Large quantities of the greenhouse gas methane are stored in the seabed. Fortunately, only a small fraction of the methane reaches the atmosphere, where it acts as a climate-relevant gas, as it is largely degraded within the sediment. This degradation is carried out by a specialized community of microbes, which removes up to 90 percent of the escaping methane. Thus, these microbes are referred to as the “microbial methane filter”. If the greenhouse gas were to rise through the water and into the atmosphere, it could have a significant impact on our climate.

Experiments show shifting ripple patterns can signal times of environmental flux.

Green algae stole genes from bacteria to survive in harsh environments, study suggests.

Local citizen scientists help biologists detect and track Alaska’s marine invaders.

Land area in Hawai‘i is vulnerable to future sea rise, researchers say.

Long considered an angler’s paradise, the sandbars, flats, channels, and reefs in the Florida Keys provide year-round opportunities for anglers who dream of catching a “fish of a lifetime."

Even after being severely damaged by blast fishing and coral mining, coral reefs can be rehabilitated over large scales using a relatively inexpensive technique, according to a study led by the University of California, Davis, in partnership with Mars Symbioscience.

A mantle wave passing beneath western North America over the last 20 million years is responsible for the formation of the High Plains.

Threats from human activity mean the newly discovered species is likely already critically endangered.

Researchers explore how bees collaborate to stabilize swarm clusters.