Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Data collected by two planes suggests large open-cut coalmine in Bowen Basin is releasing methane at higher rates than official estimates Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane at a Queensland coalmine were likely between three and eight times higher than officially reported, according to UN-backed research that flew aircraft over the site. Queensland’s open-cut coalmines are known to be a major source of methane and experts are worried that official figures could be a gross underestimation of actual emissions. Continue reading...

A new study has uncovered evidence of far-reaching ecosystem consequences following the disappearance of Great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) from False Bay, South Africa. The research spans over two decades and documents cascading ecological disruptions, underscoring the crucial role apex predators play in maintaining ocean health.

Bombylius major, the thieving, deceiving, fluffy flying narwhal-like insect, that is a harbinger of spring Hundreds of nominations for invertebrate of the year whittled down to 10 Everybody loves bees. But these bumbling pollinators are ten a penny. How about a pollinator who twerks? A pollinator with a bum-bag for storing sand? A pollinator that pretends it’s a bee but actually looks far cooler? A pollinator with a dark side? All hail the dark-edged bee-fly (Bombylius major), a beautiful insect that’s been likened to a fluffy flying narwhal. An insect whose arrival in the skies of temperate Europe, North America and parts of Asia signifies that spring is here. Between 24 March and 2 April, we will be profiling a shortlist of 10 of the invertebrates chosen by readers and selected by our wildlife writers from more than 2,500 nominations. The voting for our 2025 invertebrate of the year will run from midday on Wednesday 2 April until midday on Friday 4 April. Continue reading...

As the climate heats up, Grenada’s beaches have become swamped with rotting sargassum. But biotech can turn it into fuel, fertiliser and plastic Photographs by Haron Forteau It is hard to describe the putrid stench of the decaying sargassum seaweed blanketing miles of shoreline in Soubise, a fishing village in Grenada. The pungent odour wafts into passing vehicles, persisting long after they have left the Caribbean island’s coves, where the ocean has deposited masses of the seaweed, which turns red then black as it rots. Many residents of Soubise, one of the areas worst affected, say they have learned to live with the problem, which has plagued the island, and others like it, for years. Last week scientists in Florida said they thought they had identified a weather phenomenon in 2009 as the “tipping point” of the problem, which they said is caused by shifting winds churning up the ocean and bringing deepwater nutrient concentrations to the surface. Lindon Marast says the seaweed clogs the engine of his boat Continue reading...