This week, an article was published in Marine Chemistry and reports that carbon dioxide can emerge from the deep ocean in a surprising way. The research team was comprised of scientists from Mote Marine Laboratory, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the Laboratorie de Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement in France. The study focused on the organic matter deposits that can be found as deep as 16,400 feet in the ocean. Bacteria feed on this muck and release carbon dioxide. The new finding in this process is that bacteria use metal ions to release carbon dioxide. Read more…

Jason-3, a US-European satellite, was launched this week. This satellite will be used to track currents, tides, winds, wave heights, and storms.The goal of this mission is to create a data set on sea level rise to an accuracy of better than 4cm. The satellite will provide detail into the elevation of the ocean surface. This information provides scientists with information on the temperature, salinity, and current direction and speed.   Read more…

The British Isles are home or visited by 29 species of whales, porpoises, dolphins, and sever species of seals in its waters. A good example of one of those visitors was the northern bottlenose whale who swam up the River Thames in front of the Houses of Parliament.  A few days after the first sighting, the whale died from a combination of dehydration, physiological stress, cardiovascular collapse and organ failure. An article written on The Conversation discusses the state of the British marine mammals and the impacts that climate change and human activities have made on the species.  Read more…