Marine water quality refers to the physicochemical, biological, and microbiological status of seawater as characterized by quantitative indicators relevant to ecosystem function, contaminant exposure, and regulatory standards. It encompasses parameters such as nutrient concentrations (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus), dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature, pH, turbidity, organic matter, trace metals, hydrocarbons, persistent organic pollutants, and microbial/pathogen loads. Assessment of marine water quality underpins evaluations of eutrophication, hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, contaminant bioavailability, and ecological risk. It is central to monitoring programs, environmental impact assessments, and management frameworks such as marine protected areas and coastal zone management, often integrating in situ measurements, remote sensing, and modeling.
A new review in Limnology and Oceanography led by scientists at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography warns that the rapid loss of oxygen from the ocean and other aquatic ecosystems is pushing Earth toward an ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 17, 2026
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218
Human activities are fundamentally altering the chemical makeup of coral reefs, according to a study led by the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa and published in Nature Communications. The research team discovered that 25 contaminants ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 17, 2026
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8
Research carried out three years after installation at the Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm in the North Sea has found that distinct marine communities have developed inside offshore wind turbine foundations equipped ...
Ecology
Jul 17, 2026
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10
When residents of two coastal communities along the Sea of Japan reported observing dolphins in nearby waters, it caught the attention of some scientists. The marine environment has been changing rapidly in the Sea of Japan, ...
Ecology
Jul 14, 2026
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107
As locals and visitors from across the globe flock to California's famous beaches this summer, a collaboration of marine and social scientists, in partnership with grassroots organizations, has peeled back the so-called "coastal ...
Environment
Jul 13, 2026
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52
Seagrass meadows play a largely overlooked role in providing nutrition for coastal communities, a new study published in Cell Reports Sustainability has found. The research, led by scientists at Project Seagrass and Stockholm ...
Ecology
Jul 9, 2026
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17
Tiny, invisible swirls and twirls—not much bigger than a coin—deep below the ocean's surface are silently shaping some of the biggest forces shaping our climate: sea level rise, fisheries collapse, extreme flooding and how ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 9, 2026
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21
Coral reefs are disappearing at an unprecedented rate as climate change, marine heat waves, pollution and coastal development threaten one of Earth's richest ecosystems. While scientific research has greatly advanced understanding ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 8, 2026
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9
More than 90% of the key nutrients degrading the Mar Menor, such as ammonium, phosphorus and silica, do not come from streams or continental groundwater, but rather through a mechanism that has so far been overlooked: Water ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 8, 2026
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4
Between 1950 and 1990, more than 200,000 barrels filled with radioactive waste were dumped in the depths of the North-East Atlantic. Following an initial mission carried out between June 15 and July 11, 2025, to map the area ...
Environment
Jul 2, 2026
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10
