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Why is sargassum seaweed swamping West African coasts?

In recent years, huge blooms of Sargassum seaweed have appeared across the Tropical Atlantic, piling up on coasts in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico… and increasingly West Africa – causing mayhem for coastal communities as they face major environmental and socio-economic impacts from this drifting seaweed. 

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Irrawaddy Delta aerial image could be mistaken for an histology slide. Image courtesy of the European Space Agency
How Earth Observation can help public health
06 October 2025

A new comprehensive review evaluates how Earth Observation technologies and Big Data platforms are being harnessed to monitor and understand human hea...

PML team celebrates win at Blue-Cloud Hackathon 2025!
03 October 2025

We’re delighted to announce that, yesterday, a multidisciplinary team of researchers from Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) were selected as one of t...

Communities hold the key to tidal energy projects, new study finds
02 October 2025

A new study shows that gaining deeper understanding of the drivers behind public attitudes to renewable energy is the key to minimising opposition to ...

Investing in our blue planet: New 1-minute survey to understand the finance and investment of blue carbon ecosystems 
01 October 2025

We’re sharing a brand-new mini survey – just 5 multiple choice questions, taking 1 minute to complete – which aims to capture insights from...

From butterflies to seagrass... discover the biodiversity indicators guiding the future of sustainable development
29 September 2025

A project report maps 150+ biodiversity indicators tailored to four case study sites to help value and protect the intrinsic value of biodiversity, an...

A school of hammerhead sharks swimming in the ocean
Protection for the high seas moves closer with ratification of UN High Seas Treaty
22 September 2025

The BBNJ will enter into force in early 2026 after reaching the 60-nation threshold

The Great Pacific Cleanup: Weighing the Benefits of Removing Ocean Plastic
17 September 2025

A new study examines how cleaning up the North Pacific Garbage Patch would benefit marine life – but at what cost to the climate? 

Image: A polar bear pictured during fieldwork for this project: Changing Arctic Ocean Seafloor (ChAOS). Image credit: Dr Johan Faust
How climate change could flip marine fluxes in the Arctic: reshaping entire ecosystems 
15 September 2025

The Arctic is warming faster than almost anywhere else on Earth, with the Barents Sea experiencing the most dramatic loss of seasonal sea ice. As the ...

Photosynthesis on a schedule: how can planktonic microalgae physiology remain active after dark?
12 September 2025

Planktonic microalgae – tiny floating algae that grow in open waters – can only photosynthesise during the day, leaving them with a significant ch...

Harnessing decades of ocean acidification research to shape marine carbon removal solutions
11 September 2025

Drawing upon over two decades of research from leading ocean acidification experts, the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON) communit...

PML Appoints Professor Tim Smyth as New Director of Science
09 September 2025

Leading marine scientist to spearhead PML’s world-class research programmes and drive science for ocean action

Good and bad ozone: new study sheds light on the Ocean’s role in removing and protecting us from harmful ozone
08 September 2025

While ozone shields us in the upper atmosphere, nearer the surface it harms health and ecosystems. New research reveals clues as to how the Ocean help...

Offshore windfarm. Carl Raw | Unsplash
Advancing nature-positive offshore wind: review calls for improved impact assessment, monitoring and mitigation
04 September 2025

A new review, published in Nature Reviews Biodiversity and led by Plymouth Marine Laboratory, synthesises current knowledge of offshore wind farm impa...

Celebrating the first World Lake Day 
27 August 2025

Today – 27th August – is the first World Lake Day, designated last year by the United Nations General Assembly to raise awareness of the importanc...

MEDIA: How climate change is making Europe’s fish move to new waters
21 August 2025

PML’s Dr Sevrine Sailley, Ecosystem Modeller, has written for The Conversation UK on how climate change is reshaping fish habitats, with huge impli...

Deep trouble – future seafloor marine heatwaves will surpass surface extremes
19 August 2025

A new study shows that marine heatwaves on the seafloor could be more than 50% more frequent in future than at the surface of the ocean during hot sum...

Peat and pressure in pristine waters: investigating environmental change in the Falklands
15 August 2025

PML’s Professor Andy Rees reflects on three decades of research in the remote Falkland Islands, exploring the growing environmental pressures in a r...

Mangrove. Kristin Hoel | Unsplash
Blue Carbon Finance Toolbox released
14 August 2025

The 3rd UN Ocean Conference in June 2025 saw the release of the Blue Carbon Finance Toolbox, with PML’s Dr Olivia Rendón as a Reviewer and PML Hono...

Marine heatwaves and octopus outbreaks
13 August 2025

This week, PML’s Professor Tim Smyth spoke to Anna Foster on BBC Radio 4 about the increase of marine heatwaves observed in the western English Chan...

Current Events

IUCN World Conservation Congress

9 October 2025
– 15 October 2025

Upcoming Events

SeaWilding Conference 2025

23 October 2025
– 15 October 2025

2nd Ocean Carbon from Space Workshop: Online

24 November 2025
– 15 October 2025

Protecting Our Planet Day (POP) 2025

27 November 2025
– 15 October 2025

International Ocean Colour Science Meeting 2025

1 December 2025
– 15 October 2025

2nd Ocean Carbon from Space Workshop: In-person

2 December 2025
– 15 October 2025

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