The Coral Triangle, also known as the Indo-Australian Archipelago, is renowned for having the greatest marine biodiversity on our planet. Despite its importance, the detailed evolutionary history of this biodiversity hotspot has remained largely a mystery. An international research team has now shed light on this history, reconstructing how biodiversity...
Investigating newly discovered hydrothermal vents at depths of 3,000 meters off Svalbard
Hydrothermal vents can be found around the world at the junctions of drifting tectonic plates. But there are many hydrothermal fields still to be discovered. During a 2022 expedition of the MARIA S. MERIAN, the first field of hydrothermal vents on the 500-kilometer-long Knipovich Ridge off the coast of Svalbard...
A dog’s puppyhood can cause ‘puppy blues’ reminiscent of baby blues
Bringing a puppy home is usually a happy event, but sometimes the life change that comes with it can provoke significant negative emotions. Researchers found that almost half of dog owners experience anxiety, weariness or frustration during their dog's puppyhood stage.
Climate change to shift tropical rains northward
Atmospheric scientists predict that unchecked carbon emissions will force tropical rains to shift northward in the coming decades, which would profoundly impact agriculture and economies near the Earth's equator. The northward rain shift would be spurred by carbon emissions that influence the formation of the intertropical convergence zones that are...
Drowning in waste: Pollution hotspots in aquatic environments
A new study explores waste management systems and reveals that achieving zero waste leakage by 2030 is unlikely, potentially jeopardizing related Sustainable Development Goals. The authors emphasize the need for global cooperation, particularly across four regions, to responsibly manage waste disposal.
Antarctic ice shelves hold twice as much meltwater as previously thought
Slush -- water-soaked snow -- makes up more than half of all meltwater on the Antarctic ice shelves during the height of summer, yet is poorly accounted for in regional climate models. The findings could have profound implications for ice shelf stability and sea level rise.
Last surviving woolly mammoths were inbred but not doomed to extinction
The last population of woolly mammoths was isolated on Wrangel Island off the coast of Siberia 10,000 years ago, when sea levels rose and cut the mountainous island off from the mainland. A new genomic analysis reveals that the isolated mammoths, who lived on the island for the subsequent 6,000...
Solar technology: Innovative light-harvesting system works very efficiently
Researchers are reporting progress on the road to more efficient utilization of solar energy: They have developed an innovative light-harvesting system.
Ocean’s loss of oxygen caused massive Jurassic extinction: Could it happen again?
Researchers have found a chemical clue in Italian limestone that explains a mass extinction of marine life in the Early Jurassic period, 183 million years ago. Volcanic activity pumped out CO2, warming oceans and lowering their oxygen levels. The findings may foretell the impact climate change and oxygen depletion might...
Almonds, pottery, wood help date famed Kyrenia shipwreck
Researchers have identified the likeliest timeline of the famous Hellenistic-era Kyrenia shipwreck, discovered and recovered off the north coast of Cyprus in the 1960s.