A new study out of William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS is redefining how we visualize and track marine heatwaves in estuarine systems like the Chesapeake Bay, introducing a definition for “vertical marine heatwaves” as well as a visual classification scheme of full-column temperature conditions.

A newly established alliance, comprising leading researchers and conservation experts, has mobilised to safeguard the Atlantic Ocean's leatherback turtle populations.

Snowfall deep inside East Antarctica has increased in recent decades, and distant ocean temperature changes may be partly responsible. Using long-term climate data and observations from Dome Fuji station, researchers found that the increase in snowfall is strongly linked to atmospheric blocking patterns that carry moist air into inland Antarctica. These patterns are, in turn, influenced by sea surface temperature changes in the subtropical South Atlantic Ocean—highlighting important climate connections across vast distances.

A large marine heatwave has bathed parts of the West Coast in very warm ocean waters over the past year, breaking temperature records in the Pacific. NOAA has also announced that El Niño has developed in the tropical Pacific and is predicted to intensify to a moderate or strong level this fall. El Niño represents another form of marine warming , though with different drivers and influences. The prolonged period of high temperatures could affect fisheries and marine life in the California Current that have already been buffeted by shifting ocean conditions over the last decade.