More than a year after the historic Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires, residents still face urgent environmental questions: Is my soil contaminated? Are the beaches safe? What should I do if contamination is found?

- KAIST and MIT develop an electrochemical marine carbon removal technology that converts carbon dioxide in seawater into solid minerals for permanent storage

- Technology reduces electricity consumption by up to 54% compared with conventional systems and demonstrates stable operation for more than 120 hours using Jeju lava seawater

- Next-generation carbon removal technology helps the ocean absorb more carbon dioxide, with potential applications aboard ships and offshore platforms

Syracuse University biologists connect humpback whale song structure to diving behavior for the first time, a breakthrough that could allow researchers to infer whale behavior from acoustic recordings and better monitor the effects of human activity in the ocean.

For decades, scientists have asserted that the leakage of warm, salty Indian Ocean water south of South Africa into the Atlantic is a major contribution to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a component of the global ocean conveyor system. New research led by an international team from the Netherlands, USA, China and UK suggests that the mechanism linking leakage of Indian Ocean water and deep-water formation was and is not as straightforward as previously thought. This research contributes to a better understanding of the AMOC, a key regulator of the Earth’s climate.

The EU project SYNCHRONY will launch on August 1st, 2026. It aims to contribute to a better understanding of the rapid changes taking place in the complex system comprising the ocean, ice and atmosphere in the Southern Ocean and around the Antarctic ice shelves, as well as their impacts on the global climate and biodiversity. Led by the Alfred Wegener Institute, researchers from a total of 27 global partner institutions from around the world will work in interdisciplinary work packages to optimise and expand the existing observing system, harmonise data streams, and create new data products that document the state of the climate system and biodiversity. The project thus also provides an important foundation for the international UN Ocean Decade initiative Antarctica InSync and builds on existing research consortia. The EU will fund SYNCHRONY with around 8.5 million euros over the next four years.