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. Scientists have identified many benefits for restoring oyster reefs to Chesapeake Bay and other coastal ecosystems. Oysters filter and clean the water, provide habitat for their own young and for other species, and sustain both watermen and seafood lovers. http://phys.org/news287335419.html Space & Earth Thu, 09 May 2013 16:23:47 EST news287335419 More than 160 researchers across 10 European countries joined together, in what is being hailed as the first international project to focus on ocean acidification and its consequences. http://phys.org/news286439180.html Space & Earth Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:10:04 EST news286439180 To study the effects of ocean acidification, ten huge plastic containers called mesocosms are placed in the Gullmar Fjord in Sweden. The project is unique: mesocosms of this size have never been used for such a long period of time. The experiment is part of a worldwide research project, and includes researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. http://phys.org/news282472343.html Space & Earth Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:32:31 EST news282472343 (Phys.org) —The number of sharks killed each year in commercial fisheries is estimated at 100 million, with a range between 63 million and 273 million, according to the research "Global Catches, Exploitation Rates and Rebuilding Options for Sharks," published in the journal Marine Policy on March 1, 2013. The article was co-authored by Dr. Demian Chapman, assistant professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and assistant director of science at the Institute for Ocean Conservation at Stony Brook University. http://phys.org/news281607902.html Biology Mon, 04 Mar 2013 08:27:12 EST news281607902 Since the observations made by English naturalist Charles Darwin on the Galapagos Islands, researchers have been interested in how physical barriers, such as isolation on a particular island, can lead to the formation of new species through the process of natural selection. Natural selection is a process whereby heritable traits that enhance survival become more common in successive generations, while unfavorable heritable traits become less common. Over time, animals and plants that have morphologies or other attributes that enhance their suitability to a particular environment become more common and more adapted to that specific environment. http://phys.org/news279390735.html Biology Wed, 06 Feb 2013 16:39:14 EST news279390735 Scientists at the Universities of York and Leeds have made a significant discovery about the cause of the destruction of ozone over oceans. http://phys.org/news277297404.html Space & Earth Sun, 13 Jan 2013 13:00:10 EST news277297404 (Phys.org)—The Southern Ocean, circling the Earth between Antarctica and the southernmost regions of Africa, South America, and Australia, is notorious for its High Nutrient, Low Chlorophyl zones, areas otherwise rich in nutrients but poor in essential iron. Sea life is less abundant in these regions because the growth of phytoplankton, the marine plants that form the base of the food chain, is suppressed. A study by scientists from South Africa's Steelenbosch University, Princeton University, and Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source (ALS) suggests the problem is not just a lack of iron but a lack of iron in easy-to-use form. http://phys.org/news274435765.html Space & Earth Tue, 11 Dec 2012 08:09:37 EST news274435765 The 2012 Marine Climate Change in Australia Report Card shows climate change is having significant impacts on Australia's marine ecosystems. http://phys.org/news264345683.html Space & Earth Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:00:01 EST news264345683 Researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science continue to monitor the algal blooms that have been discoloring Chesapeake Bay waters during the last few weeks. These "red tides" occur in the lower Bay every summer, but have appeared earlier and across a wider area than in years past, likely due to last winter's warmth and this summer's heat. http://phys.org/news262628604.html Space & Earth Fri, 27 Jul 2012 17:23:31 EST news262628604 Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found that adding iron to the sea could alleviate the impact of climate change. http://phys.org/news262339530.html Space & Earth Tue, 24 Jul 2012 09:05:36 EST news262339530 A team of researchers, including scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), discovered a massive bloom of phytoplankton beneath ice-covered Arctic waters. Until now, sea ice was thought to block sunlight and limit the growth of microscopic marine plants living under the ice. http://phys.org/news258300798.html Space & Earth Thu, 07 Jun 2012 15:13:23 EST news258300798 Scientists have predicted that ocean temperatures will rise in the equatorial Pacific by the end of the century, wreaking havoc on coral reef ecosystems. But a new study shows that climate change could cause ocean currents to operate in a surprising way and mitigate the warming near a handful of islands right on the equator. As a result these Pacific islands may become isolated refuges for corals and fish. http://phys.org/news254905365.html Space & Earth Sun, 29 Apr 2012 13:00:01 EST news254905365 Changes in the ratio of nitrate to phosphorus in the oceans off the coasts of Korea and Japan caused by atmospheric and riverine pollutants may influence the makeup of marine plants and influence marine ecology, according to researchers from Korea and the U. S. http://phys.org/news235898934.html Space & Earth Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:00:09 EST news235898934 Geo-engineering schemes aimed at tackling global warming through artificial iron fertilisation of the oceans would significantly affect deep-sea ecosystems, according to research involving scientists from the United Kingdom's National Oceanography Centre (NOC) as well as former Ocean and Earth Science research students of the University of Southampton, which is based at the Centre. http://phys.org/news229169428.html Space & Earth Wed, 06 Jul 2011 11:10:43 EST news229169428 (PhysOrg.com) -- The influence of the world’s oceans over carbon dioxide levels and climate change is better understood thanks to researchers from the University of Canberra and The Australian National University. http://phys.org/news206959160.html Space & Earth Fri, 22 Oct 2010 09:39:29 EST news206959160 (PhysOrg.com) -- Climate change is forcing marine plants and animals to move, adapt or die. Stanford biologist Steve Palumbi has found a coral species that is coping surprisingly well, and his analysis of the effectiveness of different size reserves suggests bigger isn't always better. http://phys.org/news186058146.html Space & Earth Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:49:33 EST news186058146 Marine Plants of Pacific Panama is a new, online identification guide to more than 120 marine algae. Developed by Smithsonian marine biologists Diane and Mark Littler in conjunction with the bioinformatics office at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the guide is designed to make it easy for non-specialists to accurately identify seaweed species around Panama´s offshore islands from Las Perlas in the Bay of Panama to the Gulf of Chiriqui. http://phys.org/news185725852.html Biology Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:31:57 EST news185725852 Large-scale distributions of two important nutrient pools - dissolved organic nitrogen and dissolved organic phosphorus (DON and DOP) have been systematically mapped for the first time over the Atlantic Ocean in a study led by Dr Sinhue Torres-Valdes of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton. The findings have important implications for understanding nitrogen and phosphorus biogeochemical cycles and the biological carbon pump in the Atlantic Ocean. http://phys.org/news176466994.html Space & Earth Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:50:02 EST news176466994 Deep-sea ecosystems occupying 60% of the Earth's surface could be vulnerable to the effects of global warming warn scientists writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://phys.org/news176398686.html Space & Earth Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:38:48 EST news176398686 Scientists including researchers from the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton and the University of Essex have discovered that interactions between iron supply, transported through the atmosphere from deserts, and large-scale oceanic circulation control the availability of a crucial nutrient, nitrogen, in the Atlantic. Their findings have potentially important implications for understanding global climate, both past and future. http://phys.org/news176387275.html Space & Earth Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:28:36 EST news176387275 Researchers from Oregon State University, NASA and other organizations said today that they have succeeded for the first time in measuring the physiology of marine phytoplankton through satellite measurements of its fluorescence - an accomplishment that had been elusive for years. http://phys.org/news162738187.html Space & Earth Thu, 28 May 2009 14:03:34 EST news162738187 A possible solution to global warming may be further away than ever, according to a new report published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature this week. http://phys.org/news152372775.html Space & Earth Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:46:44 EST news152372775