Permanent marine protected areas and wilderness—places where fish can grow old—are critical to the effective conservation of marine ecosystems according to a new study....

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Geologists investigating an unusual landform in the Wabash River Valley in southern Illinois expected to find seismic origins, but instead found the aftermath of rushing floodwaters from melting Midwestern glaciers after the last ice age. The finding could give clues to how floodwaters may behave as glacier melt increases today in places like Greenland and Iceland....

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Serpentinization is potentially significant for the origin and evolution of life during the early history of Earth and possibly on other planets. The dependence of starting materials and their initial grain sizes on the formation of gases during serpentinization was the focus of recent research....

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Researchers investigating the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on sea turtles found that over 320,000 juvenile sea turtles from populations throughout the Atlantic Ocean were likely present in the northern Gulf of Mexico during the 87-day oil spill. The study has important implications for international management and restoration efforts following oil spills....

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The first large-scale mapping of genomes of bacterial plankton in the Baltic Sea shows that the bacterias' closest relatives are not found in oceans or freshwater lakes, but in other brackish environments. The genomes may not yet answer where these plankton came from, but they will help scientists to better understand brackish, or briny, ecosystems....

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Researchers have identified hydrothermal vents in the deep sea of the Caribbean which are unlike any found before. They are unusual in their structure, formed largely of talc, rather than the more usual sulphide minerals. Researchers analyzed samples from the VDVF - a vent field south of the Cayman Islands discovered by scientists and crew on board the RRS James Cook in 2010, and have published their findings....

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Ice particles from sea spray affect the phase structure of clouds and their radiative impacts, a new study reveals. Researchers now say that sea spray is a unique, underappreciated source of what are called ice nucleating particles -- microscopic bits that make their way into clouds and initiate the formation of ice, and in turn affect the composition and duration of clouds....

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The melting of sea ice will significantly increase Arctic precipitation, creating a climate feedback comparable to doubling global carbon dioxide, a new study finds....

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Coastal wetlands are in retreat in many locations around the globe -- raising deep concerns about damage to the wildlife that the marshes nourish and the loss of their ability to protect against violent storms. The biggest cause of their erosion is waves driven by moderate storms, not occasional major events such as Hurricane Sandy, researchers now have shown....

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Rail services to and from the South West of England could be disrupted for more than 10 percent of each year by 2040 and almost one-third by 2100, a new study suggests....

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