New Atlas

Environment Audio available

Earth is "drinking" more seawater through the Mariana Trench than previously thought

Michael Irving November 14, 2018

A new study suggests that the mantle is home to much more water than was previously believed. Seismic activity around the Mariana Trench have revealed that subducting tectonic plates are dragging more water deeper into the Earth, which could change our understanding of the global water cycle.

Seismic activity at the Mariana plate is dragging far more water into the Earth's mantle than ...

Environment

The seafloor is dissolving, thanks to human activity

Michael Irving November 6, 2018

As the seas get warmer and more acidic, all kinds of havoc is wrought, and now a new study has identified yet another symptom. Researchers at Princeton and McGill Universities have found that the seafloor is beginning to dissolve as a result of human activity.

A new study has found that human activity is dissolving the seafloor

Environment Audio available

New study finds oceans are warming up much faster than previously thought

Michael Irving November 5, 2018

The oceans are heating up at an alarming rate, and it turns out that the problem may be worse than we initially thought. A new study has used a more accurate technique to measure the rate of ocean warming, and found that it could be 60 percent higher than the current worst-case scenario suggests.

A new study has found that the rate of ocean warming as a result of climate ...

Environment

Electronic tags could keep fishing nets from becoming ghosts

Ben Coxworth October 17, 2018

So-called "ghost" fishing nets are awful things. Lost or forgotten during commercial fishing operations, they can drift in the ocean for years, indiscriminately catching marine life as they do. A newly-invented tag, however, may help keep that from happening.

A sea turtle caught in a ghost net outside Curacao

Environment Audio available

SodaStream embarks on marine waste cleanup mission in Honduras

Nick Lavars October 16, 2018

SodaStream is looking to play an active role in tackling the mounting problem of plastics in the ocean, starting with a pilot project testing a new device to collect marine waste from waters off the coast of Roatán, Honduras.

SodaStream has dubbed its first ocean cleanup system Holy Turtle

Biology Audio available

New species of neon fish emerges from the "twilight zone"

Michael Irving September 25, 2018

Researchers from the California Academy of Science (CAS) have discovered a new species of fish that looks pretty hard to miss with its neon green, pink and yellow coloring.

A new species of fish with neon coloring has been found in the "twilight zone" of ...

Environment Audio available

The Ocean Cleanup picks out marine plastics using infrared from air

Nick Lavars September 25, 2018

The Ocean Cleanup project has been experimenting with a new technique to fill in some of the blanks and has, what it says, is the first proof of concept for using a form of infrared imagery to quantify marine plastic pollution.

The Ocean Cleanup carried out an aerial survey of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 2016

Biology Audio available

Three new fish species discovered in the extreme depths of the Atacama Trench

Nick Lavars September 12, 2018

A new exploration to the Atacama Trench off South America’s west coast has shed new light on one of the Earth’s deepest places, including video evidence of what appears to be three brand new species of marine life.

CT scan of the newly discovered Atacama snailfish

Environment Audio available

Ocean Cleanup system launches for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Nick Lavars September 9, 2018

The Ocean Cleanup Project’s long-awaited collection system has been launched and is now en route for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, ready to chip away at the largest accumulation of ocean plastics in the world.

Launched on Saturday from San Francisco, the completed system is now headed for the Great Pacific ...

Environment Audio available

Ocean Cleanup system completed and ready to be towed out to sea

Nick Lavars September 3, 2018

After more than five years of development, the moment of truth is fast arriving for the Ocean Cleanup Project. Team members added the finishing touches to the trash-catching system over the weekend, with less than a week to go until it is towed out towards the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The Ocean Cleanup Project is an ambitious venture to clean up plastic waste from the ocean