http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. As recreational boaters gear up for a summer of fun on coastal waters and the Great Lakes, NOAA is testing MyNOAACharts, a new mobile application that allows users to download NOAA nautical charts and editions of the U.S. Coast Pilot. The app, which is only designed for Android tablets for the testing period, will be released on May 20. http://phys.org/news288346946.html Space & Earth Tue, 21 May 2013 09:50:02 EST news288346946 Will we soon be forced to eat jellyfish? Since the beginning of the 2000s, these gelatinous creatures have invaded many of the world's seas, like the Japan Sea, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, etc. Is it a cyclic phenomenon, caused by changes in marine currents or even global warming? Until now, the causes remained unknown. A new study conducted by IRD researchers and its partners, published in Bulletin of Marine Science, exposes overfishing as the main factor. http://phys.org/news287047680.html Biology Mon, 06 May 2013 08:28:10 EST news287047680 (Phys.org) —Scientists have shown that mainland New Zealand has become an increasingly important winter habitat for southern right whales – a population hunted to near extinction in the 19th century – and members of the public have played a critical role in the research. http://phys.org/news284361583.html Biology Fri, 05 Apr 2013 06:19:56 EST news284361583 Long-life batteries and satellite tagging have been used to fill in the blanks of female white sharks' (Carcharodon carcharias) lifestyles. Research published in the launch edition of BioMed Central's open access journal Animal Biotelemetry defines a two year migratory pattern in the Pacific Ocean. Pregnant females travel between the mating area at Guadalupe Island and nursery in Baja California, putting them and their young at risk from commercial fishing. http://phys.org/news284227298.html Biology Wed, 03 Apr 2013 19:00:01 EST news284227298 China's coastal waters are suffering "acute" pollution, with the size of the worst affected areas soaring by more than 50 percent last year, an official body said. http://phys.org/news283063520.html Space & Earth Thu, 21 Mar 2013 05:45:26 EST news283063520 When it rains, untreated stormwater can sweep pollutants into coastal waters, potentially endangering public health. Now researchers from North Carolina State University have developed low-cost filtration systems that are concealed beneath sand dunes and filter out most of the bacteria that can lead to beach closures. http://phys.org/news282908205.html Space & Earth Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:37:32 EST news282908205 The surprising conclusion of the doctoral research project on the feeding ecology of porpoises by Okka Jansen at Wageningen University is that the Eastern Scheldt may be an ecological trap. She also discovered that more than just examinations of stomach contents are required to find out what porpoises eat. The analyses of stable isotopes and fatty acids have produced astonishing new data as well as more accurate information. http://phys.org/news281876232.html Biology Thu, 07 Mar 2013 10:57:20 EST news281876232 A continental-scale chemical survey in the waters of the eastern U.S. and Gulf of Mexico is helping researchers determine how distinct bodies of water will resist changes in acidity. The study, which measures varying levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other forms of carbon in the ocean, was conducted by scientists from 11 institutions across the U.S. and was published in the journal Limnology and Oceanography. http://phys.org/news281357992.html Space & Earth Fri, 01 Mar 2013 11:00:05 EST news281357992 The long-beaked La Plata River dolphin, a small species living in in South America's Atlantic coastal waters, is increasingly threatened with extinction from big-net fishing, Brazilian researchers warn. http://phys.org/news277744045.html Biology Fri, 18 Jan 2013 15:20:02 EST news277744045 In new research published in a special issue of the journal Environmental Research and in "Sources to Seafood: Mercury Pollution in the Marine Environment"— a companion report by the Dartmouth-led Coastal and Marine Mercury Ecosystem Research Collaborative (C-MERC), scientists report that mercury released into the air and then deposited into oceans contaminates seafood commonly eaten by people in the U.S. and globally. http://phys.org/news273772959.html Space & Earth Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:02:52 EST news273772959 The seawater in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, and Norway's coastal waters and fjords is gradually getting darker. Researchers are observing signs similar to those from overproduction of organic compounds. The result may be fewer marine areas with fish, and more jellyfish. http://phys.org/news272532581.html Space & Earth Mon, 19 Nov 2012 07:29:49 EST news272532581 (AP)—The Smithsonian is launching a new initiative to study coastal waters and create the first global network monitoring climate change and human impacts on ocean life with a $10 million gift. http://phys.org/news270384047.html Space & Earth Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:41:01 EST news270384047 (AP)—An eel undulating through coastal waters, powered by batteries and checking for mines. A jellyfish is actually a surveillance robot, powered by the atoms around it. Fins pick up intelligence while propelling a robot bluegill sunfish. http://phys.org/news270204632.html Technology Tue, 23 Oct 2012 10:40:01 EST news270204632 University of Delaware researchers are using an underwater robot to find and follow sand tiger sharks that they previously tagged with transmitters. The innovative project is part of a multi-year partnership with Delaware State University to better understand the behavior and migration patterns of the sharks in real time. http://phys.org/news269682233.html Biology Wed, 17 Oct 2012 08:44:15 EST news269682233 CSIRO researchers have found that vital seagrass beds in Moreton Bay recovered within 12 months of the 2011 Brisbane floods. http://phys.org/news267256066.html Biology Wed, 19 Sep 2012 06:47:53 EST news267256066 (Phys.org)—Man-made structures such as harbours, tourist facilities, oil rigs and aquaculture farms provide ideal sanctuaries for jellyfish polyps to flourish and may explain an apparent increase in jellyfish blooms in many coastal waters around the world. http://phys.org/news266218004.html Biology Fri, 07 Sep 2012 06:40:01 EST news266218004 South Korea has decided to scrap its fiercely criticised plan to resume "scientific" whaling, apparently because of international pressure, a report said Tuesday. http://phys.org/news261726329.html Biology Tue, 17 Jul 2012 07:20:01 EST news261726329 Levels of copper, cadmium, lead and other metals in Southern California's coastal waters have plummeted over the past four decades, according to new research from USC. http://phys.org/news254664579.html Space & Earth Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:10:13 EST news254664579 (AP) -- Environmental groups are suing the Environmental Protection Agency to force the federal government to curb an overdose of nutrients from farms and cities that end up in the nation's rivers, lakes and coastal waters. The groups say the nutrients cause toxic algae blooms and the massive low-oxygen "dead zone" that crops up every summer in the Gulf of Mexico. http://phys.org/news251006568.html Space & Earth Thu, 15 Mar 2012 05:20:02 EST news251006568 Construction of Australia's new $120 million Marine National Facility research vessel, Investigator has started in Singapore. http://phys.org/news247227537.html Space & Earth Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:19:07 EST news247227537 France's nuclear monitor said on Thursday that the amount of caesium 137 that leaked into the Pacific from the Fukushima disaster was the greatest single nuclear contamination of the sea ever seen. http://phys.org/news238932811.html Space & Earth Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:13:48 EST news238932811 Increasing acidification in coastal waters could compromise the ability of oysters and other marine creatures to form and keep their shells, according to a new study led by University of Georgia researchers. http://phys.org/news238672252.html Space & Earth Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:50:59 EST news238672252 Evidence of a colony of rare seahorses has been discovered in the Thames, during a routine fisheries survey at Greenwich, the Environment Agency said on Friday. http://phys.org/news237204214.html Biology Fri, 07 Oct 2011 11:20:01 EST news237204214 On the evening of Feb. 2, 1942, an unarmed tanker with 66,000 barrels of crude oil on board was steaming in the Atlantic, about 90 miles off Ocean City, Md. Without warning, it was struck by German torpedoes. The attack set the W.L. Steed ablaze, and sank it; only a handful of the crew of 38 survived. http://phys.org/news230127360.html Space & Earth Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:16:24 EST news230127360 Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are often thought to be solitary behemoths that live and feed in the open ocean. Scientists at the Smithsonian Institution and colleagues, however, have found that this is not necessarily the case, finding that whale sharks can be gregarious and amass in the hundreds to feed in coastal waters. http://phys.org/news225558159.html Biology Wed, 25 May 2011 16:02:48 EST news225558159 With summer around the corner, millions worldwide will head to pristine beaches and waterways. However, with items such as bottles, cans and other debris washing up on U.S. shores each year, the University of Georgia and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, have teamed up to create a new, innovative cell phone reporting mechanism to combat the marine debris problem. http://phys.org/news224845877.html Space & Earth Tue, 17 May 2011 10:12:12 EST news224845877 (PhysOrg.com) -- What tales they tell of their former lives, these old bones of sirenians, relatives of today's dugongs and manatees. http://phys.org/news222620935.html Space & Earth Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:09:39 EST news222620935 Policymakers are very familiar with land-use planning. But what is the best approach for planning uses of America's coastal waters and oceans? That question has gained importance since President Obama formed the National Ocean Council last summer and charged it with developing an ecosystem-based stewardship policy for the nation's oceans, coastal waters and the Great Lakes. http://phys.org/news222342847.html Space & Earth Mon, 18 Apr 2011 10:54:21 EST news222342847 A new carbon model allows scientists to estimate sources and losses of organic carbon in surface waters in the United States. Study results indicate that streams act as both sources and sinks for organic carbon. http://phys.org/news218449496.html Space & Earth Fri, 04 Mar 2011 08:25:29 EST news218449496 For thousands of years, Inupiat Eskimos have relied on the bounty of nearby coastal waters for their survival along Alaska's far northern shoreline. http://phys.org/news213899088.html Space & Earth Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:30:01 EST news213899088