New study quantifies sargassum multi-million dollar impact to U.S. coastal economies
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Published: 14 January 2026
The most comprehensive economic assessment of sargassum blooms reveals potentially billion-dollar annual losses affecting Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Florida across tourism, recreation, and fisheries.
Keywords: sargassum, harmful algal blooms, coastal economics, marine pollution, Caribbean, satellite monitoring, ocean ecology
Positive interactions dominate among marine microbes, six-year study reveals
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Published: 21 January 2026
A six-year study of coastal California microbes found roughly 78% have net positive effects on neighbors, with cooperative interactions far outweighing competition. Elevated ocean temperatures increased positive interactions.
Keywords: marine microbes, microbial ecology, coastal ocean, plankton interactions, ocean warming, marine biodiversity, California coast
Record-breaking drilling under the Ross Ice Shelf
Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)
Published: 17 February 2026
An international SWAIS2C team drilled the longest sediment core (228 m) ever obtained from beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, piercing 523 m of ice to access 23 million years of climate history.
Keywords: Antarctica, Ross Ice Shelf, sediment core, SWAIS2C, ice sheet, paleoclimate, polar research, West Antarctic
