ocean habitats

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Blazing Cargo Ship Carries 3K Cars, Could Be Devastating

One crew member is dead as officials work to save the ship from going down in a bird habitat

(Newser) - A fire on a freight ship carrying nearly 3,000 cars was burning out of control Wednesday in the North Sea, and the Dutch coast guard said one crew member had died, others were hurt, and it was working to save the vessel from sinking close to an important habitat...

We're Headed for Vast Ocean Extinction: Panel

Human activity is rapidly wiping out marine life, panel warns

(Newser) - Human activity has degraded the world's oceans with dizzying speed and a mass extinction of marine life only seen five times before in the planet's history is likely if urgent action is not taken, a panel of marine experts warns. The International Program on the State of the...

Ocean Census Surprises Scientists
Ocean Census Surprises Scientists

Ocean Census Surprises Scientists

Effort to chart all undersea life by 2010 finds 5K new species

(Newser) - Somewhere under the Antarctic Ocean, brittle starfish completely cover a submerged mountain. In the Pacific, sharks congregate in a region with few food sources but plenty of opportunity for romance. Those facts, along with an accounting of more than 5,000 newly discovered species, are part of the results of...

Fears Mount Over Gulf of Mexico 'Dead Zone'

Only Dolly kept oxygen-free area from becoming largest ever

(Newser) - Scientists are  increasingly concerned about the growing "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico, an oxygen-poor mass of water that cannot sustain most sea life, which now covers 8,000 square miles, nearly the largest ever. Created by fertilizer runoff from the Mississippi, the zone would be even bigger...

Ocean Dead Zones Expanding
 Ocean Dead Zones Expanding 

Ocean Dead Zones Expanding

Climate-related trend mirrors causes of past massive extinction

(Newser) - The inhospitable oxygen-starved layers of the oceans, once relegated to the deep sea, are now encroaching on coastlines, reports the Los Angeles Times. The dead zones, linked to global warming, have moved up into continental shelves, a study in Science says. They interfere with commercial fishing and entice predators that...

Trawling Scars Ocean Floors
Trawling Scars Ocean Floors

Trawling Scars Ocean Floors

'Most destructive' common fishing method destroys underwater ecosystems

(Newser) - Scientists can now see the destruction caused to the ocean floor by bottom trawling in satellite photos, LiveScience reports. The pictures show huge plumes kicked up from the ocean's bottom as fishing nets dragged along the floor wreak havoc on undersea ecosystems. "Bottom trawling is the most destructive of...

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