Soot from the burning of fossil fuels and solid biofuels contributes far more to global warming than has been thought, according to a new study. But, unlike carbon dioxide, soot lingers only a few weeks in the atmosphere, so cutting emissions could have a significant and rapid impact on the climate. Controlling it may be the only option for saving the Arctic sea ice before it all melts....

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The Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association for the first time sent its Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) on an under-ice mission at about 79° North. The four-metre-long, torpedo shaped underwater vehicle was deployed from the research icebreaker Polarstern under heavy pack ice. The vehicle was subsequently recovered by helicopter....

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Scientists have mapped and analyzed global biodiversity patterns for over 11,000 marine species ranging from tiny zooplankton to sharks and whales....

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The University of Hawaii at Manoa's School of Ocean Earth Science and Technology completed a three-year long investigation of Sea Disposal Site Hawaii Number 5, a deep-water military munitions disposal site in US coastal waters approximately 5 miles south of Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii. This complex investigation required the use of high-resolution sidescan sonar and remotely operated underwater vehicles to locate sea disposed munitions in water as deep as 1,500 feet....

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A new article reveals for the first time that microscopic marine algae known as phytoplankton have been declining globally over the 20th century. Phytoplankton forms the basis of the marine food chain and sustains diverse assemblages of species ranging from tiny zooplankton to large marine mammals, seabirds, and fish....

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Cold water has a higher density than warm water. Deep water gets colder at depth because cold, salty ocean water sinks to the bottom of the ocean basins. Less dense, warmer water rises to the surface. This process of rising and sinking water creates a complex pattern of ocean circulation called the 'global conveyor belt.'...

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Humanity's rising carbon dioxide emissions could have a significant impact on the world's fish populations, according to groundbreaking new research. Baby fish may become easy meat for predators as the world's oceans become more acidic due to CO2 fallout from human activity, researchers have discovered....

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European eel larvae are generally believed to initially follow a westerly drift route into the Gulf Stream, but new research results on bio-physical linkages in the Sargasso Sea point to a shorter route towards Europe....

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During NASA's ICESCAPE voyage to the Arctic, scientists have been looking at the phytoplankton in the Arctic's Chukchi Sea -- how many, how big and at what depths they are found. But there are other ways of looking at these small life forms....

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The last of five instruments slated to fly on the upcoming NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) climate and weather satellite have been successfully integrated, according to NASA officials. The polar-orbiting satellite is scheduled to launch in late 2011....

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