Barnacle analysis may help solve “missing at sea” mysteries

When it’s determined that a boater is officially missing at sea, it helps very much to know when and where their vessel sank. According to new research, barnacles growing on flotsam could provide that information.Continue ReadingCategory: ScienceTags: … Continue reading Barnacle analysis may help solve “missing at sea” mysteries

Study points to ship hull coatings as a major source of microplastic pollution

When we hear about microplastic particles polluting the ocean, the usual suspected sources are degraded consumer plastic goods and synthetic textile fibers from washing machines. A new study, however, suggests that much of the blame lies with protectiv… Continue reading Study points to ship hull coatings as a major source of microplastic pollution

Never-before-seen animals discovered deep beneath Antarctic ice shelf

If you were a marine animal that just sat and waited for food to drift by, you might not choose to live in a place where little life is believed to exist. Nonetheless, such critters have recently been found deep beneath an Antarctic ice shelf.Continue … Continue reading Never-before-seen animals discovered deep beneath Antarctic ice shelf

Depths of alien ocean probed with radar in Cassini study

Saturn’s moon Titan is one of the most fascinating bodies in the solar system, not least because it’s home to huge oceans, lakes and rivers of liquid methane. Now scientists have used radar to probe the composition and depth of its largest sea, Kraken … Continue reading Depths of alien ocean probed with radar in Cassini study

72-ft autonomous Saildrone sets out on seafloor-mapping mission

San Francisco-based aquatic drone-maker Saildrone has returned with a bigger and better version of its unmanned vehicle designed to explore the seas. The newly introduced 72-ft (22-m) Saildrone Surveyor is equipped with the hardware needed to map the s… Continue reading 72-ft autonomous Saildrone sets out on seafloor-mapping mission

Sediment samples show how deep-sea trenches can act as “plastic traps”

We know that tons of plastic waste washes into the ocean each year, but what we don’t know all that much about is what happens to it once it gets there. A new study as shone a light on the role deep-sea trenches can play in the movement of plastic poll… Continue reading Sediment samples show how deep-sea trenches can act as “plastic traps”

Place-trading AUVs designed for longer oceanographic missions

Although AUVs (autonomous underwater vehicles) excel at gathering marine data without human intervention, they’re still limited by battery life. Texas startup Terradepth has set out to address that problem, with a novel tag-team system.Continue Reading… Continue reading Place-trading AUVs designed for longer oceanographic missions