EurekAlert! Marine Science - News Releases

News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 9-Jun-2025 09:09 ET (9-Jun-2025 13:09 GMT/UTC)

Explainable AI for ship navigation raises trust, decreases human error

Osaka Metropolitan University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An Osaka Metropolitan University team has developed an explainable AI model for automatic collision avoidance between ships.

Journal: Applied Ocean Research
Funder: ClassNK, JST SPRING, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Deep-sea mining risks leads study to urge shift to circular solutions

University of British Columbia
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Deep sea mining operations are expected to increase the negative impact on environmental indicators by up to 13 per cent, a change categorized as having “great” significance, relative to the “without” DSM scenario, the study published in PLOS One said, notably through increased coastal vulnerability, pollution, and biodiversity loss.

Journal: PLOS One

Fishing for cephalopod DNA allows for efficient marine surveying

Kobe University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New DNA probes allow for efficient surveying of the hidden lives of squids and octopuses in the deep sea. This development by Kobe University provides an effective tool for marine ecological research and conservation efforts.

Journal: Marine Environmental Research
Funder: Ministry of the Environment

Threatened sea stars are finding refuge in bc fjords

Hakai Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study suggests that cold-water fjords on British Columbia’s Central Coast could be a marine refuge for threatened sunflower sea stars, which have been hit hard by sea star wasting disease. But recovery may require more than just cold seawater.

Journal: Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences

Marine shipping emissions on track to meet 2030 goals, but expected to miss 2050 target

University of British Columbia
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The United Nations organization responsible for international marine shipping today approved new emission reduction policies. A new paper published in Earth’s Future highlights the need.

UBC researchers surveyed 149 marine shipping experts in 2021 and found they expect the sector to see a reduction of 30 to 40 per cent in the carbon intensity of shipping — a measure of the amount of CO2 emitted to ship cargo over a given distance — by 2030 compared with 2008 levels.

But they expect the sector won’t meet its net-zero goal for 2050, instead achieving about 40 to 75 per cent reductions from 2008 levels.

Journal: Earth's Future

Key mechanism to obtain brown algae-derived compounds with biotech applications

University of Barcelona
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Every year, thousands of tonnes of brown algae are extracted from the seabed to obtain compounds such as alginates, a polymer composed of sugars that has high density and strength, offering potential biotechnological applications. An international team led by the University of Barcelona has deciphered the mechanism by which a type of enzyme, called alginate lyase (AL), is capable of degrading these marine biomaterials, allowing them to be used as carriers of drugs, additives or thickeners, among others. These results, published in Nature Communications, will help in the development and design of new “tailored alginates” for specific applications, especially in the food and biomedical industries.

Journal: Nature Communications

Preserving and using the deep sea: scientists call for more knowledge to enable sustainable management

Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR)
Reports and Proceedings

11 April 2025 / Brussels / Kiel. Led by Professor Dr Sylvia Sander of the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, a group of internationally renowned marine scientists has published a Future Science Brief on deep-sea research. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the current state of knowledge and offers recommendations for how both the exploration and management of the deep sea can be made more sustainable. The scientists issue a clear warning: without a thorough understanding of ecosystem processes and biodiversity, informed decisions on the sustainable use and protection of the deep sea are not possible. They are now calling for targeted research to close these knowledge gaps and ensure long-term preservation of the deep sea. The report is aimed at policymakers, researchers and international organisations and is being launched today [11. April, 2 PM (14:00) CET] in a dedicated online webinar.

Innovative partnerships advancing ocean observations

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An initiative between Cargo marine vessel (MV) Oleander, WHOI and ASU BIOS is contributing to ocean observations and data collection, and offering peer-reviewed data.

Since the 1970s, scientific equipment has been mounted on three different container ships operating consecutively on the “Oleander Line,” which runs between New Jersey and Bermuda, resulting in decades of scientific data.

The newest MV Oleander came into service in 2019, and is now providing regular water column, sea surface, and atmospheric measurements.

The project is a part of WHOI’s Science RoCs (Research on Commercial Ships) initiative, which aims to equip many more commercial vessels with sensors to measure physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the ocean along the world’s major shipping routes.

Funder: National Science Foundation Division of Ocean Sciences, NOAA/AOML

Transplanting Posidonia oceanica: a major scientific advance for the conservation of seagrass meadows

University of Liège
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Transplanting seagrass meadows? Yes, it’s possible – and it works! The proof is in Monaco, with the successful transplantation of 384 m² of Posidonia oceanica. Posidonia oceanica is an essential underwater plant for marine biodiversity: it produces oxygen, shelters numerous species, and protects coastlines from erosion. Until now, these meadows were thought to be non-transplantable… but this eight-year study proves otherwise. This technique shows that transplantation can become a truly viable ecological solution to coastal urbanisation.

Journal: Environmental Challenges

New study on natural oil seeps in the deep sea

MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen
Peer-Reviewed Publication

What is the role of dissolved organic matter in the deep sea? In a study relating to this question, researchers from the Universities of Bremen and Oldenburg have investigated the composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in detail. Their samples were obtained during an expedition to the Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California.

Journal: Limnology and Oceanography

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