Deep coastal seabeds, glacial erratics, and other geophysical hurdles stand in the way of offshore wind farm proliferation. Researchers, engineers, and organizations are adapting and inventing ways to harness the breeze.
seafloor
Posted inNews
Forecasting Geohazards in the Age of Gas Hydrate Exploitation
A curious breath-like pattern exhibited by gas hydrates may help forecast hazards associated with extracting them from the seafloor.
Posted inNews
Getting to the Bottom of Trawling’s Carbon Emissions
A new model shows that bottom trawling, which stirs up marine sediments as weighted nets scrape the ocean floor, may be releasing more than a billion metric tons of carbon every year.
Posted inScience Updates
Seafloor Seismometers Look for Clues to North Atlantic Volcanism
Did the mantle plume that fuels Iceland’s volcanoes today cause eruptions in Ireland and Great Britain long ago? A new project investigates, while also inspiring students and recording whale songs.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
A Deep Dive into Organic Carbon Distribution in Hadal Trenches
Researchers use sediment cores to study the amount and origin of sediment organic carbon in one of the least studied regions of the planet: hadal trenches.
Posted inNews
A Massive Methane Reservoir Is Lurking Beneath the Sea
Scientists have found a methane reservoir below the permafrost seabed of the Laptev Sea—a reservoir that could suddenly release large amounts of the potent greenhouse gas.
Posted inNews
Sea Cucumbers: The Excremental Heroes of Coral Reef Ecosystems
Drone surveillance reveals just how big a contribution sea cucumbers make to reef habitats.
Posted inNews
Geologists Have a New Tool for Reconstructing the Ancient Climate
A new study of seafloor sediments finds that the temperature record in the early Paleozoic corresponds to significant shifts in the diversity of life on Earth.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Freshened Groundwater in the Sub-seafloor
Scientists are using a variety of geochemical, geophysical, and numerical methods to study offshore freshened groundwater and better understand its role in the global water cycle.
Posted inNews
Rethinking Darwin’s Theory of Atoll Formation
Atolls have a long and complex history related to seafloor evolution, and Darwin’s model is only the beginning of the story.