Oceans

Why Mother and Baby Humpback Whales Whisper to One Another

The quiet communication helps them avoid killer whales and randy male humpbacks

In a post-9/11 world, border walls between countries have become more common. But the science is severely lacking in our understanding of how they impact species and fragment ecosystems. Here, a continuous wire fence marks the border between the U.S. and Mexico near Tijuana.

How a Border Wall Could Wreak Ecological Havoc

Also in this episode of <i>Generation Anthropocene</i>: The case of U.S. Navy ships, beached whales and deadly sonar pings

What Coconuts Can Tell Us About Escaping Alcatraz

Researchers are using GPS-enabled coconuts to monitor currents to determine if three men could have survived a 1962 escape from "The Rock"

Microplastics mixed in with plankton from an Arctic Ocean sample

Ocean Currents Are Sweeping Billions of Tiny Plastic Bits to the Arctic

Currents are acting like a conveyor belt for plastic, dumping the bits in pristine northern waters

Jaw-Dropping Video Shows Blue Whale Chowing Down on Krill

A drone captured the giant cetaceans plowing through krill clouds to get their fill

The giant shipworm, out of its tube

After Centuries of Searching, Scientists Finally Find the Mysterious Giant Shipworm Alive

The three-foot long creature has long eluded scientists, but they finally got a closer look

A serpentinite sample

How Low Can Life Go? New Study Suggests Six Miles Down

Evidence of life from below a mud volcano hints at life beneath the crust

Does this crack spell bad news for the Petermann Glacier?

NASA Spots New Crack in Greenland Glacier

Is the Petermann Glacier getting ready to rupture again?

Fish leave bits of DNA behind that researchers can collect.

Scientists Can Tell What Fish Live Where Based On DNA in the Water

A new study of the Hudson River estuary tracked spring migration of ocean fish by collecting water samples

Are creatures like this at the bottom of animals' family tree?

Scientists Think Comb Jellies May Have Come Before All Other Animals

Sorry, sponges—there’s a new oldest ancestor in town

Web-Slinging Snails Discovered on Sunken Ship

Scientists worry that their presence spells trouble for threatened coral reefs

Mother and calm manatee, showing scrapes from a boat strike

Manatees Move From Endangered to Threatened

But conservationists say the species still faces significant threats

Researchers Spot Giant, Deep-Sea Octopus Munching on an Unusual Snack

The cephalopod was chowing down on a jellyfish—long thought unimportant in the food web

Smithsonian researchers found that otters that use tools aren't closely related.

Unlike Dolphins, Sea Otters That Use Tools Are Not Closely Related

Rock-bashing in otters is a very old behavior

Norway Proposes World's First Mile-Long Tunnel for Ships

The tunnel would help ships and ferries avoid rough seas around the Stadlandet Peninsula where 33 people have died since World War II

Outside of the U.S., international whale capture is alive and well.

What Will It Take to End International Killer Whale Capture?

The West may have rejected whale captivity, but the painful relationship between humans and orcas is far from over

A diver documents dead coral in the Great Barrier Reef near Lizard Island in May 2016 after a bleaching event.

Repeat Bleaching Destroys Massive Swaths of the Great Barrier Reef

Rising ocean temperatures have taken a toll on the World Heritage Area

This image, taken from space last summer, shows a long swath of dead mangroves on Australia's northern coast.

What Killed Northern Australia’s Mangroves?

Last year’s massive die-off was the largest ever observed

NOAA weather map for Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Is Winter Storm Stella a "Weather Bomb"?

The storm battering the northeastern U.S. is expected to undergo "bombogenesis." Just what does that mean?

A humpback supergroup off the coast of South Africa

Scientists Spot Hundreds of Humpback Whales Feeding in Massive Groups

The normally solitary creatures gathered off the southwestern coast of South Africa, puzzling researchers

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