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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

06 October 2025

How Earth Observation can help public health

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

03 October 2025

PML team celebrates win at Blue-Cloud Hackathon 2025!

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

02 October 2025

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

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

01 October 2025

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

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

29 September 2025

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

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

22 September 2025

Protection for the high seas moves closer with ratification of UN High Seas Treaty

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

17 September 2025

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

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

15 September 2025

How climate change could flip marine fluxes in the Arctic: reshaping entire ecosystems

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 ...

12 September 2025

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

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

11 September 2025

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

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

09 September 2025

PML Appoints Professor Tim Smyth as New Director of Science

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

08 September 2025

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

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...

04 September 2025

Advancing nature-positive offshore wind: review calls for improved impact assessment, monitoring and mitigation

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

27 August 2025

Celebrating the first World Lake Day

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

21 August 2025

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

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

19 August 2025

Deep trouble – future seafloor marine heatwaves will surpass surface extremes

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...

15 August 2025

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

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

14 August 2025

Blue Carbon Finance Toolbox released

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...

13 August 2025

Marine heatwaves and octopus outbreaks

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...

12 August 2025

Eco-friendly or eco-threat? The environmental risks of natural and semi-synthetic fibers

A new publication co-authored by two PML PhD Researchers, Charlotte Woodhouse and Hayley McIlwraith, calls for a re-evaluation of how we view “natur...

08 August 2025

Environmental studies urgently required before Ocean Carbon Capture can go large-scale, scientists warn

New paper highlights critical knowledge gaps into the impacts of direct ocean carbon capture and storage (DOCCS) technology.

04 August 2025

National Oyster Day - but not all oysters are welcome...

Today (5th August) is National Oyster Day, but not all oysters are welcome. Discover PML’s research on the Pacific Oyster – Crassostrea gigas – ...

Offshore windfarm. Nicholas Doherty | Unsplash

01 August 2025

New method to evaluate ecological impact of offshore activities

A recently published study from the University of Aberdeen and Plymouth Marine Laboratory has set out a new approach to help evaluate the ecological i...