Ship traffic in shallow areas, such as ports, can trigger large methane emissions by just moving through the water. The researchers in a study, led by Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, observed twenty times higher methane emissions in the shipping lane compared to nearby undisturbed areas. Despite the fact that methane is a greenhouse gas that is 27 times as powerful as carbon dioxide, these emissions are often overlooked with today's measurement methods.

"Our measurements show that ship passages trigger clear pulses of high methane fluxes from the water to the atmosphere. This is caused by pressure changes and mixing of the water mass. Even if the pulses are short, the total amount during a day is significant," says Amanda Nylund, researcher at Chalmers University of Technology and the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, SMHI.

The intricate, hidden processes that sustain coral life are being revealed through a new microscope developed by scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The diver-operated microscope — called the Benthic Underwater Microscope imaging PAM, or BUMP — incorporates pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) light techniques to offer an unprecedented look at coral photosynthesis on micro-scales. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the new microscope will help scientists uncover precisely why corals bleach, and inform remediation efforts. While the bleaching process is known, it’s not fully understood, and it hasn’t been possible to study in depth in the field — until now.

Researchers from the University of Plymouth explored how differences in the sensory abilities of hermit crabs influenced how long it took them to recover after being startled. In one species of hermit crab, tiny hair-like structures – otherwise known as sensilla – on the claws appear to be important in gathering information about their surroundings, including the presence of potential predators. The study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B journal, has shown that crabs with more sensory hairs on their claws recover faster from a startle response.

Temperature combined with ocean currents have a significant influence on the distribution of marine life. These current patterns are shaped by the constant change in the distribution of land and sea on the Earth's surface. In a new study, SNSB scientist Thomas A. Neubauer correlated over 3 million observations of modern benthic mollusks from the shelf areas of the world's oceans with the development of today’s ocean currents during the recent Earth history. The research team recently published its findings in the journal Scientific Reports.

Restoring underwater kelp forests by culling overgrazing sea urchins would deliver significant financial benefits, a new study has found.