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An international study led by The University of Western Australia has found that temperate marine ecosystems dominated by marine forests are collapsing into flattened seascapes of short turf algae across the globe.

The number of Vendee Globe skippers now in the Indian Ocean grew to nine overnight as French sailors Thomas RUYANT and Jean LE CAM passed the Cape of Good Hope. Race first-timer RUYANT, skipper of Le Souffle du Nord pour le Projet Imagine, and veteran LE CAM on Finistère Mer Vent, were just under four hours apart from one another passing the magical longitude of 018°29.85'E.

In the last 50 years, oxygen-deficient zones in the open ocean have increased. Scientists have attributed this development to rising global temperatures: Less oxygen dissolves in warmer water, and the tropical ocean's layers can become more stratified.

Mumbai Sea Amongst Most Polluted In The World, Average Of 68.83 Debris Items Are Found Per Sqm.

Uncharted waters: Scientists to explore Indian Ocean depths.

Ocean primary production is the basis of the marine food web, sustaining life in the ocean via photosynthesis, and removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Recently, a small but significant decrease in global marine primary production has been reported based on ocean color data, which was mostly ascribed to decreases in primary production in the northern Indian Ocean, particularly in the Bay of Bengal. Available reports on primary production from the Bay of Bengal (BoB) are limited, and due to their spatial and temporal variability difficult to interpret. Primary production in the BoB has historically been described to be driven by diatom and chlorophyte clades, while only more recent datasets also show an abundance of smaller cyanobacterial primary producers visually difficult to detect. The different character of the available datasets, i.e., direct counts, metagenomic and biogeochemical data, and satellite-based ocean color observations, make it difficult to derive a consistent pattern. However, making use of the most highly resolved dataset based on satellite imaging, a shift in community composition of primary producers is visible in the BoB over the last 2 decades. This shift is driven by a decrease in chlorophyte abundance and a coinciding increase in cyanobacterial abundance, despite stable concentrations of total chlorophyll. A similar but somewhat weaker trend is visible in the Arabian Sea, where satellite imaging points towards decreasing abundances of chlorophytes in the north and increasing abundances of cyanobacteria in the eastern parts. Statistical analysis indicated a correlation of this community change in the BoB to decreasing nitrate concentrations, which may provide an explanation for both the decrease in eukaryotic nitrate-dependent primary producers and the increase in small unicellular cyanobacteria related to Prochlorococcus, which have a comparably higher affinity to nitrate. Changes in community composition of primary producers and an

New research highlights both natural climate variability, warming temperatures.

New ocean model simulations could refine the search area.

Seychelles court of appeal acquits 3 suspected Somali pirates convicted of piracy.

New strategies for tracking of marine objects proposed.

GEOMAR equips Volvo Ocean Race yacht with sensors for ocean observations.

New GEOMAR study investigates decadal variations of Agulhas leakage and their influence on the Gulf Stream system.

SONNE Expedition SO305 Creates First Comprehensive Dataset on Biogeochemistry.

MH370 search shifts on new data analysis.

China's island cities: Treasure or trouble for Asia?

Arctic ice melt could trigger uncontrollable climate change at global level.