All posts tagged: Ocean

Tethys Seaway: The lost ocean that forever changed life on Earth

Tethys Seaway: The lost ocean that forever changed life on Earth

Published by skeptic

As the Earth’s crust shifted and groaned over millions of years, something extraordinary happened beneath the surface. Deep inside the planet, hot rock began rising. Over time, this invisible force shaped continents, guided ocean currents, and even set the stage for animal evolution—including the rise of humans. It all traces back to the slow closure of an ancient ocean known as the Tethys Seaway. Once stretching between the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific, this vast seaway shaped the world in powerful ways. Its eventual closure altered global climate, changed marine life, and created new land connections. These events allowed animals to roam and evolve in ways that would never have happened otherwise. A geologic story told by shifting plates Around 100 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period, Africa began inching toward Eurasia. The Tethys Ocean, caught in between, began to shrink. Over millions of years, this movement sparked a series of tectonic collisions. As the African plate pushed north, smaller continental blocks—Adria, Arabia, and India—broke off at different times and began their own journeys …

First ever confirmed image of a colossal squid in the deep ocean

First ever confirmed image of a colossal squid in the deep ocean

Published by skeptic

A colossal squid — the largest invertebrate on the planet — has been filmed alive in its wild habitat for the first time. For decades, the Kraken-like colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) was more myth than reality: scientists had only a vague sense of its appearance from fragments of its remains found in the stomachs of the whales that eat the molluscs. In fact, it was through those remains that the species was officially described by zoologists in 1925. Finally, in 1981, fishers in Antarctica accidentally reeled up a live colossal squid in their fishing nets. Since then, the animals have sometimes been killed as fishing bycatch, or have washed ashore dead. Last month, a vessel from the Schmidt Ocean Institute, a US-based non-profit organisation, was surveying the Southern Ocean near the South Sandwich Islands and live-streaming the footage from their remotely controlled deep-sea cameras, when an online viewer flagged that they might have just filmed a colossal squid. Acting on the tip, the researchers sent the high-resolution footage to independent squid experts. The experts confirmed …

NASA Visualizes the Ocean Currents in Motion: A Mesmerizing View of Earth’s Underwater Highways

NASA Visualizes the Ocean Currents in Motion: A Mesmerizing View of Earth’s Underwater Highways

Published by José

The mes­mer­iz­ing video above lets you visu­al­ize the ocean cur­rents around the world. Using data from space­craft, buoys, and oth­er mea­sure­ments, the visu­al­iza­tion shows the ocean in motion, with the cur­rents cre­at­ing Van Gogh-like swirls around the globe. Accord­ing to NASA, “the ocean has been [his­tor­i­cal­ly] dif­fi­cult to mod­el. Sci­en­tists strug­gled in years past to sim­u­late ocean cur­rents or accu­rate­ly pre­dict fluc­tu­a­tions in tem­per­a­ture, salin­i­ty, and oth­er prop­er­ties. As a result, mod­els of ocean dynam­ics rapid­ly diverged from real­i­ty, which meant they could only pro­vide use­ful infor­ma­tion for brief peri­ods.” This all changed, how­ev­er, when NASA and oth­er part­ners devel­oped ECCO, short for “Esti­mat­ing the Cir­cu­la­tion and Cli­mate of the Ocean.” “By apply­ing the laws of physics to data from mul­ti­ple satel­lites and thou­sands of float­ing sen­sors, NASA sci­en­tists and their col­lab­o­ra­tors built ECCO to be a real­is­tic, detailed, and con­tin­u­ous ocean mod­el that spans decades.” “The project pro­vides mod­els that are the best pos­si­ble recon­struc­tion of the past 30 years of the glob­al ocean. It allows us to under­stand the ocean’s phys­i­cal process­es at …

Mars could have once had sandy beaches and a large ocean, scientists say | Science, Climate & Tech News

Mars could have once had sandy beaches and a large ocean, scientists say | Science, Climate & Tech News

Published by skeptic

Go back a mere four billion years, and Mars could have been the perfect destination for a summer holiday. According to scientists, hidden underneath the red planet is evidence that there were once sandy beaches and a large ocean on its surface. Data obtained from China’s Zhurong rover indicate that the ocean – known as Deuteronilus – would have existed roughly 3.5 to four billion years ago, a time when Mars had a thicker atmosphere and warmer climate. The rover, which operated from May 2021 to May 2022, travelled about 1.2 miles (1.9km) on the planet, and detected thick layers of material with properties similar to sand around 35-115ft below the surface. The sand-like material was all sloped in the same direction and at an angle, similar to beaches on Earth, and spanned for three quarters of a mile, researchers said. Image: The Chinese Mars rover Zhurong. Pic: AP/CNSA The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, said these beaches would have been formed by similar processes to …

Evidence of beaches from ancient Martian ocean detected by Chinese rover

Evidence of beaches from ancient Martian ocean detected by Chinese rover

Published by Sam

“The beaches would have been formed by similar processes to those on Earth – waves and tides,” said Liu, one of the leaders of the study published on Monday (Feb 24) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Such oceans would have profoundly influenced Mars’ climate, shaped its landscape and created environments potentially suitable for life to emerge and thrive.” “Shorelines are great locations to look for evidence of past life,” said planetary scientist and study co-author Michael Manga of the University of California, Berkeley. “It’s thought that the earliest life on Earth began at locations like this, near the interface of air and shallow water.” The rover explored in the southern part of Utopia Planitia, a large plain in the Martian northern hemisphere. The researchers ruled out other possible explanations for the structures Zhurong detected. “A primary part of this work was testing these other hypotheses. Wind-blown dunes were considered, but there were a few issues. First, dunes tend to come in groups, and these groups produce characteristic patterns not present …

Understanding of marine ecosystems is alarmingly low – here’s why ocean literacy matters

Understanding of marine ecosystems is alarmingly low – here’s why ocean literacy matters

Published by skeptic

Understanding the relationship between humans and the ocean is crucial for making informed and effective decisions that will shape the future of our ocean. With this in mind, achieving lasting global progress in ocean protection requires prioritising ocean literacy. Right now, there is a disconnect between young peoples’ recognition of the ocean’s vital role in climate change, and the measures required to protect and restore it. My work as a marine social scientist focuses on ocean literacy. For me, knowledge is one of the most powerful tools to incite the action needed to save ocean health. The development of ocean literacy, through a range of education and engagement initiatives worldwide that embrace different types of knowledge, must be better prioritised. Only then can we equip young people with what they need to protect our ocean and to know who to hold accountable for its health. The ocean — stretching past the horizon, beneath the surface, and into the depths — remains largely out of sight, out of mind. But what happens within it affects us. …

Arctic groundwater is pumping harmful carbon into the ocean

Arctic groundwater is pumping harmful carbon into the ocean

Published by skeptic

Researchers have discovered that a relatively small amount of Arctic groundwater trickling through Alaska’s tundra is releasing huge quantities of carbon into the ocean, where it can contribute to climate change. They found that although Arctic groundwater only makes up a fraction of the water discharged to the sea, it’s liberating an estimated 230 tonnes of organic carbon per day along the 2,000-kilometre coastline of the Beaufort Sea in summer. This quantity of carbon is on par with what free-flowing rivers in the area release during the summer months. “This study shows that there are humongous amounts of organic carbon and carbon dioxide released via fresh groundwater discharge in summer,” said Cansu Demir, who led the research. Arctic groundwater is creating a huge carbon source As the tundra continues to thaw and the flow of submarine groundwater ratchets up, Demir said that the outflow of carbon from shore to sea could effectively make ocean surface waters a carbon source to the atmosphere. The CO2 released via Arctic groundwater could also contribute to ocean acidification and …

Surge in ocean heat is a sign climate change is accelerating

Surge in ocean heat is a sign climate change is accelerating

Published by skeptic

High sea temperatures contributed to stormy weather in California in late 2023 Kevin Carter/Getty Images The surge in ocean temperatures to record-breaking levels in 2023 and 2024 is a sign that the pace of climate change has accelerated, say researchers. Global ocean temperatures hit record highs for 450 days straight in 2023 and early 2024. Although some of the extra heat can be explained by an El Niño weather pattern emerging in the Pacific Ocean, about 44 per cent of the record warmth is down to the world’s oceans absorbing heat from the sun at an accelerating rate, according to Chris Merchant at the University of Reading, UK. Merchant and his colleagues used satellite data to analyse ocean warming over the past four decades, concluding that the rate of warming has more than quadrupled since 1985. The team says this rapid acceleration is down to a sharp change in Earth’s energy imbalance (EEI), a measure of how much heat is being trapped in the atmosphere. EEI has roughly doubled since 2010, causing the oceans to …

After the Ocean by Lauren E. Rico

After the Ocean by Lauren E. Rico

Published by skeptic

Lauren E. Rico’s “After the Ocean” is a deeply moving exploration of family secrets, lost love, and the ripple effects of decisions made in desperate times. The novel masterfully weaves together multiple timelines and perspectives, creating a rich tapestry of interconnected lives affected by one pivotal moment—the disappearance of Paul Winstead from a honeymoon cruise thirty years ago. Rico’s writing style is fluid and engaging, with a particular talent for crafting authentic dialogue that reveals character depth while moving the story forward. The author demonstrates remarkable skill in handling multiple point-of-view characters, seamlessly transitioning between perspectives without losing narrative momentum. Character Development & Relationships The heart of the story lies in its well-drawn characters and their complex relationships: Emilia/Emily: A woman who sacrificed everything to protect her unborn child, living decades under an assumed identity. Her character arc from frightened young bride to protective mother to woman reclaiming her past is compelling and believable. Gracie: The daughter who inherited more than just her father’s looks – her drive, perfectionism, and struggle with relationships mirror both …

Investing in ocean innovation for a better world

Investing in ocean innovation for a better world

Published by skeptic

Mark J Spalding, President of The Ocean Foundation, discusses how investing in innovative ocean companies can maximise returns and help to make the world a better place. The Ocean Foundation and its partners are developing regenerative opportunity investment portfolios by focusing on transitions resulting from, or in response to, change. This includes structural shifts related to environmental degradation, societal evolution, and technological innovation. Building credible new portfolios grounded in sustainability is challenging due to the dependence on the reputation of all partners involved in any efforts to improve the economic, social, and environmental wellbeing of human communities and the resources they depend on. Global ocean innovation is the key to human adaptability, as these transformative changes are coming. Innovative ocean economy companies can produce greater shareholder returns and build ecological and social resilience. Investors can use innovation as a hedge against inflation and a potential path to outperforming the market over the long term. Why focus on innovation? Innovation can be thought of as applying new ideas, methods, or products in a way that results …