Oceans

Scientists gather to study risk from microplastic pollution

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Tiny bits of broken-down plastic smaller than a fraction of a grain of rice are turning up everywh...
18:03 24 February 2022

Scientists dive into ‘Midnight Zone’ to study dark ocean

BARCELONA, Spain — A team of scientists is preparing to dive deep into the depths of the Indian Ocean — into a “Midnight Zone” where light barely reac...
7:25 5 February 2022

Researchers tie massive Pacific seabird die-off to heat wave

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Common murres look like skinny penguins but fly like F-15 fighter jets.
19:06 15 January 2022

Fever chart: Earth had its hottest decade on record in 2010s

WASHINGTON — The decade that just ended was by far the hottest ever measured on Earth, capped off by the second-warmest year on record, two U.S. agenc...
16:55 15 January 2022

Optimism over growth, some wariness in Atlantic City in 2020

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Atlantic City heads into 2020 with some optimism , buoyed by an expanded casino market with more jobs and more revenue.
12:07 31 December 2022

Court upholds creation of national monument in Atlantic

PORTLAND, Maine — A federal appeals court on Friday upheld former President Barack Obama's designation of a federally protected conservation area in t...
18:34 27 December 2022

West Coast fishery rebounds in rare conservation ‘home run’

WARRENTON, Ore. — A rare environmental success story is unfolding in waters off the U.S. West Coast.
17:34 26 December 2022

Indonesia, Thailand mark 15th anniversary of massive tsunami

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — Thousands of people knelt in prayer in Indonesia's Aceh province at ceremonies Thursday marking the 15th anniversary of the In...
10:44 26 December 2022

As 58 migrants drown off Africa, a call to stop smugglers

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania — The drowning of 58 migrants in the Atlantic Ocean off Mauritania sent despair through tiny Gambia on Thursday while some dema...
17:39 5 December 2021

Miami Beach unveils traffic sculpture made of sand

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — It took artist Leandro Erlich two years and 330 tons (299 metric tons) of sand to create his largest work of art to date — a giant...
14:07 5 December 2021

Greta Thunberg says voyage ‘energized’ her climate fight

LISBON, Portugal — Climate activist Greta Thunberg arrived in Portugal on Tuesday after a three-week voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, telling cheerin...
15:28 3 December 2021

Agency agrees to designate habitat for threatened ice seals

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A federal agency will decide by September how much ocean and coast in northern Alaska will be designated as critical habitat for t...
1:15 26 November 2021

Lady Antebellum get honest, vulnerable on new record ‘Ocean’

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Country vocal group Lady Antebellum know how to move people to tears with their songs and their newest record feels as vulnerable a...
15:26 19 November 2021

Plan would protect 21 coral hot spots in Gulf of Mexico

A plan to protect corals in the Gulf of Mexico is close to becoming a law, drawing cheers from environmental groups who believe leaving the corals alo...
17:37 14 November 2021

Pacific bird refuge struggles as ocean garbage patch grows

MIDWAY ATOLL, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands — Flying into the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Midway Atoll appears out of the vast blue Pac...
20:26 7 November 2021

Seychelles leader: No time for ‘blame game’ in climate fight

LONDON — The Seychelles president is warning there's no time for a "blame game" in the fight against climate change and he urges major nations to do m...
5:09 29 October 2021