How a hurricane impacts the ocean

How a hurricane impacts the ocean

Hurricanes have marked effects not just on land, but also on coastal waters. Their high winds mix ocean water, bringing nutrients to the surface at a time when warm summer waters are often nutrient-depleted. The nutrients spur algae to grow, creating large blooms of

Stranded whales feared dead in New Zealand’s Stewart Island

Stranded whales feared dead in New Zealand’s Stewart Island

More than 100 pilot whales are dead after a stranding on Stewart Island.A pod of 107 whales was found beached at Mason Bay on the island by two tourists on Saturday. The pair, who had tramped into Mason Bay hut on the west coast of the island on Saturday, found the

Underwater Volcanoes a hotbed of clues to Earth’s movements

Underwater Volcanoes a hotbed of clues to Earth’s movements

Nearly half a mile of rock retrieved from beneath the seafloor is yielding new clues about how underwater volcanoes are created and whether the underlying hot spots of molten rock that lead to their formation have moved over time.Geoscientists have just completed an

Understanding the patterns of seafloor biomass

Understanding the patterns of seafloor biomass

The vast majority of the biological production in the world's oceans occurs within sunlit surface waters – the so-called photic zone. Through the process of photosynthesis, tiny marine plants called phytoplankton use the energy of sunlight to build the carbon-rich