06 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Nick Russill Hundreds of jellyfish washed ashore at Summerleaze Beach in Bude, Cornwall, on 2 July, drawing crowds to a striking purple carpet of stranded animals beside the town’s sea pool wall. Scientists at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, who documented the stranding, said the mound was made up mostly of moon jellyfish, alongside blue […]
06 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Matt Hardy The marine heatwave that has gripped UK waters for much of 2026 could reach extreme levels this week, the Met Office has warned. Surface waters around north-west Europe are running at strong to locally severe conditions, reaching temperatures normally seen in August and averaging around 2°C above normal, with some offshore […]
23 Jun 2026
Photo by Dylan Shaw A vast area of winter sea ice has failed to form off West Antarctica’s Bellingshausen Sea, with scientists warning the region may now be entering a permanently reduced state with consequences for penguins, krill and some of the continent’s most significant glaciers. The gap was first reported in detail by […]
18 May 2026
Photo by Vivek Doshi Forecasters are sounding the alarm over the possible development of one of the strongest El Niño events in recorded history, with ocean temperatures already at near-record levels and rapidly evolving Pacific conditions pointing toward a potentially catastrophic event by late 2026. The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service has recorded extrapolar […]
28 Apr 2026
Photo by Gustavo Zambelli A large and persistent marine heatwave is intensifying across the northeast Pacific Ocean, raising concerns among scientists about ecosystem disruption along the US West Coast – and forecasters warn that global marine heatwave coverage is on course to reach record levels by the end of the year. The heatwave has […]
28 Apr 2026
Photo by Pascal van de Vendel Beneath the turquoise waters off the northern coast of Jamaica — the same stretch used as a backdrop for scenes in the James Bond film No Time to Die — a team of divers is carrying out an unusual mission. Rather than coral fragments or chemical treatments, their equipment consists […]
07 Apr 2026
Photo by Brendan Stephens A marine heatwave is gripping the waters off California, with sea surface temperatures climbing to levels that are rekindling fears among scientists of a repeat of “the Blob” — a catastrophic warm-water event that took hold a decade ago and left a trail of ecological destruction along the US west coast. […]
03 Feb 2026
Photo by Stephanie Harlacher A dramatic population bloom of the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) off the Southwest coast of the UK is having significant effects on fisheries and marine ecosystems, according to a new report led by the Marine Biological Association in collaboration with Plymouth Marine Laboratory, the University of Plymouth and an independent consultant. The […]
