California Coastkeeper Alliance
Sara Aminzadeh, executive director of California Coastkeeper Alliance and a member of the California Coastal Commission, says there’s momentum for ambitious ocean commitments to be made at the upcoming Global Climate Action Summit.
Paul Harvey Environmental Science Researcher, Australia’s Macquarie University
As governments around the world rightly consider bans of various kinds of disposable plastics, nuance is needed to protect crucial applications, such as in research, food aid and medicine, argues environmental science researcher Paul Harvey of Macquarie University.
The future of krill – and all the marine wildlife that feed on them – is uncertain in the changing Southern Ocean. Krill biologist Stephen Nicol says they may be adaptable to climate change, but new technologies need to be deployed to study their enigmatic behavior.
Advanced cameras, including a 3D stereoscopic microscope, allow researchers to study how corals reproduce, grow and bleach at a micro-scale. That could aid efforts to save them.
Roberta Elias Deputy Director for Ocean Policy, World Wildlife Fund
Whitley Saumweber Ocean Policy Consultant
We must reorient our ocean management to adapt to new climate realities, say Whitley Saumweber, former ocean and coastal adviser to President Obama, and Roberta Elias of the World Wildlife Fund.
Following Capitol Hill Ocean Week, Oceans Deeply’s Jessica Leber and Kristen Sarri of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation discuss the ocean and coastal priorities of the Trump administration and Congress.
A coalition hopes to achieve a network of marine protected areas in the vast Southern Ocean by 2020. Earle argues that the health of the planet itself is at stake.
Researchers studied more than 200 tropical reefs and found that few will grow fast enough to keep pace with higher water levels due to climate change. This means the reefs won’t be able to break destructive waves that can wreak havoc on coastal communities.
On the Greek isle of Santorini, fishers, divers, scientists, government officials and environmentalists have devised their own plan to preserve the marine ecology of the waters surrounding an island dependent on fishing and tourism.
Thousands of people are expected to attend the March for the Ocean in Washington, D.C., this Saturday to draw attention to offshore drilling, plastic pollution and other issues in advance of the November election.
Scientists modeled projected increases in ocean temperatures through the end of the century and found that even the largest and well-protected marine reserves will not blunt the impact of climate change on biodiversity.
The collapse of Thwaites Glacier would unleash catastrophic sea level rise. Erin Pettit, one of more than 100 scientists involved with a new international collaboration, discusses how better ocean data will help predict the glacier’s – and humanity’s – fate.
Since California imposed clean air restrictions on vessels that travel through state waters, the number of fatal collisions with the big marine mammals has fallen as captains slow down. But much more needs to be done to reduce ship strikes, marine biologists say.
Next month, Ben Lecomte – who swam across the Atlantic in 1998 – will begin his attempt to swim from Tokyo to San Francisco to raise awareness about plastic pollution and other marine threats and to collect data on ocean conditions.
As the ocean’s pH drops, scientists are studying whether kelp and seagrass can create refuges that could help marine life survive acidifying waters.
Chip Cunliffe, director for sustainable development at XL Catlin, a global insurance and reinsurance group, explains why his company is hosting the first-ever Ocean Risk Summit in May and what it hopes to accomplish.
Scientists have identified a ‘biogeographic boundary’ for commercially valuable marine animals in the northwest Atlantic that divides genetically distinct populations of the same species. As temperatures rise, that dividing line is moving north.
In the latest installment of Deeply Talks, we discuss the world’s first insurance policy for a coral reef with experts at the Nature Conservancy. In Mexico, the policy will pay for coral reef restoration when destructive hurricanes strike.
The activist group Greenpeace, which tracked krill fishing vessels near sensitive Southern Ocean habitats, argues that the fishery is putting pressure on an ecosystem already threatened by climate change.
Scientists are investigating the role microbiomes play in coral health, trying to identity those microbial traits that make coral reefs resilient as ocean temperatures rise and bleaching events accelerate.
Sarah Cooley, a marine scientist at the Ocean Conservancy, explains the environmental group’s strategy for reaching out to both sides of the aisle on legislation to address ocean challenges in a divisive political environment.
Consumer products giant P&G is tackling marine pollution by creating bottles made from beach plastic and developing new technologies to reduce waste. P&G’s Virginie Helias talks about the importance of collaboration to solve the ocean plastic crisis.
Veteran oceanographer Eddy Carmack has witnessed five decades of accelerating change in the Arctic. As he accepted a lifetime achievement award in January, he talks about why ‘pan-Arctic’ research that crosses borders and disciplines is now imperative.
Sound not vision: Hydroacoustics allowed a single researcher to survey the fish population of a 17,600-acre preserve in Mexico in days. The technology could help small island states that are creating big marine protected areas but lack the resources to monitor them.
DARPA, the U.S. military’s R&D arm, is seeking proposals to deploy as many as 50,000 low-cost sensors across the ocean to gather data on marine conditions, but scientists say that the plan poses a significant technological challenge.
Steve Rintoul, an oceanographer at Australia’s CSIRO, is embarking on a mission to deploy floats that will collect data from deep in the Southern Ocean. He tells talks about why understanding this region is crucial to getting a better handle on climate change.
Scientists have found that melting sea ice is increasing the flow of nutrients into the central Arctic from the continental shelf. That could disrupt the marine food chain in unpredictable ways.
As temperatures rise, oxygen levels in the ocean are falling, threatening marine life and coastal economies. But the only solution to deoxygenation is to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions – and it may already be too late.
The maritime industry is full of risk, but piracy is a particularly frightening one. Conor Seyle of the foundation One Earth Future explains why the maritime industry needs to better address the PTSD that seafarers may experience.
In the past year, scientists exploring the world’s marine biodiversity and geology have found the deepest fish in the sea and drilled into a submerged ancient continent. Read more about some of the fruits of the year in ocean exploration.
In a deep, dark and unexplored corner of the ocean, researchers are searching for the answer to how all life on Earth began. Take a journey with them.
Hatchlings make a dangerous run for the ocean as soon as they are born, but light pollution can confuse them. Florida biologist Sarah L. Milton explains how she measured the physiological effects of babies getting lost.
In February, construction will begin on a research and expedition vessel like no other. Nina Jensen, the new chief executive of the company behind the ship, hopes that it will be a “floating think tank” that will change the conversation about ocean health.
A landmark 16-year prohibition on commercial fishing in the once ice-covered central Arctic Ocean will allow nations to conduct research on marine life in a little-explored region that is rapidly changing as climate change accelerates.
Tens of millions of the top ocean predator are killed every year when they’re caught in fishing lines. Researchers tracked blue sharks to see how close they get to fishing boats whose locations are now mapped worldwide in an effort to detect illegal activity.
Budget shortfalls and aging ships are starting to undermine key climate-change data-collection programs that help scientists gauge the state of the world’s oceans.
As this year’s meeting to implement the Paris Agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions, marine advocates will be present to argue that ocean protections play a crucial role in fighting climate change.
A new initiative will deploy acoustical and thermal imaging technology off California to locate the world’s largest animal and alert nearby vessels. But it’ll only help blue whales if captains of large ships heed warnings and slow their boats.
The 5 Gyres Institute’s pilot program takes high school students on ocean expeditions to show them how to collect and analyze plastic trash – with the goal of inspiring careers as scientists, policymakers and advocates.
The effects of ocean acidification on marine life have only become widely recognized in the past decade. Now researchers are rapidly expanding the scope of investigations into what falling pH means for ocean ecosystems.
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