All articles tagged with #pacific ocean
A modeling study proposes regional solar dimming through marine cloud brightening to cool the Pacific and lessen El Niño’s strength and global impacts, drawing on the 2019–2020 Australian bushfire smoke as a natural analogue; while potentially feasible as a targeted tool, experts warn about uncertain effects, political challenges, and the need for much more research before any real-world deployment.
China fired a long-range submarine-launched ballistic missile into the Pacific, marking its first known demonstration of a sea-based strategic nuclear strike capability and prompting alarm among U.S. allies.
China’s navy fired a ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine with a dummy warhead into the Pacific as part of its annual training, pre-notified to relevant governments. New Zealand said the missile landed in the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone, prompting condemnation from Australia and Japan and underscoring worries about Beijing’s expanding naval reach in the Asia-Pacific.
A vast Pacific marine heat wave spanning more than eight times the size of the contiguous U.S. and about 13.5% of Earth’s surface formed from a North Pacific anomaly and a growing El Niño. It could reshuffle weather this winter and spring, fueling Typhoon Bavi in the western Pacific and a potential heat dome over the western U.S. this summer, while pushing California coastal seas higher by roughly 6 inches to 2 feet and boosting rainfall and wildfire risk. Linked to the Pacific Meridional Mode and ongoing warming, global ocean heat has surged in recent decades, making extreme weather more likely.
Scientists from UH Mānoa captured the first live footage of goblin sharks in their natural deep-sea habitat, with encounters near Jarvis Island and the Tonga Trench in the Central Pacific. The sightings widen the species’ known geographic and depth range, setting a new depth record for Lamniformes and confirming the goblin shark can live healthily in the wild beyond previously captured observations.
El Niño is officially underway and could be among the strongest on record, with a 63% chance of a very strong event from November through January. It’s expected to raise global temperatures, bring drought and heat to the Pacific Northwest, wetter winters to the South, and fuel marine heat waves that disrupt sea life and can shift species ranges along the West Coast; past events have included unusual marine visitors and even declines in plankton, while climate change continues to heighten overall warmth.
NOAA satellite imagery shows Tropical Storm Cristina forming off the coast of Nicaragua in the eastern Pacific, with updates ongoing as of June 9, 2026.
The U.S. military released video of another strike on a boat suspected of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific, killing two men and marking the fifth such attack in about a week, with total fatalities in these operations at least 207 since the campaign began. The military says the strikes target known smuggling routes under orders from Gen. Francis L. Donovan, while critics question legality and the evidence linking the vessels to drug trafficking, noting that fentanyl largely enters the U.S. by land. The White House says the actions are self-defense, and a Pentagon inspector general review will examine the targeting process (the six-phase Joint Targeting Cycle), not the overall legality of the strikes.
The Pacific Ocean is so vast it can swallow all Earth’s land (land area ~149 million sq km) with water to spare, with ocean-area estimates around 155–165 million sq km. A leftover water-free area of roughly 16 million sq km remains—larger than Russia. The ocean covers about two-thirds of the planet’s surface and, despite its enormity, is relatively shallow; through subduction the Pacific is slowly shrinking while the Atlantic widens, reminding us that Earth’s blue appearance is a dynamic, not fixed, fact. A common analogy even suggests Earth’s water would form a tiny sphere inside a ping-pong ball, underscoring how little of the planet is actually water relative to its size.
A study using satellite data from Swarm, CryoSat, CHAMP and Ørsted shows a broad region of iron-rich fluid in Earth's outer core beneath the equatorial Pacific reversed its flow from westward to eastward in 2010, challenging the view of steady westward drift and prompting questions about the core's dynamics and its link to geomagnetic changes. Ongoing monitoring will determine whether this is a short-term wobble, part of a cycle, or a new stable state; while not dangerous itself, such deep interior shifts can influence Earth's magnetic field and technology that relies on it.
Forecasters say this year’s El Niño could become one of the strongest on record, with ECMWF data showing central Pacific temperatures potentially 3°C above average by year’s end. If confirmed, it could approach or surpass the 1877 and 2015 records and potentially exceed the threshold for a super El Niño. NOAA also expects a strong El Niño to form by July, with a notable chance that 2027 could be the warmest year on record, signaling widespread global impacts on climate, agriculture, water, and economies through late this year and beyond.
Scientists warn that conditions in the Pacific Ocean could organize into a strong to ‘super’ El Niño this year, potentially driving global average temperatures above preindustrial levels by more than the 1.5°C threshold and possibly beyond 2°C. Forecasts show a 70% chance of El Niño by June and up to 94% probability it will persist through year’s end, with impacts that vary by region: intensified heat and drought in some areas, heavier rainfall in others, and shifts in tropical cyclone activity. While forecasts have uncertainty and natural variability, experts say the event could heighten extreme weather risk and underscore the urgency of preparing for a warmer world.
A 5,000-mile marine heat wave spanning the Pacific is driving surface waters 6–8 degrees above average, raising heat and humidity across the U.S. West this summer and boosting risks of Pacific hurricanes and wildfires, with El Niño and the Pacific Meridional Mode contributing to the anomaly and potential impacts on marine life and weather patterns.
A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck offshore Japan, triggering a tsunami alert; no immediate details on damage or casualties were provided.
Artemis II returns to Earth with a Pacific splashdown, closing out the mission, while the morning briefing also covers a slate of other top headlines spanning geopolitics, politics, and social issues, including Hormuz oil traffic, a missing‑person case, and a Supreme Court ruling affecting an Ohio candidate.