This article highlights a "protection-pollution paradox" in no-take marine reserves (NTRs), where conservation-driven gains in fish biomass, body size, and trophic structure inadvertently increase the accumulation of legacy PCBs in apex predators. Climate change exacerbates this "toxic trap" by remobilizing sediment-bound contaminants and altering the toxicokinetics of marine organisms. To address this hidden threat, the authors advocate for an integrated management framework that combines climate-smart spatial planning, advanced biomonitoring, and targeted remediation. They emphasize shifting conservation metrics from simple biomass recovery to comprehensive ecosystem health to prevent NTRs from becoming inadvertent "toxic traps."

A new University at Buffalo study finds that Americans produce similar amounts of plastic packaging waste no matter their income, education, or location. However, wealthier and more educated communities recycle significantly more. The study suggests this gap is largely due to unequal access to recycling infrastructure, making it harder for some communities to recycle effectively.

A 93-strong international expedition team has been exploring the northwestern Weddell Sea in the Antarctic on board the Alfred Wegener Institute's icebreaker Polarstern since 8 February 2026. In this key region for global ocean currents, the focus has been on the outflow of ice and water from the Larsen Ice Shelf and the astonishing sea ice retreat of recent years. When the research work had to be interrupted due to rough weather conditions in order to seek shelter in the lee of Joinville Island, the scientists and ship's crew were surprised by the sudden appearance of an island that had previously only been marked as a danger zone on the available nautical charts.

Plastic pollution is a global problem. It damages ecosystems, endangers animals, and in the form of nanoplastic particles can also have consequences for human health.  A global agreement to regulate plastic pollution is therefore long overdue. However plastic particles have also become a new habitat for bacteria, viruses, fungi, and algae. The ecological significance of this ‘plastisphere’ for natural communities is the subject of numerous research projects. In this study, for example, researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel have examined bacterial metagenomes. The results show that the genomes of microbes in the plastisphere are larger and contain more gene copies associated with functional processes than those of marine plankton. This adaption ensures their survival, the researchers write in Environmental Pollution.

It transports far more than 100 times as much water as all of the Earth's rivers combined: The Antarctic Circumpolar Current rushes around the southern continent unhindered by land masses and is therefore a fundamental component of the climate system. In a recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a research team led by the Alfred Wegener Institute describes how and when this mighty ring current developed in Earth's history. Surprising finding: it took more than the opening of the ocean passages between Antarctica, and South America and Australia.