Florida Atlantic University) In their natural form, conch pearls are among the rarest pearls in the world. For more than 25 years, all attempts at culturing pearls from the queen conch have been unsuccessful -- until now. For the first

Stanford University) A tracking study of white sharks in the northeastern Pacific Ocean shows they adhere to a rigid route of migration across the sea, returning to precisely the same spot along the California coast each time they come back,

European Space Agency) Following the launch of ESA's SMOS satellite on Nov. 2, the French space agency CNES, which is responsible for operating the satellite, has confirmed that the instrument's three antenna arms have deployed as planned, and that the

Kansas State University) The idea by Kansas State University's Wenqiao "Wayne" Yuan and Zhijian "Z.J." Pei is to grow algae in the ocean on very large, supporting platforms.

National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (UK)) Large-scale distributions of two important nutrient pools -- dissolved organic nitrogen and dissolved organic phosphorus (DON and DOP) have been systematically mapped for the first time over the Atlantic Ocean in a study led by

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) The vast muddy expanses of the abyssal plains occupy about 60 percent of the Earth's surface and are important in global carbon cycling. Based on long-term studies of two such areas, a new paper in

NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center) About half of 36 fish stocks in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, many of them commercially valuable species, have been shifting northward over the last four decades, with some stocks nearly disappearing from US waters

University of Rochester) In 2005, a gigantic, 35-mile-long rift broke open the desert ground in Ethiopia. At the time, some geologists believed the rift was the beginning of a new ocean as two parts of the African continent pulled apart,

National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (UK)) Deep-sea ecosystems occupying 60 percent of the Earth's surface could be vulnerable to the effects of global warming warn scientists writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (UK)) Scientists including researchers from the National Oceanography Center, Southampton and the University of Essex have discovered that interactions between iron supply, transported through the atmosphere from deserts, and large-scale oceanic circulation control the availability of

National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (UK)) A rocket carrying the European Space Agency's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite blasted off successfully today. Professor Meric Srokosz of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton has been involved in the project since its inception.

NOAA Headquarters) NOAA has awarded the Smithsonian Institution's Environmental Research Center and several partner organizations $946,000 for the first year of an anticipated five-year, $5 million collaborative project to study the degradation of nearshore coastal habitats in the Chesapeake and

NOAA Headquarters) NOAA and the Nature Conservancy have entered into an agreement to protect the health of the nation's valuable but increasingly vulnerable coral reef ecosystems in the Caribbean, Florida, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. The four-year agreement will dedicate

NOAA Headquarters) Scientists researching the causes and impacts of the dead zone in the northern Gulf of Mexico have been awarded more than $2.4 million for the first year of an anticipated $12 million multi-year NOAA research investment.