Perched atop the sheer coastal cliffs of Ireland's Aran Islands, ridges of giant boulders have puzzled geologists for years. What forces could have torn these rocks from the cliff edges high above sea level and deposited them far inland? While some researchers contend that only a tsunami could push these stones, new research finds that plain old ocean waves, with the help of some strong storms, did the job....

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Scientists predict ocean temperatures will rise in the equatorial Pacific by the end of the century, wreaking havoc on coral reef ecosystems. But a new study shows that climate change could cause ocean currents to operate in a way that mitigates warming near a handful of islands right on the equator....

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As the lead oceanographer for the CO-OPS Coastal and Estuarine Circulation Analysis Team, I study the circulation of water in the coastal environment around the nation by deploying current meters and other scientific instruments to measure how, where, and when the ocean is moving.


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Scientists have predicted that ocean temperatures will rise in the equatorial Pacific by the end of the century, wreaking havoc on coral reef ecosystems. But a new study shows that climate change could cause ocean currents to operate in a surprising way and mitigate the warming near a handful of islands right on the equator. As a result these Pacific islands may become isolated refuges for corals and fish....

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First study to provide estimates of reef shark losses in the Pacific Ocean are sobering. Researchers noted the enormous detrimental effect that humans have on reef sharks....

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Research is underway to determine if invasive Asian tiger shrimp in U.S. Atlantic waters pose a threat to native species or the environment.
Asian tiger shrimp are native to Indo-Pacific, Asian, and Australian waters, but are now found along the southeast and Gulf coasts of the United States. While small numbers of this invasive species have been reported in U.S. waters for over a decade, sightings have notably increased over the past few years.

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Levels of copper, cadmium, lead and other metals in Southern California's coastal waters have plummeted over the past four decades, which researchers attribute to sewage treatment regulations that were part of the Clean Water Act of 1972 and to the phase-out of leaded gasoline in the 1970s and 1980s....

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Decades of research into how much plastic litters the ocean, conducted by skimming only the surface, may in some cases vastly underestimate the true amount of plastic debris, according to an oceanographer....

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Warm ocean currents are the dominant cause of recent ice loss from Antarctica, new research shows. New techniques have been used to differentiate, for the first time, between the two known causes of melting ice shelves - warm ocean currents attacking the underside, and warm air melting from above. This finding brings scientists a step closer to providing reliable projections of future sea-level rise....

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The fragile and rapidly changing Arctic region is home to large reservoirs of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. As Earth's climate warms, the methane, frozen in reservoirs stored in Arctic tundra soils or marine sediments, is vulnerable to being released into the atmosphere, where it can add to global warming. Now a multi-institutional study has uncovered a surprising and potentially important new source of Arctic methane: the ocean itself....

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