Tag - oceans

 
 

OCEANS

An underwater data center being developed by Chinese maritime technology company Highlander is seen under construction at a shipyard in Nantong, in China's eastern Jingsu province.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 4, 2025
China trials 'energy-saving' underwater data centers
One Chinese company is planning to submerge a pod of servers in the sea off Shanghai with hopes of solving computing's energy woes.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at the Prime Minister's Office on Sept. 1 during an anti-disaster drill simulating an earthquake in the Nankai Trough.
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2025
Japanese team detects gradual seafloor caving near Nankai Trough
Long-term observations at multiple sites could aid in assessing the risk of major earthquakes and tsunamis.
Hiroyuki Yamato (left), president of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, and Mantle Quest President Hiroyasu Ishiguro (right) receive certificates from Guinness World Records for deep-sea drilling, in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2025
Japanese deep-sea drilling research recognized by Guinness World Records
The research conducted last year sought to understand the mechanism behind the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
Workers operate heavy machinery to stabilize Wamberal Beach as a low-pressure cyclone lashes Australia's Central Coast, forcing residents to evacuate beachfront homes amid growing erosion fears, in July.
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 20, 2025
International treaty protecting world's oceans to take effect
The move by Morocco and Sierra Leone to join the U.N. treaty on the high seas clinched the threshold needed to enact it as international law.
Despite centuries of overfishing and ecological collapse, the recovery of tuna stocks shows that strong regulation and economic self-interest can make once-endangered species sustainably abundant again.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 16, 2025
Tuna sushi is safe from extinction, for now
With the exception of Mediterranean albacore (a favorite of Spanish canneries) and bigeye in the Indian Ocean, every population is now being fished within sustainable levels.
A huge piece of plastic waste is pulled up from the waters near Tatara Island, Nagasaki Prefecture, on July 10.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 15, 2025
Japan backs development of new materials to cut marine plastic waste
A five-year plan starting this fiscal year calls for the development of a new material that can be used for several years in water before it slowly decomposes over time.
Erosion is seen on Australia's Gold Coast on March 9 after sand was washed away during Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 15, 2025
Rising oceans to threaten 1.5 million Australians by 2050, report says
Sea level rises pose a significant threat to homes, livelihoods, and cultural connections — particularly in locations such as the Torres Strait Islands.
Floaters are released into the water during a demonstration of Eco Wave Power electricity generation technology using the power of ocean waves in the harbor at AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, California, on Aug. 26.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Sep 1, 2025
New wave: Sea power turned into energy at Los Angeles port
A pilot project aims to use a 13-kilometer breakwater to harness enough wave energy to power 60,000 U.S. homes.
A tourist enjoys the Ras Hankorab beach in the Red Sea Wadi Al-Gemal protectorate in southern Egypt. The local environment is under threat amid development projects.
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 21, 2025
Tourism deal puts one of Egypt's last wild shores at risk
The shadowy contract, which allows for the construction of a resort on one of the country's last undisturbed Red Sea beaches, was halted but not permanently canceled.
Plastic bottles and other refuse collected from Border Field State Park Beach in San Diego in May
ENVIRONMENT / ANALYSIS
Aug 16, 2025
Tough U.S. stance casts gloom over plastics pollution deal after Geneva flop
Many states and campaigners blamed the failure on oil-producers including the U.S, which they said urged others to reject caps on new plastic production.
The highly venomous lionfish with its long spotted fins can measure up to around 26 centimeters.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Aug 15, 2025
With waters at 32 C, Mediterranean tropicalization shifts into high gear
Encouraged by increasingly warm waters, hundreds of species native to the Red Sea have moved into the eastern Mediterranean, disrupting ecosystems.
A fish washes up on Glenelg Beach on July 13 in Adelaide, Australia. A toxic algal bloom has washed up dead and dying sea creatures along the South Australian coastline since mid March and was first detected on the state’s Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Aug 6, 2025
Toxic algae bloom off South Australia devastates marine life and tourism
The algal bloom, first detected in March, spans an area 4,500 square kilometers and has been aggravated by rising ocean temperatures.
Tokunoshima, Kametoku New Port. A coast guard patrol boat spotted the Taiwanese vessel conducting the suspicious activity at a point some 335 kilometers west-northwest of the island of Tokunoshima in Kagoshima Prefecture at around 3:50 p.m. Monday, according to the 10th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2025
Taiwanese vessel suspected of conducting survey in Japan's EEZ for second time
The vessel was seen conducting suspicious activity around 335 kilometers west-northwest of the island of Tokunoshima in Kagoshima Prefecture on Monday.
Activists stage a demonstration in front of the United Nations Offices in Geneva on Monday.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Aug 5, 2025
Pressure from oil producers and U.S. threaten global pact on plastics pollution
Plastic production is set to triple by 2060 without intervention, choking oceans, harming human health and accelerating climate change, according to the OECD.
A man walks on a beach in Nice, France, amid a heavy rain storm. European governments are ramping up their own data collection systems to monitor climate change and weather extremes.
WORLD
Aug 2, 2025
Europe is breaking its reliance on American science
Amid Trump's cuts, European governments are ramping up their own data collection systems to monitor climate change and weather extremes.
A shipwreck of a boat, used by refugees in the past, is stranded at a shore in the northern part of Lesbos island, Greece
WORLD
Aug 1, 2025
On Europe's hardened frontier, Greek island keeps migrants at bay
Ten years after it was a hot spot for migrants, Lesbos shows how far government responses have hardened against people seeking refuge in Europe.
A person records images of waves following a tsunami advisory generated by local authorities after an earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, prompting warnings and evacuations stretching across at the South Pacific, in Vina del Mar, Chile, on Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / EXPLAINER
Jul 31, 2025
Why did such a powerful earthquake produce such a weak tsunami?
Part of the reason the waves were weaker than anticipated may have to do with the size of the quake off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia.
People ride in a boat past a newly built concrete barrier in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, Egypt, on April 20.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 29, 2025
Rising seas and shifting sands attack ancient Alexandria from below
The warming waters of the Mediterranean are rising due to climate change, leading to coastal erosion and undermining buildings from below.
Manhattan Beach on the California coast
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 25, 2025
‘Unprecedented’ ocean heat waves in 2023 suggest climate tipping point
The world’s oceans experienced a staggering amount of warming in 2023, as vast marine heat waves affected 96% of their surface.
Water-related accidents across Japan rose to 1,535 in 2024 and involved 1,753 people — the highest number in a decade, according to the National Police Agency.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 24, 2025
Authorities warn of dangers surrounding water-related activities this summer
Ten people died and two remain missing following a string of water-related accidents over the long weekend.

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?