Growing up 30 minutes from the ocean meant the beach wasn’t just a vacation destination—it was a part of my daily life. My Florida upbringing sparked a deep fascination with the sea and a lasting drive to do what I could to protect it.
Every year on 2 May, World Tuna Day draws attention to one of the ocean’s most ecologically and economically vital fish species. Tuna fish are more than just a prized catch – they are apex predators that maintain marine ecosystem balance, support global food security and drive coastal economies.
An international team of scientists has moved beyond just “scratching the surface,” to understand how microplastics move through and impact the global ocean. For the first time, scientists have mapped microplastic distribution from the surface to the deep sea at a global scale – revealing not only where plastics accumulate, but how they infiltrate critical ocean systems.
New research involving Rutgers professors has revealed that expected, extreme changes in India’s summer monsoon could drastically hamper the Bay of Bengal’s ability to support a crucial element of the region’s food supply: marine life.
The study, published in Nature Geoscience, was conducted by scientists from Rutgers University, the University of Arizona and collaborators from India, China and Europe. To reach their conclusions, the scientists examined how the monsoon, which brings heavy rains to the Indian subcontinent, has influenced the Bay of Bengal’s marine productivity over the past 22,000 years.
A first-of-its-kind research expedition to Latham Island has unveiled one of Tanzania’s most ecologically significant marine ecosystems, with thriving seabird colonies, critically endangered sharks, and climate-resilient coral reefs.
Lake Okeechobee faces harmful algal blooms, which thrive in warm, nutrient-rich waters. Daily vertical migration enables them to survive in turbid conditions. A new study using a physical-biogeochemical model reveals that cyanobacteria move toward the surface for sunlight in the morning, boosting growth, and are redistributed by wind and mixing at night. This daily migration, combined with temperature and wind patterns, influences bloom development, offering insights to better monitor and manage harmful algal blooms.
Seagrass meadows are critical marine ecosystems, acting as carbon sinks and providing habitats for diverse marine species. However, they face increasing threats from climate change and human activities. Monitoring these ecosystems has proven difficult due to their fluctuating nature and the challenge of differentiating them from similar coastal vegetation like mangroves and salt marshes.
A recent study has revealed the intricate dynamics of submesoscale eddies (SEs) in the South China Sea, harnessing cutting-edge satellite technology to uncover their critical role in oceanic processes. These elusive, small-scale eddies—ranging from 1 to 5 km in radius—are instrumental in vertical heat transport and marine ecosystem stability.
The Acoustical Society of America and the International Commission on Acoustics are co-hosting a joint meeting May 18-23 in New Orleans, with in-person sessions throughout the week and livestreamed press conferences Tuesday, May 20. This conference brings together acoustics professionals to discuss the latest advancements from a variety of fields, including physics, medicine, music, psychology, wildlife biology, and engineering. Experts will present recent work on topics that include coral reef preservation, the sounds of pollinators and flowers, and identifying inert underwater explosives using acoustic scattering. Conference highlights can be found on social media by using the #ASA188 hashtag.
Wild animals that have acquired adaptions to maximize their reproductive output in some of the world’s most extreme conditions may provide answers to some of the most pressing problems in the field of human reproductive health.
Desalination plants, a major and growing source of freshwater in dry regions, could produce less harmful waste using electricity and new membranes made at the University of Michigan.
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.
In an unprecedented underwater encounter, a nurse shark equipped with a camera tag has captured footage of a great white shark off the coast of Boynton Beach. This stunning find has delighted marine biologists from FAU, marking what they believe to be the first-ever photobomb unknowingly documenting a great white shark in South Florida waters.
New findings provide a greater understanding of plate subduction, or how tectonic plates slide beneath one another
This recycling of surface materials and volatile elements deep into the Earth's interior, can impact long-term climate stability, atmospheric balance, and the habitability of our planet over billions of years.
A sea turtle’s shell is a masterpiece. A new study reveals that marine turtle shells combine flexibility and strength to protect against predators like sharks and stress while optimizing movement. This adaptation highlights the complex design of their shells and provides insights into this remarkable balance of strength and flexibility, which has allowed them to survive in the ocean for millions of years – an example of evolution shaping species in an environment.
A new study by a University of Florida scientist reveals that termites are not simply spreading through natural processes of building new colonies, suggesting humans may be helping them "conquer the world" by unknowingly transporting them aboard private boats.
A worryingly wide range of chemical pollutants has been found by researchers studying two of the UK’s south-coast harbours, raising concerns about the impact on wildlife and the human activities responsible for this contamination.
New science shows that overfishing is eroding the sustainability of tropical coral reef fisheries in East Africa, with small-scale fishers losing out on fisheries productivity as entire species disappear from their catch.
With state funding, Washington Sea Grant will work with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to shed light on a highly invasive species
At WHOI, Motta leads the Theoretical Chemistry and Isotope Biogeochemistry Lab. Her research focuses on advancing our fundamental understanding of chemistry inspired by marine processes that challenge our current chemical knowledge.