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.

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.

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.

New research revealed the remarkable chemical diversity of substances exuded by coral reefs and demonstrated that thousands of different chemicals derived from tropical corals and seaweeds are available for microbes to decompose and utilize.

In 1962, when environmentalist and author Rachel Carson penned "Silent Spring," alerting the world to the dangers of the pesticide DDT, it was the reproductive threat to birds – the bald eagle in particular – that spurred people to action.

Six decades later, Rutgers University–New Brunswick researchers are taking the measure of another global environmental pollutant by drawing parallels to the crisis Carson identified. This time, the pollutant is mercury, and the sentinels are penguins living in the farthest reaches of the Antarctic Peninsula.

“With mercury, there’s an analogy to DDT,” said John Reinfelder, a professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, and co-author of a study published in Science of the Total Environment examining mercury levels in the flightless, aquatic birds.

Rising sea temperatures may promote loggerhead sea turtle nesting on Italy’s coastline, per analysis of citizen science data, highlighting importance of preserving natural beaches

Milky seas are a rare bioluminescent phenomenon where vast areas of the ocean glow at night, sometimes for months. This glow, likely caused by Vibrio harveyi bacteria, has been reported by sailors for centuries but remains poorly understood due to its rarity and remote locations, mainly in the Indian Ocean. Researchers at Colorado State University have compiled a 400-year database of sightings, using historical records and satellite data, revealing that milky seas are linked to climatic patterns like the Indian Ocean Dipole and El Niño.