A team led by researchers from the University of Washington used a fiber-optic cable to capture calving dynamics across the fjord of the Eqalorutsit Kangilliit Sermiat glacier in South Greenland. Data collected from the cable allowed them to document — without getting too close — one of the key processes that is accelerating the rate of glacial mass loss and in turn, threatening the stability of ice sheets, with consequences for global ocean currents and local ecosystems.  

An international study has revealed that tiny planktonic crustaceans carry a unique microbial signature that better reflects ocean currents and environmental gradients than microbes found freely in seawater. As surface oceans become warmer and more nutrient-depleted, these host-associated microbes, especially those adapted to oligotrophic conditions as in the Mediterranean Sea, may offer early warning signs about the health of marine ecosystems.

An international team of researchers led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst has tracked changes in more than 114,000 rivers in High-mountain Asia over a 15-year period. The paper, published in AGU Advances, reported that nearly 10% of these rivers saw an increase in flow, with an increasing proportion of that water coming from glacial ice melt compared to precipitation.  

Rising sea levels could cause seasonal waves to reach Ahu Tongariki, the iconic ceremonial platform that is part of the Rapa Nui National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site by 2080, according to a study published recently by a team of researchers from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. This coastal flooding also threatens to impact up to 51 cultural assets in the area, including Rapa Nui’s world renowned moai statues. 

Scientists at Museums Victoria’s Research Institute have described a new species of ancient whale from a 26-million-year-old fossil found near Jan Juc, on Wadawurrung Country, along Victoria’s Surf Coast.