Background Articles

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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...

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.

Researchers say warmer waters themselves aren’t killing crabs, but they may be allowing predators to move in and disease to spread more easily.

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.

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.

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.

Coccolithophores and the carbon cycle Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations are resulting in both warmer sea surface temperatures due to the

Scientists have documented an increase in abundance of harmful algal blooms in the Northern Bering and Chukchi Seas.

Widespread mortality of Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. returning to spawn in Alaska coincided with record-breaking air temperatures and prolonged drought in summer 2019.

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

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.

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.

Powerful underwater explosions were detected in the Baltic Sea at the end of September, near the Danish island of Bornholm. Explosive substances were found on several of the objects encountered during the crime scene investigation in the Baltic Sea, Swedish security police say.

The clam population crashed on the east side of Cook Inlet about a decade ago and has been slow to bounce back.

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.