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Microplastic pollution is now “spiralling around the globe”, according to a study of airborne plastic particles.The researchers said human pollution has led to a global plastic cycle, akin to natural processes such as the carbon cycle, with plastic moving through the atmosphere, oceans and land. The result is the “p...

Work crews were pumping millions of gallons of contaminated wastewater into an ecologically sensitive Florida bay on Sunday, as they tried to prevent the “imminent” collapse of a storage reservoir at an old phosphate mine.Officials in Manatee county extended an evacuation zone overnight and warned Sunday that up to ...

It is a place that has been visited by fewer people than have flown to the moon – pitch black, 11km down, the last frontier.Last month, Nicole Yamase became the first Pacific Islander, the third woman, and, at 29, the second-youngest person to visit Challenger Deep, the deepest known part of the Mariana Trench.The r...

Decline in system underpinning Gulf Stream could lead to more extreme weather in Europe and higher sea levels on US east coastThe Atlantic Ocean circulation that underpins the Gulf Stream, the weather system that brings warm and mild weather to Europe, is at its weakest in more than a millennium, and climate breakdown is the probable cause, according to new data.Further weakening of the...

Israel is reeling from a disastrous tar slick, while oily sand has been found in southern LebanonAt first sight there are few obvious signs of the oil spill on the Mediterranean beach. Wooden parasols stand solitary in the sand, while a few runners make their way along the waterline, enjoying the winter sun.“The beach looks OK, but it’s all underneath,” says a volunteer, sitting...

Jasmine Harrison, the youngest woman to make the 3,000-mile journey alone, relished the freedom of doing it all by herselfIt was always during the night when things went wrong for Jasmine Harrison, the youngest woman to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Like the time her boat hurtled into a huge wave at 19.2 knots and capsized, leaving her with a badly injured elbow.“I...

Scientists say temperatures globally at highest level since start of human civilisationThe planet is hotter now than it has been for at least 12,000 years, a period spanning the entire development of human civilisation, according to research.Analysis of ocean surface temperatures shows human-driven climate change has put the world in “uncharted territory”, the scientists say. The planet may even be at its warmest for...

Post-Brexit regulation doesn’t match new EU rules to tackle ocean pollution, despite UK being Europe’s largest plastic waste producerThe UK has been accused of failing to honour its promise to curb shipments of plastic waste to developing countries, after it emerged Britain’s new post-Brexit regulations are less stringent than those imposed by the EU.From 1 January, shipments of unsorted plastic waste from the EU...

Increased loss of ice could trigger sea level rise of up to 10cm by end of centuryGreenland’s ice is starting to melt faster than at any time in the past 12,000 years, research has shown, which will raise sea levels and could have a marked impact on ocean currents.New measurements show the rate of melting matches any in the geological record for the Holocene...

Hundreds of vessels caught logging 73,000 hours of fishing in just one month in new analysisA vast fishing armada of Chinese vessels just off the Galápagos Islands logged an astounding 73,000 hours of fishing during just one month as it pulled up thousands of tonnes of squid and fish, a new report based on data analysis has found.The discovery of the giant flotilla off...

Collapse of shelves would accelerate loss of Antarctic ice sheet and increase sea-level riseApproximately 60% of Antarctica’s ice shelves could be vulnerable to fracture, accelerating the loss of the Antarctic ice sheet and increasing sea-level rise, according to a paper.Antarctica’s ice shelves, floating extensions of the ice sheet, help slow the flow of ice into the ocean. But if these shelves fracture and then...

Report calls for urgent action to tackle developing countries’ reliance on bottled waterFocusing on improving the water supply in developing nations could be a powerful way to fight the scourge of plastic waste in the oceans, experts have said, highlighting that the issue has received little attention.People in developing countries, and many middle-income countries, often rely on plastic bottles of water as their piped...

Particles may outnumber zooplankton, which underpin marine life and regulate climateThe abundance of microplastic pollution in the oceans is likely to have been vastly underestimated, according to research that suggests there are at least double the number of particles as previously thought.Scientists trawled waters off the coasts of the UK and US and found many more particles using nets with a fine mesh size...

Unmanned submersible will descend nearly 2.5 miles to bottom of the ocean to get radio, believed to still be near grand staircaseA federal judge in Virginia has ruled that a salvage firm can retrieve the Marconi wireless telegraph machine that broadcast distress calls from the sinking Titanic.The order is a big win for RMS Titanic, the court-recognized salvor, or steward, of artifacts from the...

Oceans rising faster than previously thought, according to survey of 100 specialistsSea-level rise is faster than previously believed and could exceed 1 metre by the end of the century unless global emissions are reduced, according to a survey of more than 100 specialists.Based on new knowledge of climate sensitivity and polar ice melt, the experts say coastal cities should prepare for an impact that...

From the Galapagos to Dubai crew have been left marooned amid squabbles over who is responsible for their welfareRevealed: 100,000 crew never made it off cruise ships amid coronavirus crisisThe Apex was nearly finished. A brand new cruise ship for the Celebrity Cruises line, it was a towering, 117,000-ton vessel with luxuries like a “resort deck” featuring martini-glass-shaped jacuzzis and a movable platform cantilevered...

Waverley council in Sydney’s eastern suburbs has reopened Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches to swimmers and surfers between 7am and 5pm on weekdays. The beaches were closed as Australia’s coronavirus restrictions came into force. They are to remain closed on weekends, and only the water is ‘open’, with sunbathing, walking and jogging on the beach not allowedFollow the latest Australia coronavirus live newsDownload the...

Volunteer army led by a local taxi driver scours the streets in the middle of the night to save endangered birdsA taxi driver in New Zealand has swapped drunken revellers for wayward seabirds in an attempt to halt the decline of one of the nation’s endangered species.Local cabbie Toni Painting leads a volunteer army that scours the streets of the South Island town of...