Oceans

An oyster-dominated anti-erosion structure in Texas

As Storms Get Bigger, Oyster Reefs Can Help Protect Shorelines

Municipalities and military bases are using the bivalve to defend against flooding and damage from climate change-driven storms

Climate Change Is Turning Green Sea Turtles Female. That's a Problem

Over 99 percent of turtle hatchlings in northern Australia are female due to increasing sand and sea temperatures

Rare Scraps of Paper Unearthed in the Sludge of Famed Pirate Ship

The 300-year-old fragments found in Blackbeard's flagship show someone on board was likely literate and interested in sea stories

Toxic Algae Closes Important Maine Shellfish Region

The unprecedented late-season bloom may be linked to warming waters and could be a preview of things to come

Low oxygen caused the death of these corals and others in Bocas del Toro, Panama. The dead crabs pictured also succumbed to the loss of dissolved oxygen.

Why Our Oceans Are Starting to Suffocate

A new paper links global warming to diminished oxygen concentrations at sea

UN Begins Negotiating First Conservation Treaty for the High Seas

International waters face threats from overfishing, mining, pollution and climate change and the new treaty may help preserve marine biodiversity

"I'm swimmering! For science!"

How Baby Sea Turtles on Treadmills Can Help Researchers Understand Wild Turtle Survival

No doubt it's adorable, but the study offers clues into the impact of disorienting light pollution on the reptiles' health

English dolphins gliding through their home turf

England Has Its Own Pod of Dolphins

Researchers discover that the group of 28 animals are actually local residents, not just visitors

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New Map Reveals What Lies Below Greenland's Ice

This map of 'naked' Greenland is the most detailed yet and can help in refining climate predictions

The Physics Behind the Layers in Your Latte

Layered lattes are a cool trick, but the science of why it happens could help in manufacturing and even studying the ocean

A macro photo of coralites off Malapascua Island in the Philippines.

The Top Ten Ocean Stories of 2017

From wind turbines to massive sunfish to octopus cities, the seas proved full of surprises this year

Earth's Mysterious Hum Recorded in the Deep Sea for the First Time

The discovery could help unlock the planet's deepest secrets

Gaze Into a 530-Million-Year-Old Eye, the Oldest Yet Discovered

Found on an Estonian trilobite, the eye once processed 100 "pixels" of information

Your Oldest Ancestor Was Probably Sponge Like

A new study may settle a long-running debate about which creature was the first to evolve from a universal common animal ancestor

A CT scan of Pseudoliparis swirei

Meet the Record-Breaking Fish That Lives 26,000 Feet Under the Sea

The creature is a type of snailfish, and has adapted to survive crushing pressures

Transient killer whales, hunters extraordinaire, cruise by a sea lion haulout in the northeast Pacific.

A Tale of Two Killer Whales

Orca whales actually comprise two distinct types—and one may soon be destined to rise above the other

Humpback Whales

Mexico Establishes Largest Marine Protected Area in North America

The nation will fully protect 57,000 square miles around the Revillagigedo Islands from fishing and resource extraction

Skeleton of a Massive Extinct Sea Cow Found on Siberian Island

Remains of the Steller's sea cow shed light on one of the first animals that taught humans about extinction

A blue shark

Scientists Search for the Most Dangerous Places to Be a Shark

In a bid to stop the populations from dwindling, scientists are turning to big data

A mermaid eats an apple at the bottom of the (artificial) sea in this late 1940s postcard.

The Historic Tail of the Weeki Wachee Mermaids

You can even learn to “mermaid” yourself, if the fancy takes you

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