General

Even the deepest, coldest parts of the ocean are getting warmer

20 October, 2020

Source: Science News
Author: Maria Temming

Things are heating up at the seafloor.

Thermometers moored at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean recorded an average temperature increase of about 0.02 degrees Celsius over the last decade, researchers report in the Sept. 28 Geophysical Research Letters. That warming may be a consequence of human-driven climate change, which has boosted ocean temperatures near the surface (SN: 9/25/19), but it’s unclear since so little is known about the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean.

Continue reading Even the deepest, coldest parts of the ocean are getting warmer

Undulating Feather Stars Put on a Soothing Deep-Sea Show

19 October, 2020

Source: Nerdist
Author: Matthew Hart

Free-floating Crinoids, a.k.a. feather stars, are mesmerizing deep-sea creatures that dance in water like stars dance around a black hole: that is to say, gracefully. The smooth-moving feather stars ribbon their limbs through the ocean for motive force, and put on an entrancing show while doing so. The one in the clip immediately below, for example, may possess you with its bizarre fluidity.

Continue reading Undulating Feather Stars Put on a Soothing Deep-Sea Show

Whales get a second life as deep-sea buffets

15 October, 2020

Source: Science News for Students
Author: Stephen Ornes

Last October, a team of marine explorers sent Hercules — a remote-controlled vehicle — to the bottom of the ocean. Its mission: to visit an octopus neighborhood. It was off the coast of central California, near an undersea volcano. Late one night, after scanning a long stretch of empty seafloor, Hercules’ spotlight and camera revealed a parade of curious creatures. First was a slender bottom-feeder called an eelpout. It was half-buried in the sediment. Then came a sea pig — a squishy thing that looks like a living pink balloon, but with tentacles.

Continue reading Whales get a second life as deep-sea buffets

Trawl gear damages fragile coral reefs, so why is the Government sanctioning more hauls?

29 September, 2020

Source: Stuff.co.nz
Author: Andrea Vance

Vast fishing nets have hauled up 29 species of delicate coral from the still, dark depths of New Zealand’s oceans.

And conservationists are warning that the Government has abandoned protection of the sea bed in favour of expanding bottom trawling.

Continue reading Trawl gear damages fragile coral reefs, so why is the Government sanctioning more hauls?

The Great Barrier Reef Is Bleaching—but These Striking Deep-Sea Coral Gardens Near It Are Hanging on

2 July, 2020

Source: Gizmodo Earther

The Great Barrier Reef has been having a rough year. Warm waters have led to record coral bleaching this year and could hasten the reef’s die-off. But while surface corals are suffering, nearly a mile beneath the surface, deep-sea corals near the Great Barrier Reef are thriving.

Continue reading The Great Barrier Reef Is Bleaching—but These Striking Deep-Sea Coral Gardens Near It Are Hanging on