Kyoto, Japan -- As tiny as they are, marine plankton play pivotal roles in biogeochemical cycles and in sustaining aquatic ecosystems, producing around half of the oxygen on Earth and also acting as carbon sinks. When they die, their decomposing cells produce dissolved organic carbon that can be transformed and stored in the ocean for thousands of years, so understanding plankton mortality is essential for uncovering the mechanisms behind marine ecosystems.

However, assessing the death of a particular plankton population out of a community consisting of hundreds of coexisting species poses a complex challenge. A team of researchers at Kyoto University addressed this by focusing on viral infection and cell lysis, the process through which a cell's membrane breaks down and releases its genetic information into the environment.

First, the team developed a method for measuring plankton lysis by growing cultures of two phytoplankton species, diatoms and raphidophytes, in a seawater-based medium, and then extracting rRNA and quantifying it using digital PCR. Since rRNA released into seawater degrades over time, the researchers added a culture of spike-in ribosomes to the medium and measured the degradation rate constant. The resulting flux model incorporated both changes in host cell-free rRNA and the degradation constant, making it possible to accurately assess the rate of cell lysis.

Japan has been experiencing increasingly severe damage from torrential rainfall triggered by typhoons and stationary linear rain bands. In response, an ambitious and unconventional idea is taking shape: artificially inducing heavy rainfall over the ocean to reduce extreme downpours on land. This pioneering project was selected for the Cabinet Office’s Moonshot Research and Development Program and is led by Professor Shunji Kotsuki of the Institute for Advanced Academic Research/Center for Environmental Remote Sensing, who serves as project manager.

While Professor Kotsuki runs his laboratory and discussions with rigorous logic, he is guided by a clear belief: “When you aim to accomplish something meaningful, it ultimately comes down to passion and energy.” In this interview, we spoke with him about the current state of weather control and AI-based weather forecasting research, as well as the mindset that underpins his pursuit of challenging, future-oriented science.

8 September 2026/Kiel/Taliarte. A seven-week experiment led by the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel is starting today on Gran Canaria. In collaboration with international partner institutions, twelve mesocosms are being deployed in the sea. These will be used to investigate whether ground concrete rubble can be used to increase the alkalinity of seawater and what effects this has on marine life. Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) is a promising method for increasing the ocean’s CO₂ uptake whilst simultaneously buffering acidification.

Researchers at The University of Manchester have developed a physics-based artificial intelligence framework that, for the first time, enables global-scale predictions of dissolved organic carbon cycling between seawater and marine sediments. The approach reveals a previously unquantified component of Earth's carbon cycle and could improve climate models, support research into ocean-based climate mitigation strategies, and provide new insights into the long-term storage of carbon in marine environments.

7 September 2026 / Kiel. A strong earthquake near the Arctic island of Jan Mayen triggered a massive rock avalanche in March 2025. The resulting debris buried part of the Kjerulf Glacier beneath rock and rubble. A study by researchers at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel indicates that climate change likely played a crucial role in this event. Long-term warming and permafrost degradation weakened the rock, making it more susceptible to earthquake shaking. These findings highlight how natural hazards in polar regions are changing – with potential implications for glacier and permafrost areas worldwide. The study is published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal.