PMEL in the News
NOAA on Ocean Sounds
NOAA scientists record sound in the deepest part of the world’s ocean and discover a cacophony of sounds both natural and human generated. For three weeks, a titanium-encased hydrophone recorded ambient noise from the ocean floor at a depth of more than 36,000 feet, or 7 miles, in the Challenger Deep trough in the Mariana Trench near Micronesia.
NHS teacher studies offshore volcano
With another eruption imminent, scientists and a Teacher at Sea recently spent ten days studying underwater volcano Axial Seamount, focusing on re-inflation of magma chambers, and tracking undersea floor changes.
Scientists just found a surprising possible consequence from a very small amount of global warming
Even if we meet our most ambitious climate goal — keeping global temperatures within a strict 1.5 degrees Celsius (or 2.7 degree Fahrenheit) of their preindustrial levels — there will still be consequences, scientists say. And they’ll last for years after we stop emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. New research suggests that extreme El Niño events — which can cause intense rainfall, flooding and other severe weather events in certain parts of the world — will occur more and more often as long as humans continue producing greenhouse gas emissions.
The Biggest Battle in Five Generations
Deaths of baby oysters in the Pacific Northwest are happening at an alarming rate because of increasing ocean acidification due to climate change. For shellfish farmers and the area that depends on them, it’s a more unwieldy foe than they’ve ever confronted.
Young Pollock Survival Better than Expected During Recent Bering Sea Warm Phase
In 2014 the Bering Sea warmed, raising concerns that pollock populations would plummet as they did in the previous warm phase of 2001-2005. But a new study suggests that this time young pollock had alternative resources that weren’t available during the last warming phase to help buffer ill effects of warming. With 2017 showing signs of cooling, pollock populations may have successfully weathered the warm years of 2014-16.