Despite their tiny size, viruses have a significant and rippling impact throughout all facets of life, including that of the deep sea. Deep-sea viruses are no doubt understudied, but some facts known about their existence might give future researchers some insight into climate-related changes on a global level, such as the relationship between deep-sea viruses and the global ocean environment. Uncovering the significance of their community structure, host interactions and ecological functions and impacts are pivotal to the understanding of how these deep-sea dwellers can affect life both above and below the surface.

Some animals, such as the starlet sea anemone, can regenerate large parts of their body, even after major injuries. EMBL researchers have shown this regeneration response involves cells and molecules in body parts far from the injury site and is directed towards restoring the animal’s original shape. The study sheds new light on the fundamental importance of maintaining body shape in animals and enhances our understanding of the molecular pathways involved in regeneration.

Coral adaptation to ocean warming and marine heatwaves will likely be overwhelmed without rapid reductions of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to an international team of scientists.

Ocean engineering such as offshore wind turbines plays an important role in promoting energy transition and economic development, which, however, typically suffer from harsh ocean environments (e.g., hurricane surge) and hazards (e.g., earthquakes or accidental collisions). Underwater structural components in such extreme marine environments are more difficult to detect in ocean engineering and therefore more likely to cause irreversible damages. In this study, the all-in-one 3-dimensional (3D) printed double-helix multilayered tribo-metamaterials (DH-MTMs) are proposed for self-powered wireless monitoring of underwater structures under the surface and underwater conditions. This paper first investigates the electrical characteristics of the DH-MTMs under the cyclic motions in the horizontal direction, horizontal–vertical coupling, and circular direction, respectively. The electrical signal output of DH-MTMs in different layers and different vibration frequencies effectively responds to its own sensitivity and suitability of monitoring underwater engineering structures. Next, the DH-MTMs are integrated into the wireless monitoring systems to monitor the amplitude of marine structures and wave velocity and height under the surface and underwater conditions. Experimental results show that the reported wireless monitoring systems accurately capture the displacement of underwater structures at the centimeter level and the water flow with the velocity of less than 0.1 m/s. The DH-MTMs is not only used as a sensor but also used as a structural component of a self-sensing marine structure, which provide novel design guidance for active real-time wireless monitoring of underwater structures in smart ocean.

Researchers have quantified for the first time the global emissions of a sulfur gas produced by marine life, revealing it cools the climate more than previously thought, especially over the Southern Ocean.

The study, published in the journal Science Advances, shows that the oceans not only capture and redistribute the sun's heat, but produce gases that make particles with immediate climatic effects, for example through the brightening of clouds that reflect this heat.

New Curtin University research has revealed that the Ninetyeast Ridge ­— the Earth’s longest straight underwater mountain chain ­— formed through a different process than previously believed.

Stretching 5000km along the Indian Ocean’s 90-degree east longitude and nearly matching the length of North America’s Rocky Mountains, the ridge offers crucial new insights into the movement of the Earth’s tectonic plates.