Water fleas on “happy pills” have more offspring
Dopamine can trigger feelings of happiness in humans. Water fleas that are exposed to dopamine-regulating substances apparently gain several advantages.
UN Sustainable Development Goals: Life Below Water
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Bioplastics no safer than other plastics
Bioplastics contain substances that are as toxic as those in ordinary plastics.
Why aren’t sea trout thriving anymore?
Sea trout numbers are declining in Norway and scientists don’t know why. They have studied the trout in two rivers in northern Norway’s Nordland county. Soon, sea trout along the entire Norwegian coast will be investigated.
New lessons from the worst oil spill disaster ever
Ten years ago, the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico killed eleven men and resulted in the largest accidental oil spill in history. Years of investigations concluded that the drilling crew missed critical warning signals that would have stopped the problem. A new analysis suggests that wasn’t the case.
Does Norway’s future lie at the bottom of the sea?
Low oil prices have fueled the debate about which industries Norway should develop and live on in the future. In the government’s revised national budget, the extraction of seabed minerals emerges as a clear investment area.
“Seaweeds may become a profitable piece in the green transition jigsaw”
A unanimous group of research scientists are convinced that kelp may share many of the applications of soya and oil, and that they can also be used to capture CO2. Seaweeds can contribute towards climate-friendly solutions in all sorts of contexts. New know-how about seaweed farming is currently accelerating industrialisation of the sector.
Cement factories can put the brakes on global plastic pollution
Researchers believe that plastic refuse can be used as fuel in cement factories in Asia. If this works, it may provide a solution to two of the planet’s biggest environmental problems – plastic in the oceans and high levels of coal consumption.
Cleaner fish being sacrificed in the fight against salmon lice
Research shows that even fish farmers have doubts as to whether using cleaner fish is an effective delousing method. “Fish farmers tell us that they want a ban on the use of certain species. They’re also very critical of wild-caught cleaner fish being transported,” says researcher Kristine Størkersen. She is one of the scientists who have been helping the Norwegian Food Safety Authority gain an overview of the situation.
A deep dive into subsea monitoring
The coastline of Norway is peppered with more than a thousand oil wells, most of which will be plugged once they’re no longer profitable. They have to be monitored in case they leak — but keeping an eye on them isn’t easy. A new company offers a different approach that could help.
Following sea trout minute by minute
Sea trout populations have declined sharply. Researchers have studied the life of sea trout by means of acoustic telemetry tags and listening stations. Now they know more about what we need to do to protect the sea trout population.
Water flow can be traced with synthetic DNA sand
If your drinking water is contaminated, you’d no doubt like to find out where the pollution comes from. Researchers are working to make this easier.
More people and fewer wild fish lead to an omega-3 supply gap
Omega-3 fatty acids are essential components of healthy diets for both humans and fish. The dramatic increase in fish farming worldwide has boosted the demand for omega-3 fatty acids so much that today’s supply can’t meet demand. Reducing waste and finding new sources can help.
How much microplastic is there in your laundry basket?
Every time you wash clothes, you are releasing microplastics into the sea, but we know little about the amount and distribution of such material from different types of textile. Research scientists are now working on measuring and capturing microplastics in our laundry.
Ocean acidification a big problem — but not for coral reef fish behaviour
Several high-profile studies report that ocean acidification will affect coral reef fish behaviour enough to jeopardize their survival. One research team looked more deeply at this assertion — and found it is simply not true.
Tracing the journey of microplastics in the Arctic
By now it’s well established that microplastics are a problem in the environment, even in the remotest parts of the planet. But where do different microplastics come from and how they get there, especially in the Arctic?
Resistant salmon lice spread to wild fish
A new study confirms the role of the aquaculture industry in the spread of resistant salmon lice in Norway.
What happens in the Barents Sea if the ice disappears?
The Arctic’s once impenetrable ice cap is melting away, with profound consequences for everything from ocean circulation patterns to fish numbers and diversity. The Nansen Legacy Project, including NTNU biologists, chemists and engineers, is working to better understand what these changes mean for the Barents Sea and the Arctic Basin
We know more about the moon than the ocean floor
NTNU researchers are delving deep to investigate the seabed and opportunities for deep sea mining to extract precious metals that lie several thousand metres deep.