Marine Studies + Climate

As ochre sea star ‘baby boomers’ grow up, species showing signs of recovery

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The “baby boom” of ochre sea stars that followed a population crash a decade ago is enabling the species to recover on the Oregon Coast, according to new research by scientists at Oregon State University and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

The study, published in Ecosphere, does not determine whether the boom was triggered by the wasting disease epidemic that pushed ochre sea stars to the brink of extinction in Oregon, or simply a fortunate coincidence.

Six-million-year-old ice discovered in Antarctica offers unprecedented window into a warmer Earth

CORVALLIS, Ore. — A team of U.S. scientists has discovered the oldest directly dated ice and air on the planet in the Allan Hills region of East Antarctica.

The 6-million-year-old ice and the tiny air bubbles trapped inside it provide an unprecedented window into Earth’s past climate, according to a new study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

New study finds large fluctuations in sea level occurred throughout the last ice age, a significant shift in understanding of past climate

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Large changes in global sea level, fueled by fluctuations in ice sheet growth and decay, occurred throughout the last ice age, rather than just toward the end of that period, a study publishing this week in the journal Science has found.

Oregon State recognized with national engagement award for efforts to reduce whale entanglement

CORVALLIS, Ore. — A collaborative research and outreach effort led by Oregon State University to protect whales and sustain Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery has been recognized as one of four regional winners of the 2025 W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Engagement Scholarship Award.