All Articles Tagged As: oceans

Glaciologist Projects Sea Level Rise (9/8/2008)

Researcher estimates that it would take a 40 fold increase in glacier calving to achieve the amount of sea level rise claimed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. ...> Full Article

Global Sea-Rise Levels By 2100 May Be Lower Than Some Predict (9/5/2008)

Despite projections by some scientists of global seas rising by 20 feet or more by the end of this century as a result of warming, a new study concludes that global sea rise of much more than 6 feet is a near physical impossibility. ...> Full Article

Ice Age lesson predicts a faster rise in sea level (9/4/2008)

Team reports that sea level rise from greenhouse-induced warming of the Greenland ice sheet could be double or triple current estimates over the next century. ...> Full Article

Analysis of past glacial melting shows potential for increased Greenland ice melt and sea level rise (9/2/2008)

Findings show that sea level rise as a result of ice sheet melt can happen very rapidly ...> Full Article

Oil, Gas Seismic Work Not Affecting Sperm Whales (8/22/2008)

Seismic airguns during geophysical exploration for oil and gas - seem to have minimal effect on endangered sperm whales ...> Full Article

Hurricanes and climate change: A sharper view (8/17/2008)

New results support suggestions that global warming will do little to change hurricane activity ...> Full Article

Antarctic Climate: Short-Term Spikes, Long-Term Warming Linked to Tropical Pacific (8/16/2008)

Dramatic year-to-year temperature swings and a century-long warming trend across West Antarctica are linked to conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean ...> Full Article

Successful series of measurements in Arctic sea ice (8/14/2008)

RV Polarstern completes work in the Fram Strait and enters port in Reykjavik ...> Full Article

North Pole could lose summer ice (8/10/2008)

Study of the Arctic's sea ice has confirmed its ongoing, massive shrinking and drastic thinning. ...> Full Article

Deep sea giants hold clues to fossil fuels (8/9/2008)

As fuel prices continue to rise, researchers have shown how giant channels on the ocean floor could point the way to finding new oil and gas reserves. ...> Full Article

NASA data show some African drought linked to warmer Indian Ocean (8/8/2008)

A new study, co-funded by NASA, has identified a link between a warming Indian Ocean and less rainfall in eastern and southern Africa. Computer models and observations show a decline in rainfall, with implications for the region's food security. ...> Full Article

Scientists break record by finding northernmost hydrothermal vent field (7/25/2008)

Well inside the Arctic Circle, scientists have found black smoker vents farther north than anyone has ever seen before ...> Full Article

Geologist finds clues to ancient chemistry of deep oceans (7/24/2008)

Researchers have moved another step closer to explaining changes in the chemistry of the deep oceans – and the sudden appearance of large animal fossils – more than 500 million years ago. ...> Full Article

Scientists offer new explanation for monsoon development (7/22/2008)

Geoscientists have come up with a new explanation for the formation of monsoons, proposing an overhaul of a theory about the cause of the seasonal pattern of heavy winds and rainfall that essentially had held firm for more than 300 years. ...> Full Article

Invisible Waves Shape Continental Slope, Researcher Says (7/3/2008)

A class of powerful, invisible waves hidden beneath the surface of the ocean can shape the underwater edges of continents and contribute to ocean mixing and climate, researchers have found. ...> Full Article

Rapid Climate Change: past; present; future (6/27/2008)

Key findings from an ambitious research project that provided the first 'early detection system' for climate changes in the Atlantic Ocean ...> Full Article

Active submarine volcanoes found near Fiji (6/20/2008)

Several huge active submarine volcanoes, spreading ridges and rift zones have been discovered northeast of Fiji ...> Full Article

Ocean temperatures and sea level increases 50 percent higher than earlier predictions (6/19/2008)

New research suggests that ocean temperature and associated sea level increases between 1961 and 2003 were 50 percent larger than estimated in the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. ...> Full Article

Ebb and flow of the sea drives world's big extinction events (6/17/2008)

The oceans epic ebbs and flows of sea level and sediment over the course of geologic time, that is the primary cause of the world's periodic mass extinctions during the past 500 million years ...> Full Article

'Time Machine' Lab Could Propel New Research (6/8/2008)

High-precision thermal ionization mass spectrometer will help geoscientists explore the ancient worlds of the deep geological past and allow these researchers to determine the ages of rocks that are millions to billions of years old. ...> Full Article

Bacteria 'Feed' on Earth's Ocean-Bottom Crust (6/1/2008)

Rocks on and under seafloor offer feast for microbes ...> Full Article

Arctic explorer delivers unique snow-depth data for CryoSat (5/24/2008)

Following a formidable 106-day trek across the Arctic, which ended with the two Arctic Arc expedition members relying on Envisat images to guide them safely through disintegrating sea-ice, intrepid polar explorer Alain Hubert recently visited ESA to handover a unique set of snow-depth measurements ...> Full Article

Scientists aim to unlock deep-sea 'secrets' of Earth's crust (5/15/2008)

Scientists to use robots to explore the depths of the Atlantic Ocean to study the growth of underwater volcanoes that build the Earth's crust. ...> Full Article

As Climate Warms, Underwater Deserts Grow in Tropical Oceans (5/11/2008)

Oxygen-poor waters are expanding in tropical regions of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans ...> Full Article

Modelling the impact of the Severn Tidal Power Project (5/11/2008)

Researchers are making it possible to more accurately predict the impact of using the world's second highest tidal range as a source of energy. ...> Full Article

Researchers Predict 59 Percent Chance Of Record Low Arctic Sea Ice In 2008 (5/5/2008)

Calculations indicate the record low minimum extent of sea ice across the Arctic last September has a three-in-five chance of being shattered again in 2008 because of continued warming temperatures and a preponderance of younger, thinner ice. ...> Full Article

Geochemist Challenges Key Theory Regarding Earth's Formation (5/2/2008)

Researcher calls into question three decades of conventional wisdom regarding some of the physical processes that helped shape the Earth as we know it today. ...> Full Article

Scientists Discover New Ocean Current (5/1/2008)

Scientists have discovered a new climate pattern called the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation ...> Full Article

Formation of ice sheets 34 million years ago changed ocean acidity (4/29/2008)

Before ice first began to form in Antarctica around 34 million years ago, the Earth was a very different place - but then greenhouse conditions swiftly gave way to an icehouse climate, causing the oceans to become less acidic. ...> Full Article

Under the sea (3/29/2008)

Scientists explore huge volume of molten rock now frozen into the crust under the ocean's floor. ...> Full Article

How Iron Gets into the North Pacific (3/21/2008)

Is the Dust-Storm Theory Overblown? ...> Full Article

Researchers say Arctic sea ice still at risk despite cold winter (3/19/2008)

Using the latest satellite observations, NASA researchers and others report that the Arctic is still on "thin ice" when it comes to the condition of sea ice cover in the region. ...> Full Article

Glacier Melt Impact on Sea-Level is Underestimated (3/15/2008)

Global sea level has been climbing steadily over the past 80 years-and the contribution from melting ice has been more substantial than previously estimated, according to new research in Science Express. ...> Full Article

New Method to Estimate Sea Ice Thickness (3/9/2008)

Scientists recently developed a new modeling approach to estimate sea ice thickness. This is the only model based entirely on historical observations. ...> Full Article

Two Oxygenation Events In Ancient Oceans Sparked Spread Of Complex Life (3/7/2008)

The rise of oxygen and the oxidation of deep oceans between 635 and 551 million years ago may have had an impact on the increase and spread of the earliest complex life, including animals, according to a new study. ...> Full Article

Greenland's Rising Air Temperatures Drive Ice Loss At Surface And Beyond (2/23/2008)

A new NASA study confirms that the surface temperature of Greenland's massive ice sheet has been rising, stoked by warming air temperatures, and fueling loss of the island's ice at the surface and throughout the mass beneath. ...> Full Article

Cold conspirators: Ice crystals implicated in Arctic pollution (2/22/2008)

Frost flowers. Diamond dust. Hoarfrost. These poetically named ice crystal forms are part of the stark beauty of the Arctic. But they also play a role in its pollution, a new study by scientists at the University of Michigan, the Cold Regions Research & Engineering Laboratory and the University of Alaska has found. ...> Full Article

La Niña Conditions Strengthen, Expected To Continue (2/19/2008)

The current La Niña event, characterized by a cooling of the sea surface in the central and eastern Equatorial Pacific, has strengthened slightly in recent months and is expected to continue through the first quarter of 2008, with a likelihood of persisting through to the middle of the year. ...> Full Article

Past greenhouse warming events provide clues to what the future may hold (2/18/2008)

If carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels continue on a "business-as-usual" trajectory, humans will have added about 5 trillion metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere by the year 2400. A similarly massive release of carbon accompanied an extreme period of global warming 55 million years ago known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). ...> Full Article

Scientists Reveal First-Ever Global Map of Total Human Effects on Oceans (2/17/2008)

More than 40 percent of the world's oceans are heavily affected by human activities, and few if any areas remain untouched, according to the first global-scale study of human influence on marine ecosystems. By overlaying maps of 17 different activities such as fishing, climate change, and pollution, the researchers have produced a composite map of the toll that humans have exacted on the seas. ...> Full Article

Robot Plumbs Wisconsin Lake on Way to Antarctica, Jovian Moon (2/12/2008)

A University of Illinois at Chicago scientist will lead a team testing a robotic probe in a polar-style, under-ice exploration that may have out-of-this world applications. ...> Full Article

What is a red tide? (2/11/2008)

Although its name sounds like a low-budget horror movie, you won't find "Red Tide" at a theater near you. To take in this natural phenomenon, you'll have to venture to the ocean, because red tide - or more scientifically, HAB or harmful algae bloom - occurs when a harmful variety of algae reproduces so densely that the water appears red, yellowish-brown or green from the high concentrations of photosynthetic pigments. ...> Full Article

Natural Ocean 'Thermostat' May Protect Some Coral Reefs (2/8/2008)

Natural processes may prevent oceans from warming beyond a certain point, helping protect some coral reefs from the impacts of climate change, new research finds. The study, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), finds evidence that an ocean "thermostat" appears to be helping to regulate sea-surface temperatures in a biologically diverse region of the western Pacific. ...> Full Article

Lost City pumps life-essential chemicals at rates unseen at typical black smokers (2/3/2008)

Hydrocarbons -- molecules critical to life -- are being generated by the simple interaction of seawater with the rocks under the Lost City hydrothermal vent field in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. ...> Full Article

Innovative Method Improves Tsunami Warning Systems, Offers New Insights (1/30/2008)

A wave of new NASA research on tsunamis has yielded an innovative method to improve existing tsunami warning systems, and a potentially groundbreaking new theory on the source of the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. ...> Full Article

For geoscientist Simons, Earth's deepest secrets may come from the sea (1/29/2008)

Princeton Earth scientist Frederik Simons believes the answers to questions about such unpredictable and destructive acts of nature as earthquakes and volcanoes might best be found floating in the ocean. ...> Full Article

New radar satellite technique sheds light on ocean current dynamics (1/26/2008)

Ocean surface currents have long been the focus of research due to the role they play in weather, climate and transportation of pollutants, yet essential aspects of these currents remain unknown. ...> Full Article

Alaska Glacier Speed-up Tied To Internal Plumbing Issues, Says Study (1/19/2008)

A University of Colorado at Boulder study indicates meltwater periodically overwhelms the interior drainpipes of Alaska's Kennicott Glacier and causes it to lurch forward, similar to processes that may help explain the acceleration of glaciers observed recently on the Greenland ice sheet that are contributing to global sea rise. ...> Full Article

Mapping of Greenland may aid understanding of sea-level mystery (1/16/2008)

A University of Alberta Arctic ice researcher is closing in on some real understanding about the process that might be feeding rising sea levels. ...> Full Article

A Warming Climate Can Support Glacial Ice (1/11/2008)

New research indicates glacial ice existed on earth during intense period of global warming ...> Full Article

North Atlantic Warming Tied to Natural Variability (1/7/2008)

But global warming may be at play elsewhere in the world's oceans, scientists surmise ...> Full Article

Study suggests future sea-level rises may be even higher than predicted (12/25/2007)

A new study of past sea levels shows that they rose by an average of 1.6 metres every one hundred years the last time the Earth was as warm as it is predicted to be later this century, with levels reaching up to six metres above those seen today. The findings suggest that current predictions of sea-level rises may be too low. ...> Full Article

Evolution Tied to Earth Movement (12/21/2007)

Geologists Say 'Wall of Africa' Allowed Humanity to Emerge ...> Full Article

Ancient Flood Disrupted Ocean Circulation And Triggered Climate Cooling (12/20/2007)

As the giant North American ice sheets melted an enormous pool of freshwater, many times larger than all of the Great Lakes, formed behind them. About 8400 years ago this pool of freshwater burst free and flooded the North Atlantic. About the same time, a sharp century long cold spell is observed around the North Atlantic and other areas. Researchers have often speculated that the cooling was the result of changes in ocean circulation triggered by this freshwater flood. The sudden addition of so much freshwater would have curtailed (suppressed) the sinking of deep water in the North Atlantic and as a consequence less warm water would be pulled north in the Gulf stream. ...> Full Article

Engineering researchers capture optical 'rogue waves' (12/19/2007)

Findings could help resolve mystery of monster ocean waves ...> Full Article

Geologist probes undersea seismic zone as part of new deep-drilling experiment (12/15/2007)

The first effort to drill into an undersea zone where massive earthquakes and tsunamis are generated has yielded new data on the stresses that build up there, according to Casey Moore, a professor of Earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz. ...> Full Article

Giant submarine landslide identified (11/24/2007)

An enormous submarine landslide that disintegrated 60,000 years ago produced the longest flow of sand and mud yet documented on Earth. The massive submarine flow travelled 1,500 kilometres - the distance from London to Rome - before depositing its load. ...> Full Article

'Noah's flood' kick-started European farming (11/20/2007)

The flood believed to be behind the Noah's Ark myth kick-started European agriculture, according to new research by the Universities of Exeter and Wollongong, Australia. Published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews, the research paper assesses the impact of the collapse of the North American (Laurentide) Ice Sheet, 8000 years ago. The results indicate a catastrophic rise in global sea level led to the flooding of the Black Sea and drove dramatic social change across Europe. The research team argues that, in the face of rising sea levels driven by contemporary climate change, we can learn important lessons from the past. ...> Full Article

Scientists reveal secrets of ancient ocean in new book (11/15/2007)

Closure of Rheic Ocean created Pangaea, Appalachian Mountains ...> Full Article

NEPTUNE Completes First Phase of Installation (11/8/2007)

The first phase of the new NEPTUNE Canada ocean observatory is being completed today off the west coast of Vancouver Island. ...> Full Article

Climate Change Could Diminish Drinking Water More Than Expected (11/7/2007)

As sea levels rise, coastal communities could lose up to 50 percent more of their fresh water supplies than previously thought, according to a new study. ...> Full Article

Scientists help map Antarctic ice sheets (11/3/2007)

Newcastle University scientists are joining the race to discover how climate change is affecting Antarctic ice sheets. ...> Full Article

Extinction Theory Falls From Favor (10/28/2007)

The greatest mass extinction in Earth’s history also may have been one of the slowest, according to a study that casts further doubt on the extinction-by-meteor theory. ...> Full Article

New Way To Measure Ancient Ocean Temperatures Refined (10/25/2007)

Spanish researcher further refined the recently developed TEX86 paleothermometer. The thermometer measures seawater temperature dependent changes in the cell wall composition of archeabacteria. ...> Full Article

Why Is The Ocean Salty? (10/17/2007)

The saltiness of the sea comes from dissolved minerals, especially sodium, chlorine, sulfur, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, says Galen McKinley, a UW-Madison professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences. ...> Full Article