Departments Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences

Would it have been possible to predict the New Zealand volcano eruption?

The deadly eruption off the country’s North Island Monday may have been too small to appear in the data beforehand, according to Daniel Douglass, a geologist at Northeastern.

by Molly Callahan December 9, 2019

Jessica Slevin, who studies conservation science at Northeastern, carries bamboo sticks, a palm tree, and a banana tree to plant. Photo by Hiroko Tanaka for Northeastern University

When you can’t imagine living in a city again

Jessica Slevin pushes a wheelbarrow full of farming equipment along a muddy jungle trail. She is among a half-dozen Northeastern students doing co-ops at a farm nestled in the mountainous rainforest 25 miles southwest of San Jose.

by Alexander Villegas - contributor October 31, 2019

A fisherman sorts cod and haddock aboard a trawler off the coast of New Hampshire on April 23, 2016. AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

The Gulf of Maine cod fishery is in rough shape. The fishermen aren’t doing much better.

Between 2011 and 2015, the amount of cod that New England fishermen were allowed to catch dropped more than 95 percent. Researchers from Northeastern have been working with fishing communities to understand how they were affected, and to enable regulators to manage for people, not just fish.

by Laura Castañón October 28, 2019

Students study the Gulf of Maine’s rocky intertidal zone as part of a course focusing on how different societies around the world are responding to coastal issues. Courtesy photo Brian Helmuth

Here’s what works–and what doesn’t–when it comes to coping with climate change at the edge of the sea

Northeastern students explored attitudes and interactions surrounding the ocean in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the Gulf of Maine this summer as part of a Dialogue of Civilizations program focusing on coastal sustainability.

by Laura Castañón October 10, 2019

Steven Scyphers, assistant professor of marine and environmental sciences, and student Kiera O'Donnell, at the Marine Science Center in Nahant, Massachusetts. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Can nature reduce the damage caused by hurricanes?

When we think of the first line of defense against hurricanes, seawalls might come to mind before all else. Steven Scyphers, an assistant professor of marine and environmental sciences at Northeastern, is studying whether marshlands can help protect communities from the havoc wreaked by intense storms.

by Kerry Benson - contributor October 8, 2019

Katie Lotterhos, an assistant professor of marine and environmental sciences, holds up an oyster shell in her lab in Nahant. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

How to breed a better oyster

A group of shellfish geneticists, including Katie Lotterhos, an assistant professor of marine and environmental sciences at Northeastern, is using genetic testing to help the oyster industry selectively breed the traits that will make oysters thrive in their environment and melt in your mouth.

by Laura Castañón October 7, 2019

Marine organisms can evolve and adapt to new climates. But will they?

Marine life is able to evolve and adapt, but the question is whether it can keep up with the pace of climate change, says Kathleen Lotterhos, a Northeastern professor of marine and environmental sciences. A sweeping U.N. report released this week shows that the effects of climate change are changing the ocean’s chemistry much more rapidly than previously thought.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa September 26, 2019

Cod in the Gulf of Maine can be divided into two, genetically-distinct subgroups, based on what time of year they spawn. iStock photo

This discovery could be the key to managing New England’s cod population

Although fisheries managers treat cod in the Gulf of Maine as a single population, the fish can be divided into two, genetically distinct subgroups. Researchers at Northeastern’s Marine Science Center have found that the unique behavior and lifecycles of these two groups may affect the growth of the species. .

by Laura Castañón June 23, 2019

This mollusk grows fat on a diet of rock

Scientists are turning to shipworms and other mollusks as a potential source of new compounds for human medicine. The discovery by researchers of Northeastern’s Ocean Genome Legacy Center of a bizarre shipworm, and the bacteria that help it survive, provides an opportunity to look for new antibiotics or chemicals that might help in the treatment of cancer and other diseases.

by Laura Castañón June 18, 2019

Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

When the climate changed, these fish were ready

A new study of notothenioids from Northeastern’s Marine Science Center helps inform our understanding of how species diversify in response to environmental change. And, because many of the rare traits of these Antarctic fish are considered serious diseases in our own species, the scientists’ work can also help us understand more about human health.

by Laura Castañón June 13, 2019