Research published today reveals the major influence of fish on maintaining the delicate pH balance of our oceans, vital for the health of coral reefs and other marine life.

CARBON buried in the Earth could ultimately determine the fate of our planet’s atmosphere. So concluded a pioneering meeting last week about the Earth’s long-neglected “deep” carbon cycle.

The Earth’s oceans play a vital role in the carbon cycle, making it imperative that we understand marine biological activity enough to predict how our planet will react to the extra 25 000 million tonnes of carbon dioxide humans are pumping into the atmosphere annually.

The end-Permian catastrophe eliminated a greater proportion of marine animal diversity than any other mass extinction in the geological record.

A tiny single-celled organism that plays a key role in the carbon cycle of cold-water oceans may be a lot smarter than scientists had suspected.

Scientists from NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory announced today a new tool to monitor changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by region and source. The tool, called CarbonTracker, will enable its users to evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts to reduce or store carbon emissions.