News & Events

September 29, 2023
  • OS Seminar - Lenka Sraj, MBARI
    September 29, 2023  10:40 am - 12:00 pm
    See more details

October 6, 2023
  • OS Seminar - Summer Praetor, USGS
    October 6, 2023  10:40 am - 12:00 pm
    See more details

October 13, 2023
  • OS SEminar - Jemma Fadum, Carnegie Science
    October 13, 2023  10:40 am - 12:00 pm
    See more details

Our seminars

The Ocean Science Department hosts speakers from external institutions and from UCSC to share their research in 1-hour seminars. The seminars are held on Friday’s at 10:40AM in Earth & Marine Sciences A340 during Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters.

Latest News

Scientists using biologging tags to study the movement and migratory behavior of whales off California in response to climate change. Photo: Friedlaender Lab

Five UC Santa Cruz projects win California Climate Action Grant funding

Millions of dollars in new funding will support UC Santa Cruz and partners in tackling some of California’s toughest climate change challenges through innovative research and community engagement

Alexa Fredston, an assistant professor of ocean sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz, uses large data sets and models to understand human impacts on the oceans. (Photo by Britt Lichty)

Coastal fisheries show surprising resilience to marine heatwaves

Researchers found that fish biomass often increased or was unaffected in the year following a marine heatwave

Alexa Fredston, an assistant professor of ocean sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz, uses large data sets and models to understand human impacts on the oceans. (Photo by Britt Lichty)

Marine scientists explore the future of open data science

Researchers make recommendations for how to move forward in a world of near-limitless data

Meet the fearless scientists saving Antarctic whales… With crossbows and tiny inflatable boats

How do you study a gigantic mammal that migrates over thousands of miles and spends most of its time underwater? Here’s how the latest tech is shaping the future of whale conservation

Kathleen Finlay, President of Glynwood, receives the 2023 Rachel Carson Award. Audubon's Rachel Carson Award is a national award which honors American women whose work has greatly advanced conservation locally and globally.

Kathleen Finlay brings UCSC education to the forefront in her fight for food sustainability and social justice

UC Santa Cruz alumna Kathleen Finlay is the president of the Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming in the Hudson Valley and founder of Pleiades

A pod of narwhals swims near Canada’s Somerset Island.BRIAN SKERRY/MINDEN PICTURES

Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) males, Somerset Island, Canada

Ship noises prove a nuisance for arctic narwhals

The unicorn-horned whales abandon their foraging dives when they hear humanmade marine sounds

Comb jellies, now proven to be the 'sibling group' to all other animals, can be found in the nearby Monterey Bay. (image credit: Darrin Schultz)

Comb jellies proven to be the sibling group to all other animals

New research proves comb jellies are a unique lineage or “sibling group” whose ancestors diverged before the common ancestor of all other animals

Colleen Reichmuth

Physical and Biological Sciences Division honors three prominent alumni

The Division of Physical and Biological Sciences is honoring three stellar alumni—atmospheric scientist Cora E. Randall, pediatrician Ramon Resa, and marine scientist Colleen Reichmuth—with the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Awards

Phytoplankton use photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide into organic compounds like carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Only a small fraction of this organic matter produced by phytoplankton is transferred (exported) to deeper layers of the ocean, either through sinking particles (a more efficient process) or downward mixing of dissolved carbon (a less efficient process). (Credit: NOAA Fisheries)

One of the planet’s most important carbon sinks is revealing its secrets

Tiny organisms in the Southern Ocean play an outsized role in moderating Earth’s climate

More Ocean Sciences news