Debris from the tsunami that devastated Japan in March could reach the United States as early as this winter, according to new predictions. However, they warn there is still a large amount of uncertainty over exactly what is still floating, where it's located, where it will go, and when it will arrive. Responders now have a challenging, if not impossible situation on their hands: How do you deal with debris that could now impact US shores, but is difficult to find?...

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If you would like to contribute to official plans to restore Gulf of Mexico ecosystems damaged when the Deepwater Horizon mobile drilling unit sank in May 2010, here is your chance. The Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Trustees seek public input on the Deepwater Horizon Draft Phase I Early Restoration Plan & Environmental Assessment, which was released in mid-December.

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MarineCadastre.gov is a website that supports offshore renewable energy development in U.S. waters by providing the best available geospatial data, decision-support tools, information, and partnership opportunities in an accessible online format. It integrates legal, physical, ecological, and cultural data to inform decision making on a range of ocean issues. .

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Coral reefs are extremely diverse ecosystems that support enormous biodiversity. But they are at risk. Carbon dioxide emissions are acidifying the ocean, threatening reefs and other marine organisms. New research analyzed the role of sea cucumbers in portions of the Great Barrier Reef and determined that their dietary process of dissolving calcium carbonate (CaCO3) from the surrounding reef accounts for about half of at the total nighttime dissolution for the reef....

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Ocean acidification research is a relatively new study topic as scientists have only appreciated the potential extent of acidification within the last decade. As greenhouse gas emissions have accelerated in the past century, the oceans have taken up about a third of the carbon dioxide produced by human activities. That excess beyond natural levels increases amounts of carbonic acid in seawater. New research shows that some organisms are already experiencing ocean acidification levels not predicted to be reached until 2100....

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You won't find Spirobranchus giganteus, also known as the Christmas tree worm, eating your fir tree this year. The common name for these worms is derived from their appearance, not their habitat or diet....

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How do marine mammals, whose very survival depends on regular diving, manage to avoid decompression sickness or "the bends?" Do they, indeed, avoid it?...

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As Chief of the Marine Chart Division within NOS’s Office of Coast Survey, my job is to ensure that the division’s employees have the abilities, tools, and resources to produce nautical charts for all U.S. coastal waters.

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Researchers are examining tiny worms that inhabit the frigid sea off Antarctica to learn not only how these organisms adapt to the severe cold, but how they will survive as ocean temperatures increase....

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Sensorbots are spherical devices equipped with biogeochemical sensors, that promise to open a new chapter in the notoriously challenging exploration of earth's largest ecosystem -- the ocean....

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