marine ecosystem

An ocean emergency is upon us. Can the world reverse ocean decline?

Gillian D'Souza July 8, 2022

Liu Zhenmin addresses the Sustainable Blue Economy Investment Forum. Photo credit: UN DESA / Helen Daun Rosengren

“The ocean is not too big to fail, nor is it too big to fix, but it is too important to ignore.” Last week, Dr Jane Lubchenco voiced a thought we’ve all had at some point: that the ocean is so vast and bountiful, it is almost inconceivable that people could impact it. And yet… Speaking to more than 20 Heads of State and Government, and an audience of thousands of policymakers, ocean scientists, bu ...[Read More]

Imaggeo On Monday: Under the sea, in the deep, where fire meets water and life emerges III

Hazel Gibson July 13, 2020

Under the sea, in the deep, where fire meets water and life emerges III. Credit: Thibaut Barreyre (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

650 metres below the chilly waves of the North Atlantic Arctic Ocean, equidistant between Norway, Iceland and Greenland, are the Jan Mayen Vent Fields. Home to a series of hydrothermal vents strung along a set of normal faults and fissures that run parallel to the seafloor ridge, this is a strange and fascinating place. Hydrothermal vents are places where tectonic activity provides a way for the h ...[Read More]

GeoSciences Column: Catch of the day – what seabirds can tell us about the marine environment

Laura Roberts-Artal September 22, 2017

An adult northern gannet mid-flight . Credit: Andreas Trepte , distributed via Wikimedia Commons .

Off the coast of Germany, a male northern gannet (for ease, we’ll call him Pete) soars above the cold waters of the North Sea. He’s on the hunt for a shoal of fish. Some 40km due south east, Pete’s mate and chick await, patiently, for him to return to the nest with a belly full of food. Glints of silver just below the waves; the fish have arrived. Pete readies himself. Body rigid, wings tucked in ...[Read More]