Water & Oceans

"The immense and forbidding Southern Ocean is famous for howling gales and devilish swells that have tested mariners for centuries. But its true strength lies beneath the waves." "Wilder winds are altering currents. The sea is releasing carbon dioxide. Ice is melting from below."

"A powerful storm walloped California with heavy rain and snow on Tuesday, as several inches of rain fell in the Los Angeles area and feet of snow were reported the Sierra Nevada." "The storm brought much-needed moisture to the broader region that’s been gripped by drought."

"Scientists have discovered a series of worrying weaknesses in the ice shelf holding back one of Antarctica’s most dangerous glaciers, suggesting that this important buttress against sea level rise could shatter within the next three to five years."

"Phyllis Taylor’s company is responsible for the longest-running oil spill in U.S. history. That’s been a disaster for the Gulf of Mexico — but a tax bonanza for Taylor."

"The loss of marshes, bogs and swamps is driving a rapid, global decline in dragonflies, researchers say.

Their plight has been highlighted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's latest Red List of Threatened Species, following its first comprehensive assessment of this colourful group of insects.

Wetlands loss is due to urbanisation and unsustainable agriculture, it says.

And now, 16% of the world's dragonflies are under threat of extinction. "

"On a moonless summer night in Hawaii, krill, fish and crabs swirl through a beam of light as two researchers peer into the water above a vibrant reef. Minutes later, like clockwork, they see eggs and sperm from spawning coral drifting past their boat. They scoop up the fishy-smelling blobs and put them in test tubes."

"Faced with worsening floods and a shortage of housing, the Netherlands is seeing growing interest in floating homes. These floating communities are inspiring more ambitious Dutch-led projects in flood-prone nations as far-flung as French Polynesia and the Maldives."

"The United States should research how to tinker with the oceans — even zapping them with electricity — to get them to suck more carbon dioxide out of the air to fight climate change, the National Academy of Sciences recommends."