Coral adaptation to ocean warming and marine heatwaves will likely be overwhelmed without rapid reductions of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to an international team of scientists.

Ocean engineering such as offshore wind turbines plays an important role in promoting energy transition and economic development, which, however, typically suffer from harsh ocean environments (e.g., hurricane surge) and hazards (e.g., earthquakes or accidental collisions). Underwater structural components in such extreme marine environments are more difficult to detect in ocean engineering and therefore more likely to cause irreversible damages. In this study, the all-in-one 3-dimensional (3D) printed double-helix multilayered tribo-metamaterials (DH-MTMs) are proposed for self-powered wireless monitoring of underwater structures under the surface and underwater conditions. This paper first investigates the electrical characteristics of the DH-MTMs under the cyclic motions in the horizontal direction, horizontal–vertical coupling, and circular direction, respectively. The electrical signal output of DH-MTMs in different layers and different vibration frequencies effectively responds to its own sensitivity and suitability of monitoring underwater engineering structures. Next, the DH-MTMs are integrated into the wireless monitoring systems to monitor the amplitude of marine structures and wave velocity and height under the surface and underwater conditions. Experimental results show that the reported wireless monitoring systems accurately capture the displacement of underwater structures at the centimeter level and the water flow with the velocity of less than 0.1 m/s. The DH-MTMs is not only used as a sensor but also used as a structural component of a self-sensing marine structure, which provide novel design guidance for active real-time wireless monitoring of underwater structures in smart ocean.

Researchers have quantified for the first time the global emissions of a sulfur gas produced by marine life, revealing it cools the climate more than previously thought, especially over the Southern Ocean.

The study, published in the journal Science Advances, shows that the oceans not only capture and redistribute the sun's heat, but produce gases that make particles with immediate climatic effects, for example through the brightening of clouds that reflect this heat.

New Curtin University research has revealed that the Ninetyeast Ridge ­— the Earth’s longest straight underwater mountain chain ­— formed through a different process than previously believed.

Stretching 5000km along the Indian Ocean’s 90-degree east longitude and nearly matching the length of North America’s Rocky Mountains, the ridge offers crucial new insights into the movement of the Earth’s tectonic plates.