marine science

Working aboard research vessels in the Atlantic, scientists mapped the distribution of nutrients including phosphorous and nitrogen and investigated how organisms such as phytoplankton are sustained in areas with low nutrient levels.
They found that plants are able to grow in these regions because they are able to take advantage of iron minerals in Saharan dust […]

In the world of underwater robots, this is a team of pioneers. While most ocean robots require periodic communication with scientist or satellite intermediaries to share information, these can work cooperatively communicating only with each other.
Over the past five years Kristi Morgansen, a University of Washington assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics, has built three […]

An international team of physical oceanographers including a researcher from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has discovered that oxygen-poor regions of tropical oceans are expanding as the oceans warm, limiting the areas in which predatory fishes and other marine organisms can live or enter in search of food.
The new study is led […]

Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have identified a potential “red tide killer.” Red tides and related phenomena in which microscopic algae accumulate rapidly in dense concentrations have been on the rise in recent years, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in worldwide losses to fisheries and beach tourism activities. Despite […]

How did nature make the squid’s beak super hard and sharp — allowing it, without harm to its soft body — to capture its prey?
The question has captivated those interested in creating new materials that mimic biological materials. The results are published in this week’s issue of the journal Science.
The sharp beak of the Humboldt […]

A new study suggests the largest fish in the sea is thriving under regulated ecotourism.
Up to 20 meters long and weighing as much as 20 tons, its enormous size gives the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) its name. Known as the ‘gentle giant’ for its non-predatory behavior, this fish, with its broad, flattened head and minute […]