oceans

Homemade garbage barge about to make landfall in Hawaii

Three humans, 15,000 soda bottles, and a Cessna plane body are about to make landfall in Hawaii after an epic 2,000-mile, three-month journey from the west coast to raise awareness about the mind-numbing amount of plastic fouling the world’s oceans and wildlife alike. Aching for cold beer and something other than sushi for lunch, these […]

Ocean temperture levels indicate planet has kept warming since 1998

As part of their climate myth series, New Scientist cuts through the nonsense on what’s happened globally in the last decade: In fact, the planet as a whole has warmed since 1998, even in the years when surface temperatures have fallen. According to the dataset of the UK Met Office Hadley Centre (see figure, right), […]

Note to media: Enough with the multiple hedges on climate science!

In an otherwise fascinating story on the growing “icebreaker gap” in the rapidly defrosting Arctic Ocean, NYT reporter Andy Revkin writes: Even with the increasing summer retreats of sea ice, which many polar scientists say probably are being driven in part by global warming caused by humans, there will always be enough ice in certain […]

Arctic sea ice declines sharply in August

The National Snow and Ice Data Center reported Monday that in the first 10 days of August, Arctic sea ice extent declined one million kilometers. Sea ice is now disappearing on a daily basis nearly 50 percent faster than it typically does this time of year. So the race is on again to see whether […]

Some big whales no longer in trouble

There’s bad news and good news from the world of marine megafauna. The bad: Almost a quarter of the 80 types of whales, dolphins, and porpoises are in trouble, with nine listed as “endangered” or “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Entanglement in fishing gear poses the main threat. The good: […]

Cleanup funding inadequate for Bush-designated marine monument

Remember when President Bush designated the world’s largest protected marine area in Hawaii in 2006? Environmentalists cheered, fish clapped their fins, and Bush aides crossed “burnish green reputation” off the presidential to-do list — but the aftermath has been underwhelming. Tons of debris drift into the 140,000-square-mile Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument each year, posing a […]

Jet Propulsion Laboratory has new climate website that shows global sea-level trends

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has a very good new website on global climate change. It offers a nice summary of the relevant science in a variety of areas: key indicators, evidence, causes, effects, uncertainties, and solutions. The website is a good place to send people who are uninformed on global warming, but looking for basic information.

JPL has a very nice front-page banner with pulldown menus providing data on "Vital Signs of the Planet," including Arctic sea ice, carbon dioxide, sea level rise, global temperature, and the ozone hole. Here is the expanded chart showing the recent 70 percent jump in sea level rise:

Beads in many face scrubs harmful to marine life

Photo: Perfecto Insecto. Plastic needs a new slogan, LOLcat–style: Im in ur facewash, hurting teh fishes. Slate, YahooGreen, and now EarthFirst are reporting that the tiny exfoliating beads in many facial scrubs are made of polyethylene, and once the beads get washed down the drain and make their way to the ocean, it’s time for […]

Umbra on sea-level rise

Dear Umbra, I’m a bit confused about the possible rise in sea level that may be caused by global warming. I know that in general water expands when warmed, and that is one cause of sea level elevation with respect to global warming. The larger cause for alarm seems to be the melting or collapse […]