Leigh Storey

We’re excited to join #COP30 via the Virtual Ocean Pavilion, a free interactive online portal.

It’s important to highlight ocean science on the world stage; the Pavilion's inclusive platform is globally accessible.

🌊 Opens 3 Nov
💬Register for free here: cop30oceanpavilion.vfairs.com

But the sketch I have here attempted to give of its varied functions shows us that it is really a most complex structure, a wonderful piece of machinery, as[ 259] it were, which in its various component gases, its actions and reactions upon the water and the land, its production of electrical discharges, and its furnishing the elements from which the whole fabric of organic life is composed and perpetually renewed, may be truly considered to be the very source and foundation of life itself. This is seen, not only in the fact of our absolute dependence upon it every minute of our lives, but in the terrible effects produced by even a slight degree of impurity in this vital element. Yet it is among those nations that claim to be the most civilised, those that profess to be guided by a knowledge of the laws of nature, those that most glory in the advance of science, that we find the greatest apathy, the greatest recklessness, in continually rendering impure this all-important necessary of life, to such a degree that the health of the larger portion of their populations is injured and their vitality lowered, by conditions which compel them to breathe more or less foul and impure air for the greater part of their lives. The huge and ever-increasing cities, the vast manufacturing towns belching forth smoke and poisonous gases, with the crowded dwellings, where millions are forced to live under the most terrible insanitary conditions, are the witnesses to this criminal apathy, this incredible recklessness and inhumanity.

Wow. I did not know that Alfred Russell Wallace (co-discoverer of evolution by natural selection) wrote a book in 1904 about the biological potential for life on other planets, and I've just found this extraordinary paragraph setting out the insanity of atmospheric pollution [1/3]. In 1904!

Overlooked melting in East Antarctica could skew sea level rise projections - ACEAS New research into how East Antarctica’s ice shelves melt reveals future global sea-level rise predictions could be significantly underestimated.

🧊 New research reveals an overlooked Antarctic process that may skew sea level rise projections.

☀️ A team led by Dr @fabiobdias.bsky.social (ACEAS/UNSW) found East Antarctica ice shelves melt in summer bursts as sea ice retreats and warm water flows underneath.

🔗 antarctic.org.au/overlooked-m...

Image showing front page of briefing document

🧪🧵 Future change to #ThwaitesGlacier, Antarctica constitutes the largest uncertainty in #sea-level rise forecasts. The Science Coordination Office of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration recently issued a briefing document summarising some key findings - thwaitesglacier.org/findings

What is more, at the Nordic Tipping Week I‘m currently attending we learned that climate models that agree best with observations are the ones where #AMOC declines most by 2100 (as yet unpublished work).

Enhanced Arctic sea-ice retreat due to pronounced pacificization effect in the Holocene - Communications Earth & Environment Concurrent intensification of Bering Strait Inflow and associated stronger poleward heat caused a millennial-scale sea ice retreat in the Arctic, known as the ‘Pacificization’ effect, according to ana...

Enhanced Arctic sea-ice retreat due to pronounced pacificization effect in the Holocene

Between 4.5–2.2 ka BP, stronger Bering Sea inflow brought ocean heat north, promoting melt

Today’s La Niña-like trends could revive that “Pacificization” and speed Arctic ice loss
www.nature.com/articles/s43...

Southern Ocean evidence for recurring West Antarctic Ice Sheet destabilization during Marine Isotope Stage 11 - Nature Communications Recurring deep ocean oxygen minimum events occur in the Pacific Southern Ocean during the warm climate interval Marine Isotope Stage 11. They are linked with perturbed Antarctic Bottom Water formation...

New paper out on @natcomms.nature.com!
We found recurring deep ocean oxygen minimum events in the Pacific Southern Ocean during Marine Isotope Stage 11, that are linked with perturbed Antarctic Bottom Water formation driven by West Antarctic Ice Sheet destabilization. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Mosquitoes found in Iceland for first time after record heat Previously the country was one of the world's only mosquito-free zones.

Mosquitoes found in Iceland for first time
Iceland was one of only two mosquito-free havens in the world prior to the discovery, partly due to its cold climate. The only other recorded mosquito-free zone is Antarctica.

bbc.com/news/article...

Runaway Insurance Costs Bring Back Talk of Price Caps Increasingly, insurers in both red and blue states are being told to cap prices as lawmakers come under pressure.

I wouldn't have believed it unless I saw it with my own eyes, but apparently it's still possible for experienced financial journalists to write long-ish articles about exploding home insurance prices and never mention the phrase "climate change."
www.wsj.com/finance/regu...

2050???

Antarctica may have crossed a tipping point that leads to rising seas Scientists are beginning to understand the sudden loss of sea ice in Antarctica – and there is growing evidence that it represents a permanent shift with potentially catastrophic consequences

Antarctica may have passed a climate tipping point of no return, scientists are warning, with mounting evidence that a sudden slump in sea ice formation since 2016 is linked to human-induced ocean warming.

Grace Hopper was an American computer scientist and United States Navy rear admiral. She was a pioneer of computer programming who was the first to devise the theory of machine-independent programming languages.

#COBOL
#FLOW-MATIC
#WomeninSTEM
#WyrdWomen

Ask the Experts: Can people power drive environmental action? Environmental breakdown can impact our lives in immediate and personal ways, yet many feel powerless to act and find the solutions out of reach. This is your opportunity to put questions to our expert...

It's easy to feel powerless about the environment. So I'm pleased to be chairing this public event on how communities can respond. Featuring @rachelcoxcoon.bsky.social, Nick Pidgeon and Amira Campbell. Thursday 20th Nov online/in person. Tickets are free
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/livin...

The image presents a comparison of the leading causes of death in the United States for 2023 and the media coverage these causes receive from three news outlets: The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Fox News. In the footer, it notes the data sources, indicating that the information is based on media mentions from Media Cloud (2025) and death data from the US CDC (2025) and the Global Terrorism Index, with a clarification that values are normalized to sum to 100%.

Does the news reflect what we die from?

Marine heatwaves have hidden impacts on ocean food webs and carbon cycling • MBARI New study analyzing data from robotic floats and plankton records reveals how marine heatwaves reshape ocean food webs and slow transport of carbon to the deep sea.

A new study led by @globaloceanbgc.bsky.social researchers at MBARI has found that marine heatwaves can reshape ocean food webs, slowing the transport of carbon to the deep sea and hampering the ocean’s ability to buffer against climate change.

Learn more: www.mbari.org/news/marine-...

Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.

So proud to stand alongside my amazing sister @krhendry.bsky.social at the Week Junior book awards

Our book Scientists in the Wild, Antarctica, illustrated by fabulous Rômolo D’Hipólito, was shortlisted for STEM book of the year

Huge thanks to @flyingeyebooks.bsky.social for cheering us on!
🐟🐧🦈🦭🐋

Storm Amy has been record breaking ⚠️

An air pressure of 947.9 hPa was recorded at Baltasound, Shetland, provisionally setting a new UK lowest pressure record for October.

Northern Ireland provisionally recorded its strongest October wind gust on record, with a gust of 92 mph at Magilligan.

How spreading rocks on fields could combat climate change ‘Enhanced rock weathering’ is a simple, but also hard to measure, way of capturing carbon

The natural weathering of ALL THE ROCKS in the world removes almost 1 billion tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere every year. Enhanced rock weathering is an attempt to use a minuscule fraction of ALL THE ROCKS to remove many times more CO₂.

An infographic by IUCN with information about the number of species of sharks, rays and chimaeras, as well as the fact that more than 25% have only been discovered in the last 20 years.

According to the IUCN Shark Specialist Group, a third of sharks, rays, and chimaeras are threatened with extinction. 🦈

Read more: https://bit.ly/4eY24Cb

Like pulling the plug of a bathtub: an incredible mass of #glacier ice disappearing at Griesgletscher (🇨🇭/🇮🇹) in one century.
It felt emotional to visit the exact same spot @swisstopo cartographers chose in 1919. The view was so different.
Simply unbelievable!!
@vaw-glaciology.bsky.social

Ocean stratification in a warming climate - Nature Reviews Earth & Environment Ocean stratification — density-related layering of seawater — influences oceanographic and climatic processes. This Review outlines observed and projected changes in stratification, noting a 0.8% dec−1 increase in 0–2,000 m stratification from 1960–2024, and a further 1.4% dec−1 increase by 2100 under SSP2-4.5.

🌊 Ocean stratification has increased since the 1960s, rising 0.8%/decade due to warming, with projections of up to 2.9%/decade by 2100 depending on emissions

Impacts: reduced vertical mixing, altered heat and carbon uptake, intensified cyclones, and ⬆️ ecosystem stress
www.nature.com/articles/s43...

If you’re a journalist writing about a certain piece of UK climate policy news this evening, please ask the Science Media Centre for the many reactions from expert climate scientists and then please include some of their quotes in your story. Thank you.

The first steam-powered passenger rail trip was on 27th Sept 1825 (200th bday is nuanced - regular passenger steam slightly later). Here's transport carbon footprint today - Eurostar easily cleanest cos fully electrified. I hope the next 200 yrs has even more (electric) trains! With lower prices...

A cyclist in a white and blue racing outfit with sponsors Shell and Lloyds prominently displayed navigates a rocky road, followed by two other cyclists in a similar attire. Onlookers, including a young boy and two men, observe from the side of the street lined with buildings and hills in the background.

British Cycling, sponsored by a fossil fuel company and a bank that provides billions in financing to the fossil fuel industry.

We want to hear from UK #PrimarySchoolTeachers about how the #Ocean is taught in the #classroom 🐠 Your voice can shape how future generations engage with #MarineScience. Survey takes just 10 mins 👉 plymouthlab.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

#PrimaryEducation #STEMeducation #Teachers #Teaching

What do you do when your media org is captured? You start your own.

Introducing....The Nerve!!! @thenerve-news.bsky.social

We're all-female, journalist-owned & launching next week.

Please help us build a truly independent, progressive new media!👊👊👊

in this week's newsletter! an essay on being bad at playing Silksong, and going to watch classics at the cinema and hating them, and more broadly on the wonders of........trying: youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/why-not-wa... [free to read!]

Key message from our new report: cutting methane is "the *fastest & most cost-effective lever* to slow warming within our lifetimes".
And behavioural change is central to this - making plant-based food more accessible and cheaper; and changing choice environments to cut food waste.