News by Subject Earth Science

The Earth's carbon cycle is crucial in controlling the greenhouse gas content of our atmosphere, and ultimately our climate.

Researchers from the University of New Hampshire's Marine School are part of the crew, led by National Geographic Explorer-at-Large Robert Ballard, that is setting out to find answers to disappearance of famed pilot Amelia Earhart. UNH has developed an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV), or robot, that can explore the seafloor in waters that may be too deep for divers.

Research conducted at the University of Hawai'i (UH) at Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) on a marine sponge in Kāneʻohe Bay, Oahu revealed a unique feeding strategy, wherein the sponge animal acquires important components of its diet from symbiotic bacteria living within the sponge.

Over the past several years, microplastic particles have repeatedly been detected in sea-water, drinking water, and even in animals. But these minute particles are also transported by the atmosphere and subsequently washed out of the air, especially by snow -- and even in such remote regions as the Arctic and Alps. This was demonstrated in a study conducted by experts at the Alfred Wegener Institute and a Swiss colleague, recently published in the journal Science Advances.

Scientists have discovered how diatoms -- a type of alga that produce 20% of the Earth's oxygen -- harness solar energy for photosynthesis. The Rutgers University-led discovery, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help lead to more efficient and affordable algae-based biofuels and combat climate change from fossil fuel burning.

University of California, Irvine biologist Joleah Lamb has contributed one of the largest amounts of data to a landmark study on how to save coral reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. She is among more than 80 marine researchers worldwide who produced the report. It has been published in Nature Ecology and Evolution.

In addition to 10 years of data on the flow of heat in the Arctic ocean seafloor, the USGS and Geological Survey of Canada have published an analysis of that data using modern seismic data.