At hydrothermal vents in Longqi or ‘Dragon’s Breath’, 1,243 miles southeast of Madagascar, scientists have discovered unique marine life, including six species new to science.

Previous studies have shown that the world’s largest reptile – the leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea – conducts flexible foraging migrations that can cover thousands of kilometres between nesting sites and distant foraging areas. The vast distances that may be travelled by migrating leatherback turtles have greatly complicated conservation efforts for this species worldwide.

Vegetation and peatland fires cause poor air quality and thousands of premature deaths across densely populated regions in Equatorial Asia. Strong El-Niño and positive Indian Ocean Dipole conditions are associated with an increase in the frequency and intensity of wildfires in Indonesia and Borneo, enhancing population exposure to hazardous concentrations of smoke and air pollutants.

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The Indian Ocean's Agulhas Current -- one of the strongest currents in the world -- is getting wider rather than strengthening, which will have important implications for global climate change, a s

The majority of naturally occurring freshwater on small islands is groundwater, which is primarily recharged by precipitation. Recharge rates are therefore likely to be impacted by climate change. Freshwater resources on small islands are particularly vulnerable to climate change because they are limited in size and easily compromised. Here we have compiled available aquifer system characteristics and water-use data for 43 small island developing states distributed worldwide, based on local expert knowledge, publications and regional data sets.

In September–October 2015, El Niño and positive Indian Ocean Dipole conditions set the stage for massive fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), leading to persistently hazardous levels of smoke pollution across much of Equatorial Asia. Here we quantify the emission sources and health impacts of this haze episode and compare the sources and impacts to an event of similar magnitude occurring under similar meteorological conditions in September–October 2006.

Twenty-four countries will participate in a large scale tsunami simulation exercise organized under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO on 7 and 8 September.

The evolution of industrial-era warming across the continents and oceans provides a context for future climate change and is important for determining climate sensitivity and the processes that control regional warming. Here we use post-AD 1500 palaeoclimate records to show that sustained industrial-era warming of the tropical oceans first developed during the mid-nineteenth century and was nearly synchronous with Northern Hemisphere continental warming.

As the land of the Thunder Dragon is all set to host the seventh edition of the Mountain Echoes Literary festival, global issues, including climate change and women's voices, will top the agenda.

"This is the first discovery of its kind in the Indian Ocean that has the potential to be producible," USGS said in a statement.

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