A large scale study of nearly 700 species reveals the evolutionary relationships and history of Neogastropoda, a diverse group of marine snails. The findings provide new evidence for their single origin, identify four new families and reveal a previously undetected burst of diversification in the early Cenozoic.

In a paper published in SCIENCE CHINA Earth Sciences, a team of researchers conducted a series of CESM2 ensemble simulations under SSP2-4.5 to examine the impact of marine cloud brightening (MCB) on terrestrial drought. By injecting sea salt aerosols over certain subtropical ocean regions, they found that MCB could produce about 0.9°C global cooling and mitigate global land drying trend via reduced potential evapotranspiration by 2100 relative to that of SSP2-4.5. However, regional differences in drought response to MCB are evident, indicating the underlying complexity of terrestrial hydrological responses to artificial climate intervention. It sheds new light on the potential and risks of solar geoengineering for drought mitigation.

Titanium is widely used in marine engineering and biomedical implants because of its excellent corrosion resistance. Researchers have discovered that marine electroactive bacteria can weaken titanium’s protective oxide layer through flavin-mediated extracellular electron transfer. The findings reveal a previously unknown bioelectrochemical corrosion pathway and provide new insights for designing titanium materials with improved resistance to microbiologically influenced corrosion.

Over 10,000 historical shipwrecks lie in Danish waters (including parts of the North Sea), with roughly 15% dating back to World Wars I and II. Research shows decaying wrecks like the UC-30 submarine are leaking toxic explosives like TNT into local water, sediment, and marine life. Underwater detonations risk further spreading contamination, making safe containment or removal a complex challenge.

A new spatial assessment across 21 seagrass meadows in Indonesia – a world seagrass hotspot – has revealed not just hotspots but also degraded coldspots and vulnerable outliers. The research team, led by Professor Rohani Ambo-Rappe from Hasanuddin University, used the Seagrass Ecological Quality Index (SEQI), integrating five ecological indicators, to map this ecological mosaic. These findings provide a spatial framework to guide seagrass conservation and restoration and protect Indonesia’s important blue carbon ecosystems.