Halfway between the coastal beaches of Southern California and the paradise islands of Hawaii lies the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) - a patch of plastic debris covering a vast area of the oceanic surface. Despite the name, it is not a compact garbage island... click to read more

Plastic pollution is now one of the most widespread and significant threats facing our oceans. Microplastics (pieces less than 5 mm in size), in particular, have been in the spotlight for a number of reasons. Firstly, there's so many of them! Microplastics come from a... click to read more

Oceanographers know how the deepest reaches of the ocean are filled: by very cold and dense waters formed in contact with the polar air and ice of Antarctica. These dense Antarctic waters plunge under their own weight and snake along the global seafloor at depths... click to read more

Recently we have found that our oceans are full of microscopic "body-snatchers" that are important members of the ocean's food-web. The base of marine ecology rests upon the microscopic plankton. The origin of the term plankton is from the Greek word πλαγκτός meaning "I drift (myself)".... click to read more