Breaking Waves: Ocean News

09/09/2025 - 17:54
Flathead catfish are rapidly reshaping the Susquehanna River’s ecosystem. Once introduced, these voracious predators climbed to the top of the food chain, forcing native fish like channel catfish and bass to shift diets and habitats. Using stable isotope analysis, researchers uncovered how the invaders disrupt food webs, broaden dietary overlaps, and destabilize energy flow across the river system. The findings show how a single invasive species can spark cascading ecological consequences.
09/09/2025 - 17:07
Tiny ocean microbes called Prochlorococcus, once thought to be climate survivors, may struggle as seas warm. These cyanobacteria drive 5% of Earth’s photosynthesis and underpin much of the marine food web. A decade of research shows they thrive only within a narrow temperature range, and warming oceans could slash their populations by up to 50% in tropical waters.
09/09/2025 - 12:45
Raids by rival hives aren’t rare after a dry, hot summer, but Christine McDonald was surprised to find her store besieged A Canadian beekeeper has described fending off thousands of “robber bees” as they raided her shop in a brazen attempt to steal honey. Christine McDonald, who owns Rushing River Apiaries in the British Columbia city of Terrace, said she entered her shop to find it overrun by the swarm. Continue reading...
09/09/2025 - 10:00
Party’s grassroots campaigners urge leadership to ignore business warnings about cost of setting ‘ambitious’ target Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Labor’s grassroots environmental action network wants the Albanese government to adopt a 2035 emissions reduction target of at least 70% as a show of global climate action leadership, countering warnings from big business about the cost of such a goal. In her first interview as the new co-convener of Labor Environment Action Network (Lean), Louise Crawford also said she had faith the government would finally deliver long-awaited reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act after plans collapsed in the previous term. Continue reading...
09/09/2025 - 09:00
Residents worry new developments – including a sea wall planned to shield the city’s historic center – could push floodwaters into their communities This story is from Floodlight, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the powers stalling climate action On a quiet street near the marsh in Charleston, South Carolina’s Rosemont neighborhood, Luvenia Brown watches the weather reports more than she used to. She’s lost lawn mowers, bikes and outdoor furniture to the rising waters that have repeatedly crept into her yard. Continue reading...
09/09/2025 - 08:54
Garnet fire threatens historic grove in Sierra national forest as it moves through Fresno county at 14% containment Firefighters in California are racing to protect a historic grove of ancient giant sequoia trees in the Sierra national forest as the Garnet fire continues to spread through Fresno county. The Garnet fire, which began on 24 August and was caused by lightning, reached McKinley Grove on Monday, the US Forest Service said. The grove is home to about 170 giant sequoia trees, some estimated to be 2,000 years old, according to the non-profit Save the Redwoods. Continue reading...
09/09/2025 - 08:00
Figure calculated by Oil Change International has more than doubled since 2017 but is likely a vast understatement The US currently subsidizes the fossil-fuel industry to the tune of nearly $31bn per year, according to a new analysis. That figure, calculated by the environmental campaign group Oil Change International, has more than doubled since 2017. And it is likely a vast understatement, due to the difficulty of quantifying the financial gains from some government supports, and to a lack of transparency and reliable data from government sources, the group says. Continue reading...
09/09/2025 - 06:24
Ethiopian PM says dam will electrify entire region but Egypt fears it could restrict water supply during droughts Ethiopia has inaugurated Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam, a project that could transform the country’s energy sector but may also aggravate tensions with neighbouring Egypt. State media showed the Ethiopian prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, touring the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba district with the Kenyan president, William Ruto, the Somali president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and the African Union chairperson, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf. Continue reading...
World Ocean Explorer Wins Gold Medal Serious Simulation Award from Serious Play Annual International Competition
10/26/2023 - 14:35
For Immediate Release October 19, 2023 Sedgwick, Maine USA World Ocean Explorer, a 3D virtual aquarium and educational simulation, was recently cited for excellence, winning a Gold Medal Award in the 2023 International Serious Play Awards Program. World Ocean Explorer is an innovative 3D virtual aquarium designed for educational exploration of the world’s oceans. With interactive exhibits and a lobby space, visitors can immerse themselves in realistic marine environments, including a DEEP SEA exhibit funded by Schmidt Ocean Institute, showcasing unprecedented deep-sea discoveries off Australia. Targeted at 3rd graders and beyond, this immersive experience offers a range of perspectives on the ocean environment and can be explored through guided tours or user-controlled interfaces. Visit DEEP SEA at worldoceanexplorer.org/deep-sea-aquarium.html. Serious Play Conference brings together professionals who are exploring the use of game-based learning, sharing their experience, and working together to shape the future of training and education. For more information on Serious Play Award Program visit seriousplayconf.com/international-serious-play-award-programs. World Ocean Explorer is a transformative virtual aquarium designed to deepen understanding of the world ocean and amplify connection for young people worldwide. Organized around the principles of Ocean Literacy and the Next Gen Science Standards, World Ocean Explorer brings the wonder and knowledge of ocean species and systems to students in formal and informal classrooms, absolutely free to anyone with a good Internet connection. As an advocate for the ocean through communications, World Ocean Observatory believes there is no better investment in the future of the sustainable ocean than through a new approach to educational engagement that excites, informs, and motivates students to explore the wonders of our marine world and to understand the pervasive connection and implication for our future, inherent in the protection and conservation of all aspects of our ocean world. World Ocean Explorer presents an astonishing 3-dimensional simulated aquarium visit, organized to reveal the wonders of undersea life, with layers of detailed data and information to augment the emotional connection made to the astonishing beauty and complexity of the dynamic ocean. Within each of the virtual exhibits, students visit exemplary theme-based sites with myriad opportunities to understand the larger perspectives of scientific knowledge as organized and visualized to dramatize the impact and change on ocean life as a result of natural and human-generated events. Through immersion among displays, mixed media and 3D models, the experience of an aquarium visit will be brought into classrooms or home school environments as a free, accessible, always available opportunity for teaching and learning. All of this will be available to a world audience without physical limitation or cost. World Ocean Explorer, a project of the World Ocean Observatory, receives support from the Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation, Visual Solutions Lab, the Climate Change Institute, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, and The Fram Museum Oslo. To learn more about the current and future exhibits of World Ocean Explorer, visit worldoceanexplorer.org. media contact Trisha Badger, Managing Director, World Ocean Observatory   |   director@thew2o.net +12077011069
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