January 19, 2021 By Sophie Yeo BBC
Seeing a whale stranded on a beach often provokes a strong reaction. It can make people curious – beached whales can do strange things, like explode. It can also be upsetting to witness a creature so magnificent in water reduced to lifeless blubber on land. What rarely registers, however, is the lost opportunity for carbon sequestration.
August 5, 2020 By Jackie Snow Hakai Magazine
Scientists have determined a new way to slice and dice marine ecosystems.
July 10, 2020 By Fermin Koop ZME Science
A surprising shift is currently happening in the Arctic Ocean, a new study has found. Dark water is blooming with phytoplankton, the tiny algae at the base of the food web, as sunlight floods spaces that used to be obscured by ice that is no longer there.
May 18, 2020 By Elizabeth Claire Alberts Mongabay
Each winter, southern right whales and humpback whales migrate to the waters off Brazil to feed on krill and phytoplankton, and to give birth to their young among the country’s rich coral reefs. These whales attract thousands of tourists, and their money, to Brazil. A whale’s capacity to bring tourist dollars into Brazil, in addition to its ability to regulate the environment and enhance fisheries, is worth a lot, according to a group of economists. Now, they’ve put a figure on it: $82 billion.
April 24, 2020 By Jessica Aldred chinadialogue
Saving the whales may be more important than planting trees when it comes to tackling climate change and keeping our oceans healthy. The world’s biggest animals play a crucial role, helping fertilise the phytoplankton that absorbs 40% of the world’s CO2. They also capture vast amounts of carbon in their bodies before sinking to the bottom of the ocean when they die and locking it away, sometimes for centuries.