Topic - Technology

Elephants in Okambara, Namibia that have been tagged with transmitters to track their movements.

The ‘Internet of Animals’ Could Transform What We Know About Wildlife

By Hillary Rosner

A system for testing technology to draw minerals from seawater at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Sequim, Washington.

In Seawater, Researchers See an Untapped Bounty of Critical Metals

By Jim Robbins

At the startup Running Tide's facility in Iceland, wood chips are loaded onto a barge for disposal at sea.

Scientists Are Trying to Coax the Ocean to Absorb More CO2

By Andrew S. Lewis

Brisingid sea stars are found in deep sea areas rich in critical minerals.

INTERVIEW

Can We Mine the World’s Deep Ocean Without Destroying It?

By Richard Schiffman

Researchers are decoding the language of elephants.

INTERVIEW

How Digital Technology Is Helping Decode the Sounds of Nature

By Nicola Jones

San Diego has shored up its water supplies by upgrading the All-American Canal, which takes Colorado River water to California's Imperial Valley.

A Quiet Revolution: Southwest Cities Learn to Thrive Amid Drought

By Jim Robbins / Photography by Ted Wood

Researchers with DeepGreen Metals deploy a box core tool to capture a sample of the seafloor.

The Race for EV Parts Leads to Risky Deep-Ocean Mining

By Tatiana Schlossberg

Floating turbines at the Hywind Scotland project in the North Sea.

Will Floating Turbines Usher in a New Wave of Offshore Wind?

By Paul Hockenos

The Claude "Bud" Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant on the California coast provides 50 million gallons of fresh water a day to San Diego.

As Water Scarcity Increases, Desalination Plants Are on the Rise

By Jim Robbins

The World Eyes Yet Another Unconventional Source of Fossil Fuels

By Nicola Jones

High Stakes on the High Seas

A Growing Call for International Marine Reserves

By Nicola Jones

Will Tidal and Wave Energy Ever Live Up to Their Potential?

As solar and wind power grow, another renewable energy source with vast potential — the power of tides and waves — continues to lag far behind. But progress is now being made as governments and the private sector step up efforts to bring marine energy into the mainstream.

By Sophia Schweitzer

How Technology Is Protecting World’s Richest Marine Reserve

After years of fitful starts, the Pacific island nation of Kiribati this month banned all commercial fishing inside its huge marine reserve. New satellite transponder technology is now helping ensure that the ban succeeds in keeping out the big fishing fleets.

By Christopher Pala

Capturing the Ocean’s Energy

Despite daunting challenges, technology to harness the power of the waves and tides is now being deployed around the world from Portugal to South Korea to New York’s East River. These projects, just beginning to produce electricity, are on the cutting edge of renewable energy’s latest frontier: hydrodynamic power.

By Jon Luoma