Why are sea levels rising fastest in big cities?
By Sally Brown & Robert James Nicholls Increased urbanisation especially in deltas areas and the demand for freshwater means subsidence will remain a pressing issue in the coming decades. It is well known that climate-induced sea level rise is a major threat. What...
With rising sea levels, what is the future of beaches?
By Giovanni Coco As the sea level slowly rises, we may wonder: what will happen to our beaches? Will they change, maybe even disappear, or will they simply survive the inevitable rise in the sea level? These questions directly affect cultural sites and communities and...
Is the Pacific Ocean under threat?
By Jodie L. Rummer, Bridie JM Allan, Charitha Pattiaratchi, Ian A. Bouyoucos, Irfan Yulianto & Mirjam van der Mheen It might be the world’s biggest ocean, but the mighty Pacific is in peril. The Pacific Ocean is the deepest, largest ocean on Earth, covering about...
Is heat from climate change alone causing coral bleaching? Or is there something more?
By Joanne Ellis Climate change is causing increased large-scale coral bleaching. That’s because when water is too warm, corals expel the algae living in their tissues, causing the coral to turn completely white. If high temperatures persist, then the absence of these...
Is deep sea mining bad for the environment? 🔊
The search for minerals is leading some corporations to begin mining the ocean floor but scientists warn that this could devastate fragile ecosystems that will have repercussions that we still don’t understand. What is going on in the deep sea? What precautions should...
How can “dark ships” and “ghost ships” be tracked and apprehended?
By Christina Stringer In recent months, international media have reported dark ships fishing in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (commonly referred to as North Korea) waters. “Dark ships” are vessels with their Automatic Identification System (AIS) – a...
Our seabirds are in trouble: What do we do?
By Brendon Dunphy Currently, 90% of our seabirds are threatened with extinction. It is a colossal loss and a colossally sad number. Aotearoa/New Zealand is the seabird capital of the world. From inspiring ocean wanderers such as the royal albatross (who may not touch...
Can effective framing encourage people to take better care of our oceans?
By Komathi Kolandai-Matchett Effective communication, capable of garnering public support for marine conservation, appears more urgent now than ever before. Marine ecosystems are besieged by multiple human-caused threats – temperature and acidity increases, toxins,...
Safeguarding our ocean ecosystems from tipping points
Interview with Professor Simon Thrush (head of the Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland) Your research focuses on ecosystem tipping points. What are they? A tipping point is a sudden, abrupt, often dramatic change in the way that a natural...Subscribe by Email
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