Mastodawn

Squat lobsters, one species of which only eats wood, were discovered on the wreck of the #Endurance.
“It is likely that this species is new to science, because it can withstand such low temperatures,” says Griffiths. “It could be a deep-sea species from elsewhere. Is it potentially something that will eat the wreck?”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/15/shackleton-endurance-shipwrecks-global-heating-antarctic-underwater-protected-area

#science #ecology #LifeOnTheEdge #deepSea #seaFloor

‘The Antarctic is the last frontier’: the quest to save Shackleton’s Endurance

Amid fears the wreck will be more accessible to explorers – and new species – as the climate warms, conservationists want to create the region’s first underwater protected area

The Guardian

michael 2d ago

‘The #Antarctic is the last frontier’: the quest to save #Shackleton’s #Endurance

Amid fears the wreck will be more accessible to explorers – and new species – as the #climate warms, conservationists want to create the region’s first underwater protected area

^ interesting #conservation challenge

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/15/shackleton-endurance-shipwrecks-global-heating-antarctic-underwater-protected-area

#science #seafloor #shipwreck #ecology #climateCatastrophe

‘The Antarctic is the last frontier’: the quest to save Shackleton’s Endurance

Amid fears the wreck will be more accessible to explorers – and new species – as the climate warms, conservationists want to create the region’s first underwater protected area

The Guardian

michael 6d ago

10-Jun-2026
Newly discovered “whale necropolis” enhances understanding of #deepSea #ecology

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1131566

#science #whales #marineBiology #seafloor

Newly discovered “whale necropolis” enhances understanding of deep-sea ecology

Researchers from the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering (IDSSE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the University of Pisa, Italy, and the National Institute of Water and Atmosphere Research, New Zealand, have now documented the world’s deepest and largest known aggregation of whale fossils and active whale-fall ecosystems. This deep-sea site, referred to as a “whale necropolis” due to its vast size, is located in the Diamantina Zone of the southeastern Indian Ocean and contains evidence of cetacean falls for at least 5.3 million years.

EurekAlert!

Iwpost May 7

Mining the ocean floor: 5 deep-sea sources of critical minerals essential to technology, and the fragile marine life at risk. #China #Cobalt #Criticalminerals #Geology #Hydrothermalvents #InternationalSeabedAuthority #Marinegeology #Mining #Oceanfloor #Oceans #Rareearths #Seafloor #Technology
https://iwpost.com/mining-the-ocean-floor-5-deep-sea-sources-of-critical-minerals-essential-to-technology-and-the-fragile-marine-life-at-risk/?fsp_sid=7744

Mining the ocean floor: 5 deep-sea sources of critical minerals essential to technology, and the fragile marine life at risk

Critical minerals are found in several forms in the ocean, from potato-size nodules to brine pools. They are also in some of the least understood parts of our planet.

IwPost

💧🌏 Greg Cocks Mar 14

TopoBathy Open Standard - Bathymetric Attributed Grid (BAG) [OGC]
--
https://www.ogc.org/standards/bag/ <-- shared open OGC standard 🔗
--
https://www.hydroffice.org/bag/main <-- shared example of #opensource software to interact with the #opendata BAG format 🔗
--
[this post should not be considered an endorsement of a particular product and/or approach]
#GIS #spatial #mapping #opendata #opensource #standard #openstandard #BathymetricAttributedGrid #BAG #format #grid #raster #offshore #OGC #hydrography #submarine #survey #marine #ocean #bottom #hydrospatial #FAIR #openspecification #specification #bathymetry #depth #seafloor #vertical #datum #metadata #hydrographic
#OpenGeospatialConsortium

Dr. Or M. Bialik Feb 26

One of the most amazing projects I got to be part of is finally out! We now have a unified and comprehensive framework for #seafloor #geomorphology, which will, with a bit of luck, get us all to call things the same way. A major step forwards to be able to study the #ocean's floor consistently.

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012825226000504?

michael Feb 6

4-Feb-2026
Elusive beaked #whales off the #Louisiana coast may sometimes be diving right to the #seafloor, finds new 3D acoustic technology which accurately pinpoints their locations using their #echolocation clicks
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1114393

#science #SoundscapeEcology #ecology #marineBiology #mammals

Elusive beaked whales off the Louisiana coast may sometimes be diving right to the seafloor, finds new 3D acoustic technology which accurately pinpoints their locations using their echolocation clicks

Elusive beaked whales off the Louisiana coast may sometimes be diving right to the seafloor, finds new 3D acoustic technology which accurately pinpoints their locations using their echolocation clicks

EurekAlert!

Dr. Or M. Bialik Jan 23

#WeekendReading: Ye et al. about iron-bound organic matter under the #Seafloor in #ColdSeeps, there are some really interesting dynamics with how bioturbation seems to link into this, and it's far more than just a pairing with the sulphur cycling.

Link: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2025GB008889