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.
As global marine biodiversity faces increasing threats from climate change, pollution, and overfishing, understanding the complex dynamics of ocean ecosystems is more urgent than ever. The Asia-Pacific region (APR) is home ...
Ecology
Nov 5, 2025
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Scientists from the Department of Geography and Environmental Science at Queen Mary University of London have developed a simple model to show how buoyant plastic can settle through the water column and they predict it could ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 23, 2025
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51
Undergraduate and graduate students took a lead role in a Virginia Tech study that analyzed global research on marine debris, uncovering surprising sources of ocean trash and pointing out solutions for a growing environmental ...
Environment
Oct 21, 2025
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Understanding how plastics flow from land to sea is essential for solving the growing problem of plastic pollution. Rivers play a key role as major transport pathways, and accurate monitoring technologies are urgently needed ...
Environment
Oct 20, 2025
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According to a study by the Department of Physics and the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), the Mar Menor saltwater lagoon in Murcia, Spain, the largest ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 13, 2025
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If you want to keep a shark healthy, you must first define what healthy is.
Ecology
Oct 7, 2025
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A large proportion of the carbon dioxide emissions that are currently being released into the atmosphere by human activities are absorbed by the surface ocean, making it more acidic. As a result, the tiny organisms (plankton), ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 1, 2025
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48
State-of-the-art sensors have been installed on Scotland's oldest steamship to support the monitoring of water quality and impacts of climate change.
Environment
Oct 1, 2025
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On the edge of California's Monterey Bay, ecologist Matthew Savoca and a team of volunteers sift through sand and seawater for microplastics, one of the planet's most pervasive forms of pollution.
Earth Sciences
Sep 30, 2025
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An undersea submersible has spotted crabs, worms and fish thriving on the surfaces of World War II explosives thought to be toxic to marine life.
Ecology
Sep 28, 2025
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