Dr. Tanja Stratmann has been awarded the prestigious Starting Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). Starting in 2026, Dr. Stratmann will spend five years researching the nitrogen cycle of living and fossil sponges at MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen.

New research from UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography reveals that discarded barrels on the seafloor off with halos contained caustic alkaline waste, which created the halos as it leaked out.

Steve Canty has been appointed new director of the Smithsonian’s Marine Global Earth Observatory (MarineGEO) network, effective Sept. 8. A marine biologist, Canty has worked alongside scientists and communities in Latin America and the Caribbean to study vital resources like mangroves, seagrasses and small-scale fisheries. As MarineGEO director, Canty will lead a global network with partners on six continents, dedicated to understanding and protecting coastal ecosystems for the billions of people who rely on them.

Prochlorococcus, the most abundant photosynthesizing organism in the ocean, might be more vulnerable to climate change than researchers thought. Population decline could weaken the foundation of subtropical and tropical ecosystems as ocean temperatures continue to rise.

The biennial Ocean Sciences Meeting, co-sponsored by the American Geophysical Union , the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography , and The Oceanography Society , brings together 6,000 scientists, students, policymakers and educators to discuss breaking research across the ocean sciences and critical issues affecting a sustainable future for our oceans.

As part of a £250million investment in defence and security announced by the UK Government, the University of Plymouth will be creating a new Advanced Marine Technology Hub that will enhance the University’s world-leading expertise in autonomous marine systems, maritime cyber security, offshore renewable energy and environmental intelligence, as well as reaffirming its long-standing partnerships with – and commitment to – the city’s defence and security sectors.

While we know obstacles on the beach can slow down hatchlings and put them at risk, little research has focused on the impact of sargassum. A new study of loggerhead, leatherback and green hatchlings finds that all three species took significantly longer to complete their crawl when sargassum was present. The time it took to climb up and over the seaweed piles was the primary reason. Even small piles delayed their crawl, with many flipping over and failing to climb the seaweed in time.

A team, led by researchers at Bigelow Laboratory's Single Cell Genomics Center, have published the first quantitative analysis of lateral gene transfer rates in the ocean, illuminating the adaptability of marine microbes to new environment and the significance of an essential, ongoing evolutionary process to marine life.