LEO Network

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The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
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Observations

Saxitoxin detected in regional clam
A six-inch butter clam harvested on August 28 three miles north of Savoonga tested positive for saxitoxins, or paralytic shellfish poison, Norton Sound Health Corporation Environmental Coordinator Emma Pate said.The clam itself showed high levels of saxitoxin present: it had 450 micrograms of toxin per 100 gram of body tissue. The Food and Drug Administration’s safety limit is at 80 micrograms/100 g. Pate, via the SEATOR lab, on Sept. 23 issued a paralytic shellfish toxin advisory to Savoonga and Gambell.
Savoonga, Alaska, United States
The Nome Nugget

Authorities warn subsistence users about potentially harmful algal blooms
Researchers have found a high level of potentially harmful algae in the waters near Teller, Brevig Mission, Wales, Little Diomede and Shishmaref. They are now advising that residents of those areas…
Nome, Alaska, United States
KNOM Radio Mission

Alaska’s snow crabs have disappeared. Where they went is a mystery.
King crab legs for $199 a pound? There’s a reason for that.
Saint Paul, Alaska, United States
Washington Post

Recent Increase in Seal Deaths in Maine Linked to Avian Flu
NOAA Fisheries working with partners to determine the causes of death, and assess impacts.
Southern Maine Coast
NOAA

Pollutants from far distances found in Bering Sea animals hunted by Indigenous people
A newly published study shows the presence of chemical pollutants in marine mammals and reindeer hunted by St. Lawrence Island villagers.
Gambell, Alaska, United States
Alaska Beacon

Ancient disks revealed unsettled climate change in Svalbard
The temperature on the delar of Svalbard has risen to twice as fast as the time period known. No can forecast at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute document the greatest warming in the world.
Island of Karl XII, Spitsbergen
NRK

Sheen continues to spread from tug grounded in Neva Strait
On Thursday, for the first time, the sheen was reported in Krestof Sound, an area where Pacific herring are known to spawn in the spring.
Juneau, Alaska, United States
KTOO

Mapping reveals rapid changes to the Arctic seafloor as ancient submerged permafrost thaws
Researchers documented the formation of new, irregularly shaped, steep-sided depressions. The largest was an oval-shaped depression 28 meters (92 feet) deep, 225 meters (738 feet) long, and 95 meters (312 feet) wide. The research team attributes these changes to intermittent seafloor collapse due to the gradual warming of the permafrost sediment frozen beneath the Arctic Shelf since the end of the last ice age.
Beaufort Sea
Monterrey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

Alaska worries about salmon runs as climate change warms Arctic waters
With marine heat waves helping to wipe out some of Alaska’s storied salmon runs in recent years, officials have resorted to sending emergency food shipments to affected communities while scientists warn that the industry’s days of traditional harvests may be numbered. Salmon all but disappeared from the 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) Yukon River run last year.
Alaska, United States
ArcticToday

A new study predicts a huge increase in catastrophic hurricanes for the northeastern U.S.
When hurricanes cause both extreme high tides and heavy rains, devastating floods ensue. Such storms will get much more frequent by the end of the century, according to a new study.
Wilmington, North Carolina, United States
NPR.org

Skagway’s blue mussels were nearly wiped out last year
The Skagway Traditional Council is asking harvesters to avoid blue mussels until the population rebounds.
Haines, Alaska, United States
KTOO

Russia's grand Arctic plan might get stuck in the ice
The troublesome shipping on the Northern Sea Route continues into the new year. Almost three weeks after the world's most powerful icebreaker arrived in the Chukchi Sea, none of the four vessels stuck in the area have broken out of the ice.
Chukchi Sea
Eye on the Arctic

Weather year 2021
In 2021, the average temperature in Norway was normal, while precipitation was 10 percent below normal. The year is nevertheless marked by great contrasts. The summary of the weather in 2021 was presented at the Meteorological Institute's annual event Climate Status on 5 January. Here you can see video footage of Climate Status (Vimeo)
Norway
Meteorologisk institutt

Retreating glaciers will open up salmon streams in Alaska, study says
Deglaciation could increase salmon habitat by nearly 30% in the Gulf of Alaska by 2100.
Mendenhall Glacier
KTOO

Ships complete 'historical passage' on Northern Sea Route
It has been an Arctic odyssey for the ships and crews that in November got stuck in sea-ice on the remote Northern Sea Route. After a month of icy captivity and subsequent icebreaker rescue, a convoy of nine vessels this week made it to safety in the Kara Sea. On December 7, a Russian nuclear icebreaker completed
New Siberian Islands
ArcticToday

Sitka Tribe’s shellfish lab honored for safeguarding traditional foods
The lab tests samples from 17 communities in Southeast, as well as from tribes on Kodiak Island.
Sitka, Alaska, United States

After a month stuck in Arctic sea ice, nine vessels make it to Kara Sea
Never before at this time of year have so many vessels been rescued out of the ice, says Russia's nuclear icebreaker operator Rosatom. It has been an Arctic odyssey for the ships and crews that in November got stuck in sea-ice on the remote Northern Sea Route.
Kara Sea
Eye on the Arctic

Climate change is making Glacier Bay unstable. Scientists are mapping the risks to visitors
Landslides and tsunamis aren’t historically common in Glacier Bay, but because more than half a million visitors tour the park each year park managers want to get a clearer picture of the risks of tsunamis and landslides, which have become more common recently due to a changing climate.
Alaska Public Media

NOAA Bottom Trawl Survey finds warmer waters and declining fish populations
Multiple fish populations in the Bering Sea have experienced a slight decline, according to the 2021 Bottom Trawl survey.
Bering Sea
KNOM Radio Mission

Scientists report an increase in harmful algal blooms in the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas
Since bottom water temperatures have been warming drastically across the Northern Bering and Chukchi Seas over the last few years, cysts are now growing locally in Arctic waters. The blooms carry toxins, but scientists aren’t yet sure what impact they will have on marine mammals.
Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

Cost to save Tuktoyaktuk from climate change: $42 million and rising
Protecting the coast of Tuktoyaktuk from the onslaught of climate change is estimated to cost at least $42 million and is only guaranteed to last until 2052. Over the project’s 30-year lifespan, over 60,000 cubic metres of sand are expected to be brought to keep the beach intact.
Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, Canada
NNSL Media

Declining sea ice in Kotzebue Sound is shortening subsistence hunt for seals, study finds
Seal meat makes up a good portion of what’s in subsistence hunters’ freezers in Kotzebue. But the sea ice the seals haul out on is diminishing, and new research shows that's shortening the window to hunt seals.
Kotzebue, Alaska, United States

Pacific Northwest Heat Wave Killed More Than One Billion Sea Creatures
Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Scientific American

More than a billion seashore animals may have cooked to death in B.C. heat wave, says UBC researcher
A marine biologist at the University of British Columbia estimates that last week's record-breaking heat wave in B.C. may have killed more than one billion intertidal animals living along the Salish Sea coastline.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
CBC

How Cows Destroyed an Entire Marine Ecosystem in California
A researcher's quest to understand a mysterious mass extinction leads to cud-chewing culprits.
The Southern California Bight, USA
Atlas Obscura

Freezing Temperatures in Early June Slow Ocean Warming in Bering Sea
Despite seeing snow fall across the Norton Sound and Nome earlier this month, summer weather seems to have arrived in Western Alaska.
Nome, Alaska, United States
KNOM Radio Mission

U.S. must urge Japan not to release Fukushima wastewater into the sea
The era of intentionally dumping toxic waste in our one global ocean is, or should be, over.
Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan
Anchorage Daily News

Record-breaking ocean temps hurting local sea life
A sobering warning on Earth Day: Scripps researchers say record-breaking ocean temperatures and toxin levels are harming local sea life.
La Jolla, California, United States
FOX 5 San Diego

Australian islanders' homes being ‘eaten away’ by rising sea levels
‘Something has to be done right now ... don’t wait for the time when we’re going to be moved off and be refugees in our own country’
Masig Island, Torres Strait, Australia
The Independent

Climate change driving marine species poleward
Warming waters have driven thousands of ocean species poleward from the equator, threatening marine ecosystems and the livelihoods of people who depend on them.
Tropical Maine Ecosystems
Phys.org

Sea level rise is killing trees along the Atlantic coast, creating 'ghost forests'
As sea levels rise along the Atlantic coast, saltwater is intruding inland, killing trees and turning coastal forests into marshes. Should scientists try to slow the process, or work with it?
Atlantic Coastal Plain, United States
The Conversation

Bering Sea Ice “Resilient” Against Winter Storms, Extent is Below Historical Average
News stories specifically for Western Alaska. Each article or newscast is filled with information about current events, legislation, political races, cultural celebrations, and…
Savoonga, Alaska, United States

Russia Floats Arctic Shipping Route as ‘Viable’ Suez Canal Alternative
Russia has proposed its strategic Arctic shipping route as an alternative to the Suez Canal after a 400-meter cargo ship got stuck in the canal, blocking one of the world's key shipping routes and sparking fears of a rise in oil prices.
The Moscow Times

Plastic pollution threatens the Mekong, a wildlife wonderland
Plastic pollution is threatening the wildlife in the Mekong River Basin.
Mekong River
UNEP

Baby boom: More Right whale babies spotted off East Coast this season
An endangered species of whale that lives off the East Coast is having its best season for new babies in several years.
Portland, Maine, United States
WMUR

Narwhal tusks reveal impact of climate change on Arctic sea ice
Enlarged tooth projecting from upper jaw of males offers window onto life in frozen seas as far back as 1960s. From 1990 until 2000, ice in northwest Greenland began to decline and the diet of the narwhals shifted to open-ocean prey such as capelin and polar cod. Narwhals accumulated small quantities of mercury as the new items of prey sat lower in the food chain.
Northwest, Greenland
The Independent

Manatees are dying at an unusually high rate across Florida in 2021
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, at least 358 manatees have died in Florida since Jan. 1. This is a staggering number compared to just 122 deaths by this time last year.
Titusville, Florida, United States
WPLG

Kelp forest off Northern California almost gone
The study shows the destruction of the kelp forest was related to an explosion in the population of purple sea urchin, which eats it, and two warm water events that lasted from 2014 to 2016.
Northern California Coast, United States
SFGATE

If cruise ships aren't behind Ketchikan’s beach bacteria problem, what is?
For the fourth year in a row, weekly summer water quality tests show that most Ketchikan beaches have elevated levels of bacteria that could make people sick. That happened this year even without dozens of cruise ships sailing through the Inside Passage and discharging wastewater.
Ketchikan, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

Atlantic Ocean circulation at weakest in a millennium
Decline in system underpinning Gulf Stream could lead to more extreme weather in Europe and higher sea levels on US east coast.
North Atlantic Ocean
the Guardian

‘Breaking ice to move gas’: As Russian tanker-icebreaker duo complete milestone Arctic voyage, climate activists side with ice
Following a nuclear-powered icebreaker, a Russian tanker has sailed through the frigid Northern Sea Route for the first time ever in February. “Won’t somebody think of the poor ice?”, climate-conscious commenters shouted.
RT International

Hungry Alaskan Bears Find a New Prey
There is a unexplained trend with sea otter carcasses on the beaches in Katmai National Park and Preserve. Many of the dead animals appeared to be in their prime.
Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Hakai Magazine

How the loss of Bering Sea ice is triggering cascading effects for the ecosystem — and the people and wildlife that depend on it -
The Bering Sea region, the Pacific gateway to the Arctic Ocean, is home to ecosystems on land and in the ocean that are both abundant and fragile. It’s also changing very quickly — and those changes offer a preview of the changes in store for other parts of the Arctic.
Nome, Alaska, United States
ArcticToday

Deep water temperatures hit 'scary' highs
A decade-long warming trend in the Gulf of St. Lawrence continued in 2020. Water temperatures at depths of 200, 250 and 300 metres were higher than any measured in the Gulf since records started in 1915, hitting highs of 5.7 C, 6.6 C and 6.8 C. All were well above the normal variations.
Gulf of St Lawrence
CBC

Nation's sole heavy icebreaker arrives in Unalaska
Sitting in the Port of Dutch Harbor, the Polar Star is nearly 400 feet long and can break ice up to 21 feet thick. On Tuesday, the ship arrived for a pit stop with 136 crew members, 30 days into a months-long deployment to the Arctic. Their goal is to assert maritime sovereignty and security in the far north.
Unalaska, Alaska, United States

Record Cold Winter in Asia Sends Russian LNG Via Arctic to Japan
Cold temperatures and traffic congestion at the Panama Canal has resulted in a shortage of natural gas and exploding prices in parts of Asia. Now, Novatek aims to send LNG from the Arctic to Japan during the middle of winter in an untested high-risk, high-reward strategy.
Uelen, Chukotskiy Avtonomnyy Okrug, Russia
High North News

Feeding barge “not leaking oil”
It will become clearer in the coming days how the sunken barge owned by Laxa aquaculture in Reyðarfjörður, East Iceland, will be re-floated after this weekend’s storm. Divers are working on the vessel again today and, so far, it appears no diesel or other oil has leaked into the sea.
Reyðarfjörður, East, Iceland
RÚV

Bocaccio rockfish recruitment event
Bocaccio rockfish have made a huge comeback in B.C. since being deemed endangered in 2013, but the success story is being met with some trepidation as trawler fishermen can’t seem to avoid netting them now.
Canada's Pacific marine ecosystems
CBC

Deadly skin disease in dolphins linked to climate change
A closeup view of a bottlenose dolphin shows signs of skin lesions associated with a deadly skin disease known as ulcerative dermatitis. The increasing frequency and severity of storm systems drastically decrease the salinity of coastal waters, causing fatal skin disease in dolphins worldwide.
Gulf of Mexico
CTVNews

Climate change is increasing winter drownings: study
As winters get warmer, the number of drowning deaths is going up. "I just don't think we have appreciated that is one of the costs," said one scientist.
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
Cabin Radio

Surfers ask Vladimir Putin to take closer look at rocket fuel version of Kamchatka eco disaster
The appeal was sent to president Putin on 30 October on behalf of Moscow and St Petersburg surfing federations, pointing his attention to the fact that traces of rocket fuel were found in samples from the polluted area. It means that the anthropogenic version of the recent environmental catastrophe mustn’t be brushed aside, the surfers say.
Siberian Times

Death of Sea Life Off Russia Peninsula 'Caused By Algae'
The event caused a die off of up to 95% of marine life along the seabed. The Russia's Academy of Sciences announced that the mass death was due to the effects of toxins from single-cell algae. Environmentalists are conducting their own inquiries and were not yet able to confirm the official probe's findings.
Environmental campaigners said they were conducting their own inquiries and were not yet able to confirm the official probe's findings.
Петропавловск-Камчатский, Kamchatka Krai, Russia
The Moscow Times

Massive marine die-off in Russia could threaten endangered sea otters, other vulnerable species
Now believed to be caused by an unprecedented algae bloom, the decimation of bottom-dwelling sea life may have devastating ripple effects.
Петропавловск-Камчатский, Kamchatka Krai, Russia
National Geographic

Could a Lethal Algae Bloom Have Killed Kamchatka’s Sea Creatures? Some Marine Biologists Think So
A broad area of yellow foam is prompting some marine biologists to blame the catastrophe on a harmful algae. However, Governor Vladimir Solodov believes the most likely explanation is a spill. Tests have shown petroleum levels four times higher and phenol levels 2.5 times above normal.
Петропавловск-Камчатский, Kamchatka Krai, Russia
The Moscow Times

Russian rocket fuel leak likely cause of marine animal deaths
Injured surfers and large number of dead sea creatures reported in Kamchatka region. Some experts have suggested highly toxic rocket fuel could have leaked into the sea. The first test site, Radygino, is about six miles (10km) from the sea.
the Guardian

How Shaktoolik, Alaska is Addressing Flooding and Erosion
Eugene Asicksik, the mayor at the time, had watched Shaktoolik’s shoreline erode for years. After the September 2013 storm threw tree-sized driftwood dangerously close to the homes, Eugene knew something had to be done to protect the community. He turned to beavers for inspiration, designing Shaktoolik’s first storm surge berm based on the impressive beaver dams upriver.
Shaktoolik, Alaska, United States
ANTHC Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities

Invasive shrimp-sucking parasite continues northward Pacific expansion
Researchers have identified an invasive blood-sucking parasite on mud shrimp in the waters of British Columbia's Calvert Island. The discovery represents the northern-most record of the parasite on the West Coast and is likely an indication of its ability to spread without human transport.
Calvert Island, British Columbia, Canada
Phys.org

Expedition to North Pole paints picture of Arctic climate change
The expedition's easy journey from Greenland to the North Pole is another indicator of how the Arctic is impacted by climate change more than anywhere else on Earth, writes CBC's northern meteorologist.
North Pole

Study shows Alaska salmon are shrinking
The shrinking of chinook, sockeye, coho and chum salmon has a negative impact on the number of eggs fish lay, but smaller body sizes also mean fewer meals, fewer commercial fishing dollars and fewer nutrients transported into rivers every year.
Alaska, United States

Alaska's salmon are getting smaller, affecting people and ecosystems
The size of salmon returning to rivers in Alaska has declined dramatically over the past 60 years because they are spending fewer years at sea, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Phys.Org

Newly-discovered seaweed species threatens protected coral reefs in Pacific
Scientists have said the algae is spreading faster than anything they have seen in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
Pearl & Hermes Atoll, Midway, US Minor Outlying Islands
Sky News

Sea lice outbreak in juvenile salmon prompts First Nations leaders to call for fish farm closures
Wild salmon have higher rates of the parasites when ocean fish farms are near, research shows
Discovery Islands
Victoria News
Zoe Ducklow, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Historic low numbers of large wild Atlantic salmon
A group advocating for the conservation of wild Atlantic salmon says the number of adult salmon returning to North America rivers fell to near historic lows last year.
Rivers of Eastern Canada

The Blob is Warming BC’s Fjords
Scientists thought it was dead. But it’s heating water faster than the global average.
Fjords of British Columbia
The Tyee

Global warming fuels algal bloom disrupting fisheries in Arabian Sea
A new scientific study published Monday found that global warming is fueling a destructive algal bloom that is disrupting fisheries in the Arabian sea.
UPI

Salmon are getting sick too
Feather, fur or fin, all creatures contend with viruses.
Even those athletes of our rivers, Atlantic salmon, usually aren’t as healthy as they look.
A study of tissue samples taken from 150 Atlantic salmon found 14 separate infectious
Western North Atlantic Ocean
The Chronicle Herald

First federal assessment of Arctic Ocean finds drastic change
Changes are coming to the Arctic so fast that scientists haven't even had a chance to understand what's there

'The Blob’ fizzles - at least for now - as storms churn and chill the North Pacific
The Northeast Pacific Marine Heatwave of 2019 was the second longest-lasting and second-largest such event recorded over the past 39 years, according to NOAA.
Anchorage Daily News

Marine Heat Wave Linked to Sharp Increase in Whale Entanglements
An ocean heat wave off the U.S. West Coast from 2014 to 2016 drove humpback whales into a narrow band of cooler water, leading to a dramatic increase in whale entanglements with crab-fishing gear, according to a new study.
Yale E360

Massive die-off of Pacific seabirds linked to a warm-water ‘blob’
New research shows the marine heat wave that spread from California to Alaska starting in 2014 caused common murres to starve to death.
Bering Sea
Anchorage Daily News

The Russian military cargo ship that violated Arctic shipping code breaks free from ice lockup
Three weeks after it got stuck in Arctic sea-ice, the Sparta-3 makes it into open waters. The situation on board had been strained as reserves of fuel and water shrunk to low levels and the crew had to fight hard with icing. The military transport vessel did not have permission for sailing in the area.
The Independent Barents Observer

On land, Australia's rising heat is 'apocalyptic'; in the ocean, it's even worse
BRUNY ISLAND, TASMANIA (WASHINGTON POST) - Even before the ocean caught fever and reached temperatures no one had ever seen, Australia's ancient giant kelp was cooked.. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Australia
The Straits Times

214 grey whales washed up dead in 2019
214 grey whales stranded in the Pacific in 2019, and scientists are preparing for more deaths in 2020 because whales are emaciated and skinny.
Northeast Pacific coast
CBC News

Nova Scotia town sinking as sea levels rising
Liverpool, N.S., is trying to ward off flood waters from rising sea levels while the community is also starting to sink.
Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Canada
CBC News

Tiny shells reveal waters off California are acidifying twice as fast as the global ocean
In first-of-its-kind research, NOAA scientists and academic partners used 100 years of microscopic shells to show that the coastal waters off California are acidifying twice as fast as the global ocean average—with the seafood supply in the crosshairs.
Santa Barbara Basin, California, USA
Phys.org

Maine lobster catch headed for decline but not crash, scientists say
The decline will mean tens of millions fewer pounds of lobster each year, but still enough lobsters to support a robust business and supply hungry seafood lovers.. Maine news, sports, politics, election results, and obituaries from the Bangor Daily News.
Maine, United States
Bangor Daily News

Extraordinarily warm fall a big problem in Canadian Arctic
Temperatures across the Arctic have been warmer than usual this fall, with one community in the Northwest Territories recording above-average temperatures for 72 days in a row.
Canadian Arctic
CTVNews

Some like it hot, but Arctic cod do not
Arctic cod are a cornerstone of the Arctic food chain as a staple food of seals and beluga whales, upon which subsistence food gatherers rely in the region’s coastal communities.
The Nome Nugget

Open water replaces sea ice as the autumn norm in Western Arctic
Open water has become the November norm in the Chukchi Sea northwest of Alaska. Instead of thick, years-old ice, researchers are studying waves and how they may pummel the northern Alaska coastline.
Chukchi Sea

Northern Bering Sea trawl survey shows fisheries in flux
NOAA Fisheries' summer trawl survey shows Norton Sound red king crab are moving, Arctic cod numbers have dropped significantly, and Pacific cod are continuing to increase as the Northern Bering Sea ecosystem undergoes drastic change.
Northern Bering Sea

How climate change is triggering a chain reaction that threatens the heart of the Pacific
The fast-warming Sea of Okhotsk, wedged between Russia and Japan, is a cautionary tale of the far-reaching consequences when climate dominoes begin to fall.
Shiretoko Peninsula
Washington Post

Australia's lost shellfish reefs are roaring back to life
In just a few years, 8 million native angasi oyster hatchlings have been placed in the waters off Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia, on the recycled mollusc shells collected from restaurants. They've turned empty, sandy seabeds into thriving ecosystems.
Port Philip Bay, Victoria, Australia
ABC News

Climate change and overfishing are boosting toxic mercury levels in fish
Regulations have lowered mercury emissions globally, but the risks to ocean ecosystems and human health may be getting worse.
Canada's Pacific marine ecosystems
The Conversation

Dwindling catches and soaring prices spell trouble for Hokkaido’s squid town
As wholesale prices skyrocket for Pacific flying squid amid a record low catch in Japan, processing companies in the "squid town" of Hakodate, Hokkaido, ar
Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan
The Japan Times

Large Decline in Pacific Herring Stock
Conservation groups are calling for the immediate closure of the herring fishery in the Strait of Georgia following the release of new federal government data showing a four-year population biomass decline of almost 60 per cent. “We’ve been systematically overfishing these stocks and the Gulf of Georgia fishery is the last one left,” Pacific Wild...
Strait of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada
The Narwhal

Sea urchin explosion decimates kelp forests off Pacific coast
Similar to what has happened in B.C., tens of millions of voracious purple sea urchins have chomped their way through towering underwater kelp forests in California.
Coastal Oregon and California

The Disappearing Islands
For decades, efforts have been underway to tame the effects of erosion on the Magdalen Islands, an archipelago in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. But the effects of climate change left these tiny islands vulnerable when it came to facing two powerful and unpredictable storms in less than a year.
Magdalen Islands
CBC News

The Gulf Of Maine Is Warming, And Its Whales Are Disappearing
Waters off the coast of Maine are warming faster than 99 percent of the world's oceans. That's forcing whales northward in pursuit of prey, threatening some of their already dwindling populations.
Gulf of Maine
NPR

Crabbing in 2019? Fish & Game Says "A Year to Forget"
According to a recently released recap from the Department of Fish & Game, crabbing in the Norton Sound this year was underwhelming in many ways. At the beginning of 2019, ADF&G set the reg…

Temperature patterns and mechanisms influencing coral bleaching during the 2016 El Niño
Under extreme heat stress, corals expel their symbiotic algae and colour (that is, ‘bleaching’), which often leads to widespread mortality. Predicting the large-scale environmental conditions that reinforce or mitigate coral bleaching remains unresolved and limits strategic conservation actions1,2. Here we assessed coral bleaching at 226 sites and 26 environmental variables that represent different mechanisms of stress responses from East Africa to Fiji through a coordinated effort to evaluate the coral response to the 2014–2016 El Niño/Southern Oscillation thermal anomaly. We applied common time-series methods to study the temporal patterning of acute thermal stress and evaluated the effectiveness of conventional and new sea surface temperature metrics and mechanisms in predicting bleaching severity. The best models indicated the importance of peak hot temperatures, the duration of cool temperatures and temperature bimodality, which explained ~50% of the variance, compared to the common degree-heating week temperature index that explained only 9%. Our findings suggest that the threshold concept as a mechanism to explain bleaching alone was not as powerful as the multidimensional interactions of stresses, which include the duration and temporal patterning of hot and cold temperature extremes relative to average local conditions.
Indian Ocean Coral Reefs
Nature Climate Change
McClanahan, Tim R., Emily S. Darling, Joseph M. Maina, Nyawira A. Muthiga, Stéphanie D ’agata, Stacy D. Jupiter, Rohan Arthur, Shaun K. Wilson, Sangeeta Mangubhai, Yashika Nand, Ali M. Ussi, Austin T.

Marine heat wave dubbed ‘Blob’ resurges in Pacific; mass deaths of sea life feared
It already has caused coral bleaching in Hawaii and may be tied to strandings of marine mammals along the California coast.

Scientists suspect retreating sea ice is changing the color of Alaska's tundra
Biologists say early retreating sea ice is potentially causing vegetation productivity changes on the tundra across Alaska and the Arctic. Uma Bot, a climate variability expert with the University of Alaska–Fairbanks, says the land warms up more quickly when sea ice recedes earlier than usual. “‘Cause the tundra is temperature limited and if it has more …

Salmon farms losing battle with sea lice as wild fish pay the price
The aquaculture industry has failed to bring epidemic of sea lice under control in B.C.’s Clayoquot Sound.
Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
The Narwhal

It was the warmest ever Arctic summer
The top of the world saw record-beating average temperatures flashing through all three summer months.
The Independent Barents Observer

Warm August with record-late tropical heat
The monthly temperature for the entire country was 1.7 degrees above normal.
Åndalsnes, Møre og Romsdal, Norway
Meteorologisk institutt

Seismic Airgun Assault to Start in Lower Cook Inlet this Fall
“Whenever a seismic boat goes past and we drop our gear, the fish aren’t there. Any fisherman, or fisherman worth their salt, will tell you there’s an impact. They’ve seen it first-hand.”
Cook Inlet Keeper

Tropical fish riding warm waters to the Nova Scotia coast
Halifax-based scuba diver Lloyd Bond says in the last three years he's seen increasing numbers of butterfly fish, seahorses, cornet fish, trigger fish, puffer fish, and many other species not native to Canadian waters.
Coastal Nova Scotia

Newfoundland turrs: canaries in the climate crisis
What caused roughly 60,000 dead murres to wash ashore in Alaska? The answer to this could be very important to the murre (or turr) populations in the Atlantic.
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
The Telegram

Alaska records warmest month ever in July with coastline barren of sea ice
Average temperature for month amid Arctic heatwave was 58.1F (14.5C), nearly 1F above previous high set in July 2004
the Guardian

Bering Sea is feeling the effects of warm winters
These changes seem to be heralding population spikes and downturns for a number of species like walleye pollock and Pacific cod, and even more pronounced in small, fatty forage species.
Arctic Sounder

Biologists advise to use caution in shellfish consumption
On July 16, Alaska Ocean Observing System, UAF Fairbanks and Alaska Sea Grant sponsored a community workshop on Harmful Algal Blooms—certain poisons coming from certain blooms of algae produced by
The Nome Nugget

The Legacy of the Blob
From California to Alaska, animals born during the infamous Blob are coming of age.
Northern California Current Ecosystem
Hakai Magazine

Low Levels of Algal Toxins in Northern Bering Sea of Interest to Scientists and Residents
During a workshop in Nome this week, scientists and residents discussed algal toxins’ role in the changing Bering Sea ecosystem.

Fox Stuns Scientists With Trek From Norway To Canada
A researcher says her team couldn't believe the distance travelled.
Arctic
HuffPost Canada

Mexico struggles to understand, solve, seaweed invasion
Mexico has spent US$17 million to remove over a half-million tons of sargassum seaweed from its Caribbean beaches, and the problem doesn't seem likely to end any time soon.
Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico
CTVNews

An Arctic fox surprises researchers with an epic run across polar ice from Svalbard to Canada
A satellite-tracked Arctic fox stunned researchers by making a 3,500-kilometer trek across Arctic sea ice and glacier to travel from the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard to Canada’s Ellesmere Island in about two and a half months.
“We first did not believe it was true,” rone of the researchers, Eva Fuglei, said about the amazing run
Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Svalbard and Jan Mayen

2019 Gray Whale Unusual Mortality Event Along the West Coast
Since January 1, 2019, elevated gray whale strandings have occurred along the west coast of North America from Mexico through Alaska. This event has been declared an Unusual Mortality Event (UME).
Pacific Coast of North America
NOAA Fisheries

Meet the Narluga
A rare whale skull discovered by an Inuit hunter in Greenland has been confirmed by a Canadian scientist to be the hybrid calf of a beluga father and a narwhal mother — otherwise known as a narluga.
Disko Bay, West Greenland
The Narwhal

"Flesh Eating" Bacteria May Be Spreading to Beaches Once Thought Off-Limits
Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.
Delaware Bay
Scientific American

Glowing 'Blue Tears' in China's Seas are Incredibly Toxic and Growing
The glowing algae is suffocating sea life.
Matsu Islands, Taiwan, East China Sea
Live Science

City of Homer works with state and Army Corps to battle erosion on the spit
The Homer Spit’s future as an iconic tourist attraction is in danger of washing away. Erosion along the spit’s sea walls is not a new problem. City officials are working with state and federal agencies to find a lasting solution.
Homer, Alaska, United States

Sea Lice Plagues Return and Threat to Wild Salmon Increases
DFO documents reveal treatment failures and inability to protect migrating salmon.
Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia, Canada
The Tyee

Nigerian fishers hit by criminals, imports and climate change
From African waters to China and back again, over half the fish on Nigerian tables is imported
Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria
chinadialogue ocean

300-Mile Swim Through The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Will Collect Data On Plastic Pollution
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch covers an area twice the size of Texas or three times the size of France.
Forbes

Thousands of seabirds starved to death in the Bering Sea — and scientists see evidence of climate change
In a paper published Wednesday, researchers theorize the die-off is at least partially attributable to the changing climate.
Saint Paul, Alaska, United States
Washington Post

Why seaweed is strangling Mexican tourism, and how science could help
Sargassum is infesting Mexico’s coastline. Researchers are scrambling to stop an ecological crisis, and maybe even make something good of it.
Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Mexico
MIT Technology Review

Prime growing areas for B.C. oysters contain alarmingly high concentrations of plastic microbeads
Baynes Sound, British Columbia
SFU News

Surge in dead gray whales concerns scientists
Ocean scientists are concerned about dead gray whales that have washed up on the US West Coast this year at the highest rate in almost two decades.
West Coast of the USA
CNN

414 million pieces of plastic found on remote island group
Debris on Cocos (Keeling) Islands was mostly bottles, cutlery, bags and straws, but also included 977,000 shoes, study says
Cocos Islands

Their Islands Are Being Eroded. So Are Their Human Rights, They Say.
Indigenous Australians from low-lying islands in the Torres Strait argue that the government, by failing to act on climate change, has violated their fundamental right to maintain their culture.
Masig Island, Torres Strait, Australia
New York Times

Warming oceans linked to rise in tropical species
Scientists have identified a spike in ‘vagrant’ species of fish including damselfish, wrasse and triggerfish
New Zealand

Greenland Is Falling Apart
Since 1972, the giant island’s ice sheet has lost 11 quadrillion pounds of water.
Greenland Ice Sheet
The Atlantic

Lost sea creatures wash up on California shores as climate shifts
The Pacific Ocean off the California coast is mixed up, and so are many of the animals that live there.
Bodega Bay, California, United States

Tiny Monsters in the Sea
Warming ocean waters are an invitation to all sorts of pathogens with the potential to remake ocean life.
Santa Cruz Island, California, USA
Hakai Magazine

Low levels of Fukushima-related radiation found in Bering Sea samples
I knew that those Japanese currents would come to our waters, and so that’s why I volunteered to do the testing,” Eddie Ungott, a resident of Gambell.
Gambell, Alaska, United States
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

100 months of temperature above normal in Svalbard
March becomes the hundredth month in a row with temperatures above normal. "It is unique and shows how fast climate change is happening in the Arctic," says climate scientist Ketil Isaksen at the Meteorological Institute (MET).
Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Meteorologisk institutt

Shrinking Seasonal Ice in the Bering Sea Threatens Local Livelihoods
Recent storms have destroyed the progress made in ice formation endangering coastal habitats and fishing practices.
Newtok, Alaska, United States
Pacific Standard

Slight uptick in cesium-137 heralds arrival of Fukushima plume in Northern Bering Sea
Since 2014 St. Lawrence Islanders have been collecting sea water samples, knowing that the radiation would eventually show up. Now the signature of Fukushima has finally been identified, the northern most sample evidence of the plume. Fortunately the levels are low.
Gambell, Alaska, United States

This map worries Norwegian rescue workers
Warmer seas have led the fishery to move 300 kilometers further northeast - towards the North Pole. At the same time, cruising traffic in the outlying sea areas is increasing.
Bjørnøya, Svalbard, Svalbard and Jan Mayen
NRK - Norsk Rikskringkasting

El Niño Triggered Disease Outbreaks Across Globe
The 2015 to 2016 El Niño event brought weather conditions that triggered regional disease outbreaks throughout the world.
Tropical Pacific Ocean
Laboratory Equipment

Changing southern Gulf of St. Lawrence ecosystem
The survey started in 1971 as a review of commercially important fish like cod and halibut, but has grown into an annual scientific assessment of all sea life hauled up from the deep.
Southern Gulf of Saint Lawrence
Global News

State of Crabbing in Norton Sound: Less Sea Ice, Fewer Crabs — and Fewer Crabbers
The winter commercial crabbing season in the Norton Sound will begin February 25 with a quota less than half of its 2018 figure and a third of the 2017 quota.

Ecosystem changes following loss of great white sharks
A new study has documented unexpected consequences following the decline of great white sharks from an area off South Africa. The study found that the disappearance of great whites has led to the emergence of sevengill sharks, a top predator from a different habitat. A living fossil, sevengill sharks closely resemble relatives from the Jurassic period, unique for having seven gills instead of the typical five in most other sharks.
Seal Island, False Bay, South Africa

Warmer seas in the north are bad news for the common Eider
Troms, Norway
The Fram Centre

Greenhouse gas emissions provide extreme warming in Svalbard
Greenhouse gas emissions provide extreme warming on Svalbard.
Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Miljodirektoratet

Expect more extreme hurricanes on the East Coast due to faster ice melts in Greenland, study says
A new study suggests Greenland ice has hit a new tipping point with unprecedented melting since the early 2000s — and this will have consequences for East Coast cities.
East Coast of Canada

Teenage Diver Finds Tons of Golf Balls Rotting Off California
Alex Weber discovered more than 50,000 balls in the ocean near coastal California golf courses. When golf balls degrade, as these were doing, they release plastic particles and toxic chemicals.
Pebble Beach, California, United States
NPR.org

The pursuit of climate change
Slik har Norge forandret seg. Sakte, nesten umerkelig.
Sør-Odal, Hedmark, Norway
NRK, Norsk Rikskringkasting

Thousands of penguins stranded on South American coast
Thousands of female penguins are being stranded along the coast of South America because of water pollution and fishing, research shows. A new study of Megellanic penguins, which breed in Patagonia in southern Argentina, explains for the first time why so many become stuck on beaches hundreds of miles further north.  Researchers found the man-made threats encountered as the
Coastal Uruguay
The Independent

Methane beneath Greenland’s ice sheet is being released
Glacial melt is a source of atmospheric methane.
Greenland

In 2018, Alaska's Bering Sea was all out of whack
In some regions, this was the first time in 37 years of water surveys that there was no cold pool.
Popular Science

Building blocks of ocean food web in rapid decline as plankton productivity plunges
Basic ocean food critical for the whole ecosystem is in dramatic decline and scientists don't know exactly why.
Western North Atlantic

Climate Change Drives Fish Into New Waters, Remaking an Industry
The catch is shifting northward as water temperatures rise, forcing crews to retool their boats and rework their businesses. Pollock is retreating from Alaska while black sea bass throng around Rhode Island.
WSJ

As Seas Warm, Galápagos Islands Face a Giant Evolutionary Test
Climate change is ravaging the natural laboratory that inspired Darwin. The creatures here are on the brink of crisis.
Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
New York Times

British Columbia chinook salmon populations in decline
Only one, located in British Columbia's Thompson River, is considered stable.
Southern British Columbia, Canada
Global News

Pulses of Sinking Carbon Have Increased at Station M
December 3, 2018 – A new study by MBARI scientists shows that pulses of sinking debris carry large amounts of carbon to the deep seafloor, but are poorly represented in global climate models.
Station M, near Santa Barbara, California, United States
MBARI

Something Living At The Bottom Of The Sea Is Absorbing Large Amounts Of The CO2 In Oceans
Bacteria living more than 4,000 meters (2 miles) below the surface of the Pacific Ocean are absorbing an estimated 10 percent of the carbon dioxide that oc
Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCFZ)
IFLScience

A Record-Breaking Dive by a Hungry Killer Whale
Killer whales go to extraordinary depths to pilfer a meal.
South Sandwich Islands

Only 411 North Atlantic right whales left
On Friday, the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium released its 2018 report card for the endangered species. There are just 411 left.
North Atlantic Ocean

Orcas thrive in a land to the north. Why are Puget Sound's dying?
Southern resident orcas are on the brink of extinction, while killer whales to the north are growing in numbers. The contrast exposes what’s killing Puget Sound’s orcas.
Seattle, Washington, United States
The Seattle Times

Drug-resistant sea lice out of control on B.C. Coast
Fisheries and Oceans Canada confirms the findings of independent research that says sea lice on salmon farms are becoming resistant to SLICE, a pesticide used to kill sea lice.
Fortune Channel, Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia, Canada
Digital Journal

Sea stars still wasting away in B.C. waters
Reports that the sea star population was rebounding appear to have been overly optimistic, says the Coastal Ocean Research Institute.
Canada's Pacific Marine Ecosystems
Vancouver Sun

Suspects in salmon mystery: Pinks and 'the blob'
Sockeye salmon runs across Alaska were dismal this year. But no one is certain why.
Gulf of Alaska
E&E News

Climate change threatens the kittiwake – extreme weather and altered prey availability reduce recruitment
Bad weather is bad news, also for the red-listed kittiwake. New research reveals that wind conditions combined with the availability of different prey species are determinants of chick production in this seabird.
Myre, Nordland, Norway
SEAPOP, Norwegian institute for nature research

First supplies arrive in Kivalina for access route
The Arctic Sounder - Serving the Northwest Arctic and the North Slope
Kivalina, Alaska, United States
The Arctic Sounder
Alaska Media, LLC., Steve Keller designer and application developer

Insanity-Inducing Jellyfish are Heading South, Courtesy of Climate Change
This cute little guy makes you trip so hard you'll want to die, and could soon start popping up on the Gold Coast.
off Fraser Island
Vice

This Stretch of Water Is Losing Oxygen Faster Than Almost Anywhere Else in The Ocean
A new study links rapid deoxygenation in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to two powerful currents: the Gulf Stream and the Labrador Current.
Gulf of St. Lawrence
ScienceAlert

Gulf of St. Lawrence shows a dramatic oxygen decline
The Gulf of St. Lawrence has warmed and lost oxygen faster than almost anywhere else in the global oceans due to large-scale climate change, raising the possibility the Gulf could soon be unable to support marine life, according to a new study.
Gulf of St. Lawrence
Digital Journal

Gulf of St. Lawrence may soon be unable to support marine life
The Gulf of St. Lawrence has warmed and lost oxygen more rapidly than almost anywhere else in the Earth's oceanic waters due in part to climate change, raising the possibility that it could soon be unable to fully support marine life, according to a new study.
Gulf of St. Lawrence

Mysterious Microbes Turning Polar Ice Pink, Speeding Up Melt
Thriving communities of red algae are doing something nefarious to the world's ice sheets: melting them more quickly.
Port Charcot
National Geographic

Mysterious Microbes Turning Polar Ice Pink, Speeding Up Melt
Thriving communities of red algae are doing something nefarious to the world's ice sheets: melting them more quickly.
Greenland
National Geographic

Loads of seaweed are threatening the Caribbean’s sea life and tourism. Experts say we may be to blame
Scientists say the threat from sargassum is as serious as rising sea levels and hurricanes.
Quintana Roo, Mexico

Clues to combating Red Tide are found in mounting manatee carcasses
The toxic algae bloom has already been named as the killer or suspected killer of more than 100 manatees since the spring.
Saint Petersburg, Florida, United States
Tampa Bay Times

Scientist warns of "seagrass crisis" in Caribbean
Scientist warns of "seagrass crisis" in Caribbeans MEXICO CITY (Rahnuma): Massive quantities of Sargassum seaweed are invading Caribbean beaches mostly thanks to global warming and countries should work closely with scientists for a sustainable solution, said a researcher at a leading Mexican university on
Ecuador
The Rahnuma Daily

The Kerala Floods
Since 2018, Kerala has faced increasingly severe and frequent floods, a stark contrast to its historical rarity, driven by factors like Indian Ocean warming and local environmental changes, underscoring a global trend of climate-driven extremes and the urgent need for improved flood management and climate adaptation.
Arukutti, Kerala, India

Increasing opportunity for kingfish in Tasmanian waters
Redmap, a new and interactive website, invites the Australian community to spot, log and map marine species that are uncommon in Australia, or along particular parts of our coast.
Tasman Sea
Redmap

Persistent algae bloom in the Gulf of Mexico is killing Sea Turtles
A persistent algae bloom in the Gulf of Mexico has become a huge threat to sea turtles, a species which is already endangered.
Gulf of Mexico near Southwest Florida, United States
earth.com

Trade-offs between foraging efficiency and pup feeding rate of lactating northern fur seals in a declining population
Foraging strategies and their resulting efficiency (energy gain to cost
ratio) affect animals' survival and reproductive success and can be
linked to population dynamics. However, they have rarely been studied
quantitatively in free-ranging animals. We investigated foraging
strategies and efficiencies of wild northern fur seals Callorhinus
ursinus during their breeding season to understand potential links to
the observed population decline in the Bering Sea. We equipped 20
lactating females with biologgers to determine at-sea foraging
behaviours. We measured energy expenditure while foraging using the
doubly-labelled water method, and energy gained using (1) the types and
energy densities of prey consumed, and (2) the number of prey capture
attempts (from acceleration data). Our results show that seals employed
2 foraging strategies: one group (40\%) fed mostly in oceanic waters on
small, high energy-density prey, while the other (60\%) stayed over the
shallow continental shelf feeding mostly on larger, lower quality fish.
Females foraging in oceanic waters captured 3 times more prey, and had
double the foraging efficiencies of females that foraged on-shelf in
neritic waters. However, neritic seals made comparatively shorter trips,
and likely fed their pups similar to 20 to 25\% more frequently. The
presence of these strategies which either favor foraging efficiency
(energy) or frequency of nursing (time) might be maintained in the
population because they have similar net fitness outcomes. However,
neither strategy appears to simultaneously maximize time and energy
allocated to nursing, with potential impacts on the survival of pups
during their first year at sea.
Reef Rookery, Saint Paul, Alaska, United States
MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
Tiphaine Jeanniard du Dot, Andrew W. Trites, John P. Y. Arnould, John R. Speakman, Christophe Guinet

Mysterious algae vortex the size of Manhattan can be seen from space
Scientists aren't sure what is causing this whirlpool of algae but believe it's likely to cause a marine dead zone.
Baltic Sea
MNN - Mother Nature Network

Photos: How climate change is transforming Canada
From floods to fires, drought to coastal erosion, climate change is already having an impact on Canada's communities, landscapes and wildlife
Canada
Canadian Geographic

This aquatic grass could help shellfish threatened by ocean acidification
An increase in carbon emissions are showing up not only in the air, but also in water. Now researchers and shellfish farmers are teaming up to see how marine plants can help stave off the effects of ocean acidification. Special correspondent Jes Burns of Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.
Thornedyke Bay, Washington, United States
PBS NewsHour

With climate change, numbers of black sea bass increase
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – It may be time for local eateries to explore black sea bass recipes. Warmer waters off Rhode Island have caused a spike for this species, and loosened regulations are reeli…
New England Coastal Waters, United States
Republican-American

Aequorea (hydrozoan) bloom in the Northern California Current
Dataset from Dr. Brian Burke (NOAA; brian.burke@noaa.gov); derived from surface trawls taken during NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center Juvenile Salmon & Ocean Ecosystem Survey (JSOES).
Northern California Current
NOAA NWFSC CCIEA Custom Plotting

A huge stretch of the Arctic Ocean is turning into the Atlantic
The divide between Atlantic and Arctic isn’t just geographical, it’s physical. And the physics are changing.
North Barents Sea

Miami-Dade Home Values Influenced by Rising Seas
Single-family homes near sea level in Miami-Dade County are increasing in value at a slower rate than ones at elevation, according to a new research study
Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States
CleanTechnica

‘Blob’ is blamed: Alaska’s Copper River sees low commercial-salmon harvest
ANCHORAGE — The commercial salmon harvest in Alaska's Copper River is so far the second lowest in 50 years, state officials said. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game's fish...
Copper River, Alaska, United States
The Seattle Times

U.S. Coastal Flooding Breaks Records as Sea Level Rises, NOAA Report Shows
The frequency of high-tide flooding has doubled in 30 years. Some cities faced more than 20 days of it in the past year, and not just during hurricanes.
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
InsideClimate News

Endangered plant thrives after Sidney Spit restoration
Coastal sand ecosystem returning to health after 1.5 years of work
Sidney Spit National Marine Park, Canada
Saanich News

Climate Change draws invasive species to the Arctic
Warmer temperatures and declining sea ice pulls foreign animals and plants to the Arctic, with drastic consequences for these sensitive ecosystems.
Nuuk, Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq, Greenland
ScienceNordic

To get good credit, Alaska’s fishing towns may have to factor in climate change
Late last year one of the world’s largest credit rating agencies announced that climate change would have an economic impact on the U.S.
Unalaska, Alaska, United States
By Rashah McChesney, Alaska's Energy Desk - Juneau

Erosion may force this Southwest Alaska village to move — again
This is not the first time the village of Chefornak has faced the threat of erosion and flooding, but relocating won’t be as easy as it was last time.
Chefornak, Alaska, United States

Can These Seabirds Adapt Fast Enough to Survive a Melting Arctic?
On a remote Alaskan sandbar, under the watchful eye of a devoted scientist for more than four decades, climate change is forcing a colony of seabirds into a real-time race: evolve or go extinct.
Utqiaġvik, Alaska, United States
Audubon

How debris from rockets launched far away is a risk to Inuit food security - ArcticToday
When the European Space Agency (ESA) launched a satellite into orbit on Oct. 13, it did so despite opposition from Inuit leaders in Canada and Greenland over its potential to contaminate an important Arctic area.
Greenland

Study: ‘Unprecedented’ rain, warmth for Alaska by end of century
Climate warming is likely to bring more episodes of heavy rain, above-freezing winter thaws and scorching hot summer days in the coming decades, says a study by scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Alaska Dispatch News

Only 1,123 adult winter Chinook salmon returned to Sacramento River in 2017
Only 1,123 adult winter Chinook salmon, once one of the biggest salmon runs on the Sacramento River and its tributaries, returned to the Sacramento Valley in 2017, according to a report sent to the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) by the...
Livingston Stone Fish Hatchery
Daily Kos

New Study Finds 8 Islands Swallowed By Rising Sea Level
Need a reason to be concerned about rising sea level? I've got eight.
Nahlap Island, Micronesia
Forbes

Record-breaking marine heatwave powered by climate change cooks Tasmania's fisheries
Climate change has warmed the waters east of Tasmania at four times the speed of the global average. But the heatwave of the southern summer of 2015/2016 was something exceptional, damaging fisheries and bringing new species to the island. It's a sign of things to come, say the researchers examining these events.
east coast of Tasmania, Australia
ScienceDaily

'Seemingly unbelievable' temperatures becoming more common in Arctic winters
Warm periods are bringing the temperature up by as much as 30 C in the middle of winter

A heavy blow for a small community – Greenland rebuilds its communities
Greenlanders struggle to get their lives back together and rebuild the small communities hit by the tsunami earlier this month.
Nuugaatsiaq, Qaasuitsup Kommunia, Greenland
IceNetws

Last Season’s Difficulties for Diomede Auklets May Be a Sign of Changing Climate
An assistant professor at the University of Alaska–Fairbanks suspects that changes seen in the auklet population on Little Diomede may be related to changes in climate.
Diomede, Alaska, United States

Karrat Fjord, Greenland Landslide & Tsunami
huge tsunami occurred in the Karrat Fjord on the west coast of Greenland, resulting in severe property damage and casualties in the tiny fishing village of Nuugaatsiaq. The seismic energy detected prior to the tsunami was so large it was first thought to have been the result of a magnitude 4.1 earthquake. However, the cause was a massive landslide on a steep slope of the fjord where millions of cubic meters of rock plunged into the water below, 32 kilometers northeast of the village. Forty-five structures, including eleven houses, were washed away or destroyed, and four people were killed.
Nuugaatsiaq, Qaasuitsup, Greenland
International Tsunami Information Center

NOAA Is Investigating 70 Gray Whale Deaths Along the West Coast
The whales seem to have died from starvation and washed up on shore from California to Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska, United States
Smithsonian

Atlantic currents moving plastic junk into the Arctic, research says
Parts of the Arctic Ocean have become an “important sink of plastic debris,” mainly coming north from the southern latitudes—with 300 billion or more plastic items carried in ice-free Arctic waters.
North Atlantic Ocean
Nunatsiqaq Online
Andrés Cózar, Elisa Martí, Carlos M. Duarte, Juan García-de-Lomas, Erik van Sebille, Thomas J. Ballatore, Victor M. Eguíluz, J. Ignacio González-Gordillo, Maria L. Pedrotti, Fidel Echevarría, Romain T

Climate change drives Solomon Islands' people of the sea ashore
The inhabitants of Lau Lagoon in Solomon Islands have lived in harmony with nature for generations. Now their entire way of life is vanishing beneath the waves.
Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
DW.COM

Sargassum seaweed partly responsible for Guyana's reduced fish production
Guyana’s fish production has suffered a significant decline partly due to the adverse impact of sargassum seaweed, local and regional fishery experts said.
Demerara Waves

NASA releases time-lapse of the disappearing Arctic polar ice cap
This visualization begins by showing the dynamic beauty of the Arctic sea ice as it responds to winds and ocean currents. Research into the behavior of the Arctic sea ice for the last 30 years has led to a deeper understanding of how this ice survives from year to year. In the animation that follows, age of the sea ice is visible, showing the younger ice in darker shades of blue and the oldest ice in brighter white. This visual representation of the ice age clearly shows how the quantity of older and thicker ice has changed between 1984 and 2016.
YouTube

Sea Lice Exploded among Wild Young Salmon near BC Fish Farms
B.C salmon farms last year were besieged by sea lice, according to a new University of Toronto study, which also found a dangerously steep rise of infestation among young wild salmon who swam nearby.
Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia, Canada
The Tyee

Characterization of three novel species of Labyrinthulomycota isolated from ochre sea stars (Pisaster ochraceus)
FioRito, Rebecca, Celeste Leander, and Brian Leander. "Characterization of three novel species of Labyrinthulomycota isolated from ochre sea stars (Pisaster ochraceus." Marine Biology 163.8 (2016): 1-10.
Bamfield, British Columbia, Canada
FioRito, R., Leander, C. and Leander, B., 2016. Marine Biology, 163(8), pp.1-10.
Rebecca FioRito, Celeste Leander, and Brian Leander

Contagious cancers found in bivalves
Contagious cancers occur in clams and other bivalves, and some can even spread between different species of bivalves.
Esquimault, British Columbia, Canada

Miami Beach's Tidal Flooding Has Jumped by 400 Percent in the Past Decade
A UM study has found that tidal flooding has leaped by 400 percent in the last ten years thanks to climate change.
South Beach, Miami, Florida, United States
Miami New Times

Blob of warm Pacific water may have killed dozens of whales
The "unprecedented" warm water in the Pacific caused a massive toxic algae bloom from California to Alaska.
Coastal British Columbia

Scientists may have solved 2011's mysterious marine die-off along the Pacific coast
Scientists first caught on to the strange event when they found thousands of purple sea urchins and other organisms dead in their laboratory tanks. Their theory: The mass deaths were caused by a huge bloom of algae.
Northern Pacific Coast

Mysterious ocean 'blob' could be behind warmer B.C. temperatures
If you're wondering why British Columbia experienced such a mild winter and early spring, you could maybe blame it on a mysterious "blob" of warm water in the Pacific Ocean.
British Columbia

Warm weather makes Kotzebue sea wall a community hotspot
The half mile-long sea wall was constructed in 2012 at a cost of $34 million to help offset coastal erosion and protect the community from encroaching sea ice.
Kotzebue, Alaska, United States

Inundation, sedimentation, and subsidence creates goose habitat along the Arctic coast of Alaska
Since 1976, the distribution of molting Black Brant ( Branta bernicla nigricans ) on the Arctic Coastal Plain has shifted from inland freshwater lakes to coastal marshes, such as those occupying the Smith River and Garry Creek estuaries.
North Slope, Alaska, United States
Environmental Research Letters
Ken D Tape and Paul L Flint and Brandt W Meixell and Benjamin V Gaglioti

Tar ball deposition on Goa's beaches affecting marine life, says NIO study
Tar ball deposition on Goa's beaches affecting marine life, says NIO study on Business Standard. To carry out study the NIO also collected samples from Baga, Candolim, Calungute and Mandrem beaches from North Goa and Velsao, Betalbatim, Colva and Benaulim from South Goa.
Goa, India
Press Trust of India

Lucrative crab industry in danger
For decades, the crab piled up in fishing boats like gold coins hauled from a rich and fertile sea. But the very ocean that nursed these creatures may prove to be this industry’s undoing.Scientists fear ocean acidification will drive the collapse of Alaska's iconic crab fishery.
Dutch Harbor, Alaska, United States
The Seattle Times

Miami: How Rising Sea Levels Endanger South Florida
By century's end, rising sea levels will turn the nation's urban fantasyland into an American Atlantis. But long before the city is completely underwater, chaos will begin
Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Rolling Stone

Pink salmon evolve to migrate earlier in warmer waters
Study finds genetic evidence of climate-change adaptation.
Juneau, Alaska, United States
Nature News

From common to rare: The case of the Mediterranean common dolphin
Our results showed that local fisheries have negatively impacted the marine biodiversity of the ecosystem causing sharp declines of common dolphins and major fish stocks and weakening the robustness of the marine food web.
Nydri, Ionian Islands, Greece
Biological Conservation
Piroddi, Chiara, Giovanni Bearzi, Joan Gonzalvo and Villy Christensen

Shark aggregation in coastal waters of British Columbia
Moresby Trough, Queen Charlotte Sound, British Columbia
Marine Ecology Progress Series
Rob Williams, Thomas A. Okey, S. Scott Wallace, Vincent F. Gallucci

Invasive Parasite Spreading Among West Coast Estuaries
A parasitic isopod that scientists identified five years ago has all but decimated mud shrimp populations in coastal estuaries ranging from British Columbia to northern California - with the exception of a handful of locations in Oregon from Waldport to Tillamook.
Newport, Oregon, United States
Phys.Org

Overfishing and the disappearance of short-beaked common dolphins from western Greece
Once one of the most common cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea, the short-beaked common dolphin has declined throughout the region since the 1960s and in 2003 this population was classified as Endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Here, we document the species’ precipitous decline in eastern Ionian Sea coastal waters across 13 yr. While 150 animals were present in the study area (1050 km2) in 1996, only 15 were observed in 2007. A 12 mo assessment of fishing effort and catch, together with circumstantial evidence, suggests that the decline was caused largely by prey depletion resulting from overfishing. We analyzed the impacts of various fishing gear and estimated the degree of resource overlap between common dolphins and local fisheries. The total biomass removed annually by 308 fishing boats in the study area averaged 3571 t, while that consumed by common dolphins was 17 t. Resource overlap between common dolphins and fisheries—expressed as an average Pianka index of 0.5—differed according to fishing gear, being higher for purse seiners (0.7) and beach seiners (0.4) and lower for bottom trawlers (0.1), trammel boats (0.2) and longliners (0.0). Only about 10 active purse seiners (4% of the total active fishing fleet) were responsible for 33% of the biomass removal, and likely had the greatest impact on prey of common dolphins. This study indicates a high risk of local disappearance of common dolphins in the very near future, unless fishery management measures are implemented immediately. Purse seining should be the main management target.
Eastern Ionian Sea coastal waters, Greece
Endangered Species Research
Bearzi, G, S Agazzi, J Gonzalvo, M Costa, S Bonizzoni, E Politi, C Piroddi and RR Reeves

Humboldt squid on the move
July 23, 2007 – Over the last five years, large, predatory Humboldt squid have moved north from equatorial waters and invaded the sea off Central California, where they may be decimating populations of Pacific hake, an important commercial fish.
Monterey Submarine Canyon, California, United States
MBARI

Simulating community effects of sea floor shading by plankton blooms over the West Florida Shelf
Phytoplankton blooms are increasingly conspicuous along the world's
coastlines, and the toxic effects of these blooms have become a major
concern. Nutrient enrichment often causes phytoplankton blooms, which
decrease water transparency, but little is known about the effects of
such light regime changes on whole communities of the continental shelf.
A series of simulations designed to evaluate the potential effects of
shading by phytoplankton blooms on community organization were conducted
using a balanced trophic model of the West Florida Shelf ecosystem and
the Ecopath with Ecosim modeling approach. Many functional groups in the
system were predicted to decline as benthic primary production was
inhibited through shading by phytoplankton, especially when associated
biogenic habitat was lost. Groups that obtain most of their energy from
planktonic pathways increased when shading impact and associated
structural habitat degradation were complemented by enhanced
phytoplankton production. Groups predicted to decline as the result of
shading by plankton blooms include seabirds, manatees, and a variety of
demersal and benthic fishes and invertebrates. Some counterintuitive
predictions of declines (mackerel, seabirds, and surface pelagics)
resulted because these groups are somewhat dependent on benthic primary
production. The overall effect of the simulated bloom-associated shading
of benthic primary producers resembled a trophic cascade where the
number of full cycles of biomass gains and losses was approximately
equal to the number of trophic levels in the system (4.7). (C) 2003
Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
The West Florida Shelf, USA
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
Okey, TA., Vargo, GA., Mackinson, S., Vasconcellos, M., Mahmoudi, B and Meyer, CA

Albatross divorce rates up with ocean warming
A team of researchers has found that black-browed albatrosses living on the Falkland Islands see rising divorce rates during times when the sea surface temperatures rise. They point out that hunger could lead to one or the other partner abandoning an egg or hatchling—events that could lead to one of the birds ditching the other.
Falkland Islands

Bowhead whales that washed up in Nunavut in 2020 were likely killed by orcas
"We never know for sure how they died, but it does seem like a lot of the evidence points to killer whale predation," Steve Ferguson, a research scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said Thursday.
Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada

Federal survey delivers more bad news to Bering Sea crab fleet
The king crab harvest survey could indicate a second bleak year for crabbers in Washington, Oregon and Alaska as warm water affects the number of adult crabs.
Bering Sea

Canceled crab season could devastate Unalaska
This year, that industry came to a drastic halt. In October, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game closed both the the Bristol Bay Red King Crab and Bering Sea Snow Crab seasons. Kelty said he is expecting between the lost revenue from the past two years, intertwined with the suspended season, he is expecting both the crabbing industry along with sector businesses to lose close to a billion dollars.
Unalaska, Alaska, United States

Communities consider 'managed retreat' from climate change
Ricky Wright points to the bank of a creek to show one way his hometown has been affected by climate change. Many banks have eroded or collapsed, and now some favorite fishing spots that were once on solid ground are reachable only by boat.
Saint Helena Island, South Carolina, United States
AP NEWS

‘It’ll be a disaster’: Southeast Alaska fishermen fear looming closure of king salmon fishery
More than 100 salmon trollers packed a Sitka meeting Wednesday night with sharp questions about the future of an iconic Southeast Alaska fishery, facing what could be an unprecedented full shutdown of this year’s chinook trolling season. State officials are scrambling to open the fishery after it was effectively closed by a federal judge — but damage has already been done.
Juneau, Alaska, United States

Retreating sea ice in Arctic affecting zooplankton behaviour
As the climate warms and Arctic sea ice retreats and gets thinner, more light is getting through. “Since marine zooplankton respond to the available light, this is also changing their behaviour – especially how the tiny organisms rise and fall within the water column,” the AWI said in a news release on their website.
MOSAiC Expedition Route
The Independent Barents Observer

Study shows warm water sliding into Beaufort Sea
The Arctic Sounder - Serving the Northwest Arctic and the North Slope

North Pacific right whales may be returning to northern parts of the Bering Sea
North Pacific right whales, once numbering in the tens of thousands, swam throughout the Bering Sea until they were nearly wiped out by commercial hunters. Now the Eastern North Pacific right whale population is estimated to total about 30 individuals, and its habitat is believed to be concentrated in the southeastern corner of the Bering Sea.

Sunflower sea stars need help after catastrophic population declines, scientists say
Experts say a wasting disease epidemic has decimated about 95% of the sunflower sea star population from Alaska’s Aleutian Islands to Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. Without sea stars to keep them in check, sea urchins are causing a troubling decline in kelp forests that provide food and shelter.
West Coast of North America
oregonlive

Scientists point to climate change as likely cause for Alaska snow crab decline
“This is unprecedented in the United States for a mature, rationalized fishery to suffer a stock collapse, in part due to climate change,” the executive director of the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers said.

Canada’s disappearing coastline
Projections show rising sea levels could cause Canada’s beaches to retreat inland, in extreme cases by as much as half a kilometre. The best option may be to stand back and let it happen.
Canada's Beaches
The Globe and Mail

The Aleutian Islands could become a hub for zero-emissions shipping
ICCT researcher Elise Georgeff has been investigating hydrogen as a potential replacement fuel. First, her team calculated how many ships could cross the Pacific Ocean using the existing hydrogen technology. "About 43% could be powered by using hydrogen fuel cells," Georgeff said.Unalaska and Adak islands in the Aleutians are in perfect locations to become pit stops in a trans-Pacific green corridor. Most of the international ships crossing from west to east follow the same path, and those two communities are right in the middle: about halfway through one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
Bristol Bay Times

As the once-lucrative Bering Sea crab harvest resumes, Alaska fishermen face challenges
Alaska fishermen face challenges as the Bering Sea crab harvest resumes, with environmental and economic upheaval threatening the future of the industry. Scientists are questioning whether full recovery is possible in a warming world for these ailing crab populations that have supported some of the world’s most lucrative fisheries.

Executive order bars imports of Russian fish that is processed in other countries
An executive order issued by President Biden extends the ban on Russian seafood imports to include products processed in other countries, closing a loophole from previous sanctions.
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia
Petersburg Pilot

Orcas aren’t attacking ships — they’re just playful teens, scientists say
Since 2020, members of a small group of killer whales have rammed into at least 673 vessels off the coasts of Portugal, Spain and Morocco — causing some to sink. The Spanish and Portuguese governments responded by tasking a group of experts with determining what was causing the whales to strike rudders, which are used to steer ships, and how to stop it.
Off the Coast of Portugal and Spain

Ocean animals face a mass extinction from climate change, study finds
Rising temperatures and dwindling oxygen levels are decimating marine species. But humanity can avert mass die-offs by curbing fossil fuel use and other planet-warming activities.
Oceans of the World

Planned whaling halted the day before hunting due to start
The Minister of Food has temporarily suspended planned whaling until August 31. A new report stated that of the 148 whales killed, 36 were shot more than once. Five were shot three times, and four whales on four separate occasions. One whale with a harpoon in its flesh was chased for five hours without success.
Reykjavík, Capital Region, Iceland
RÚV

Underwater farming offers sustainable industry for coastal communities
The definition of farming has expanded over time from soil-only planting and harvesting to include farmers that harvest from the sea. Along the coast, kelp f...
Ketchikan, Alaska, United States
YouTube

Canadian Ice Service tracking icebergs in western Arctic for 1st time
Drifting icebergs can conflict with navigation routes and cause hazards for coastal communities and ships. Climate change is creating more ice shelf break-off than ever and scientists are keeping track of drifting patterns as a result.
Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada

Sea ice, storms and coastal erosion in Nelson Lagoon - Science Q&A with Reyce Bogardus
UAF graduate student Reyce Bogardus talks about sea ice, storms and coastal erosion at Nelson Lagoon, which is on the southernmost edge of the historical max...
Nelson Lagoon, Alaska, United States
YouTube

Melting sea ice forces polar bears to travel farther for food
In recent years, polar bears in the Beaufort Sea have had to travel far outside of their traditional arctic hunting grounds which has contributed to an almost 30% decrease in their population.
Beaufort Sea
Phys.Org

Bering Sea crabbers fear another bleak season as populations dwindle in Alaska’s warming waters
Researchers say warmer waters themselves aren’t killing crabs, but they may be allowing predators to move in and disease to spread more easily.
Kodiak, Alaska, United States

Antarctic winter sea ice hits 'extreme' record low
Researchers warn the shift can have dire consequences for animals, like penguins, who breed and rear their young on the sea ice while also hastening global warming by reducing how much sunlight is reflected by white ice back into space.
Two Hummock Island

Another Bering Sea snow crab season closure brings more financial hardships for fishermen
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced it was closing the 2023-24 Bering Sea snow crab season for the second season in a row.
Alaska News Source

Climate change is making it harder to survey pollock in the Gulf of Alaska
Between 2017 and 2019, pollock surveys in the Gulf of Alaska produced wildly different estimates. A new study shows what climate-driven mismatch in pollock surveys for sustainable fisheries management.
Gulf of Alaska

Latest research from Woods Hole finds HABs growing locally in Northern waters
Scientists have documented an increase in abundance of harmful algal blooms in the Northern Bering and Chukchi Seas.
Northern Bering and Chukchi Seas

Premature Mortality Observations among Alaska’s Pacific Salmon During Record Heat and Drought in 2019
Widespread mortality of Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. returning to spawn in Alaska coincided with record-breaking air temperatures and prolonged drought in summer 2019.
Western Alaska, United States
Fisheries Magazine

Loss of Arctic summer sea ice 'inevitable' within 30 years, report says
Climate change is rapidly melting away the world’s frozen regions, with summertime Arctic sea ice sure to vanish by 2050, according to a report published on Monday. In just this year, rains fell on East Antarctica in March, as air temperatures were unusually warm. During the summer, the Alps lost 5

First phase of Cape Blossom Road construction set to start this fall
For more than a decade, the city of Kotzebue has been planning to establish a deep-water port facility out at Cape Blossom, about 11 miles south of Kotzebue. A new road to the port would allow goods to be delivered to town, without the lightering fee.
Cape Blossom
KNBA

Signed Contract Worth Billions for Operating Hydrogen Ferries between Bodø and Lofoten: “World Class Climate Project”
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration and Torghatten Nord have signed an agreement on Norway’s first full-scale hydrogen ferry which allows for CO2 emission cuts equaling 13,000 diesel-fueled cars per year.
Bodø, Nordland, Norway
High North News

Clam Gulch and Ninilchik beaches closed to clamming for the 9th year in a row
The clam population crashed on the east side of Cook Inlet about a decade ago and has been slow to bounce back.
Clam Gulch, Alaska, United States

Still waiting on Merbok aid, Shaktoolik braces for fall storms
Shaktoolik, a village in Alaska, is still waiting for aid from FEMA to rebuild a protective berm that was destroyed by a typhoon, leaving the community vulnerable to storms and erosion.
Shaktoolik, Alaska, United States

Gulf of Finland's low blue-green algae levels this summer 'gives us hope'
The scientist noted that the amount of phosphorus, which is essential for cyanobacterial growth, in the Gulf has dropped by around 60 percent compared to their worst, peak levels.
Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland
Yle Uutiset

Scientists of "Beringia" came close to explaining the mystery of "smelly" whales in Chukotka
The specific "medical" smell of whale meat may be caused by liver disease or the animals' diet. Chukchi Sea hunters began noticing the pungent, unpleasant smell in some whales about 20 years ago. Recently, the number of stinky whales has increased. Scientists with Beringia National Park analyzed the isotopic composition in 46 samples of gray whales. “Stinky” whales had significantly lower levels of heavy nitrogen. Scientists still must understand whether this is a result of liver disease or a diet based on algae. Scientists hope to study more high-quality samples of “stinky” whales.
Chukotka

AFN delegates push for measures to decrease salmon bycatch
Two resolutions brought before the Alaska Federation of Natives during this year’s annual convention called for efforts to reduce salmon bycatch for fish that return to the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers.
Eagle, Alaska, United States
KDLG

The bottom of the Bering and Chukchi seas could become too warm for some important species
There is danger lurking on the floor of the Bering and Chukchi seas for mussels, snails, clams, worms and other cold-water invertebrates, according to a new study led by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists.

New estimate for Cook Inlet belugas shows ‘glimmer of hope’ for endangered population
The number of endangered beluga whales in Alaska’s Cook Inlet increased slightly the past four years, according to a new estimate by federal biologists.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States

In Hawaii, coral is the foundation of life. What happened to it after the Lahaina wildfire?
A deadly wildfire burned more than 2,000 buildings in the Hawaiian town of Lahaina on Maui in August and left behind piles of toxic debris.
Lahaina, Hawaii, United States
AP News

European Green Crab: Will they be the next aquatic invasive species in Alaska?
As ocean temperatures trend warmer than average, green crab larvae dispersed in ocean currents from more southern latitudes will find more suitable habitat along the Alaska coast. Recently, adult green crabs have been detected in Skidegate Inlet on Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, and larval crabs have been found in Prince Rupert, both less than 100 miles south of Ketchikan.
Ketchikan, Alaska, United States
Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Observed Evidence of Changing Forests:Testimonial for the Status of Tribes and Climate Change Report
The Institute of Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) Tribes and Climate Change Program is publishing a report called the Status of Tribes and Climate C...
Spokane, Washington, United States

Starving seabirds on Alaska coast show climate change peril
The seabirds are struggling because of climate-linked ecosystem shifts — which can affect the supply and the timing of available food — as well as a harmful algal bloom and a viral outbreak in the region, she said. And their peril jeopardizes the human communities, as well: "Birds are essential to our region — they are nutritionally and economically essential," said Sheffield.

The great goose die-off
Scientists determine geese died due to exhaustion and salt-poisoning. More birds end up dying because of the long flights they undertake, in extreme conditions.
Cambridge Bay
NUNAVUT NEWS

Threatened listing proposed for sunflower sea star after population devastated by wasting disease
It causes legs to fall off and, ultimately, results in disintegration of the animals’ bodies. Climate change may be behind that disease, as the arrival of Pacific marine heat waves coincided with the disease outbreak, according to federal biologists.The sea star, with a range from Baja California to the Aleutians, would be the first sea star with an Endangered Species Act listing.
Gulf of Alaska

UN nuclear agency chief to visit Fukushima plant to see final preparations for release of wastewater
The chief of the U.N. nuclear agency will visit Japan next week to meet with officials and see final preparations for the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean.
Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan
AP News

TOTE Maritime Alaska is now powering its ships with natural gas, cutting carbon and other pollutants
The company says it's the first in the world to convert a full fleet to run on the most environmentally friendly fuel available.
Tacoma, Washington, United States

Weak winds in the Pacific drove record-breaking 2019 summertime marine heat wave
Weakened wind patterns likely spurred the wave of extreme ocean heat that swept the North Pacific last summer, according to new research led by the University of Colorado Boulder and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego. The marine heat wave, named the "Blob 2.0" after 2013's "Blob"; likely damaged marine ecosystems and hurt coastal fisheries. Waters off the U.S. West Coast were a record-breaking 4.5 degrees F (2.5 degrees C) above normal, the authors found.

Africa's most populous city is battling floods and rising seas. It may soon be unlivable, experts warn
Cars and houses submerged in water, commuters wading through buses knee-high in floods, and homeowners counting the cost of destroyed properties.
Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria
CNN

As Bering Sea ice melts, Alaskans, scientists and Seattle’s fishing fleet witness changes ‘on a massive scale’
Researchers now are uncertain when and to what extent the ice may return, and have scrambled to better understand the consequences of back-to-back years of its loss.
Savoonga, Alaska, United States

New wave of Kenai Peninsula fishery closures takes effect
State officials said that king salmon runs are not showing signs of improvement and that conservative measures are needed to ensure future fishing opportunities.
Kenai, Alaska, United States
Peninsula Clarion

Combined threats keep Alaska’s Cook Inlet beluga numbers perilously low, scientists say
The endangered population continues to slip and calf numbers are few, but no single factor has been identified as the cause.
Cook Inlet

California sea lions are dying—now scientists know why
Twenty-two sea lions have been found dead on beaches in California, with many more found sick.
Bodega Bay, California, United States
Newsweek

Surface trawl survey reveals shifting fish populations
Researchers are predicting low fish runs in the Norton Sound and Northern Bering Sea region again next year, according to research biologist Jim Murphy.
Northern Bering Sea

Insights on climate realities concludes Arctic Encounter Symposium
The Arctic Encounter Symposium (AES) held its 2023 event, bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, military leaders and other experts to discuss the leading issues in Arctic policy, innovation and development. The event allowed attendees to hear from several Alaska Natives about their experiences in a rapidly changing climate and ecosystem.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Northern Bering Sea saw some indicators of health rebound in 2023
The Northern Bering Sea showed signs of ecological recovery in 2023, with improved conditions for zooplankton and fish despite ongoing challenges from climate change and variable sea ice patterns.

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