oceans Archives - State of the Planet

madeleine traynor and shangtong li

Climate and Society Alumni Work Together to Build Coastal Resilience

Working in the same think tank but in different roles, two alumni show how the Climate and Society program prepares students for a variety of career paths.

by |March 27, 2023

Cutting Confederate Ties, the U.S. Navy Names Ships for a Pioneering Female Oceanographer and a Daring Enslaved Pilot

Marie Tharp was a marine scientist in a man’s world. Robert Smalls was a skilled sailor, but held as a slave. Both are now being honored by the U.S. Navy.

by |March 16, 2023

How Do We Clean Up All That Ocean Plastic?

A number of organizations are attempting to clean up the water, but solving the problem of ocean plastic pollution will also require big changes on land.

by |October 13, 2022

How Is Climate Change Affecting Ocean Waters and Ecosystems?

Biological oceanographer Hugh Ducklow describes decades of work in far-flung places to understand the evolving ecology of the oceans. The picture is not always clear.

by |August 29, 2022

Defying Some Expectations, Southern Ocean Did Not Increase Carbon Uptake in Ice Ages

In much of the world ocean, there is evidence that iron-rich dust blowing from land has fertilized algae during cold period, increasing uptake of carbon from the air, and keeping things frigid. Not here, says a new study.

by |April 19, 2022

Oceans Could Be Harnessed to Remove Carbon From Air, Say U.S. Science Leaders

Seaweed cultivation, altering the chemistry of seawater, or even injecting electrical currents should be studied, say the authors.

by |December 9, 2021

Why the U.S. Northeast Coast Is a Global Warming Hot Spot

A sharp rise in temperatures on land is linked to unusual heating of the Atlantic Ocean, and changes in wind patterns that send that warmth westward.

by |September 23, 2021

A New Center Will Study Ocean Chemical-Microbe Networks and Climate Change

Fast turnover of carbon between seawater and microbes is a fact, but how it works is largely a black hole. This projects aims to shed light.

by |September 9, 2021
crew on boat

A Brief History of Ocean Research at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Past and Present

In honor of World Oceans Day on June 8.

by |June 8, 2021

Far-Drifting Antarctic Icebergs Are Trigger of Ice Ages, Scientists Say

Large numbers of icebergs that drifted unusually far from Antarctica before melting into ocean waters have been key to initiating ice ages of the past, says a new study.

by |January 13, 2021