Atlantic Ocean | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/atlantic-ocean/RSS feed for Atlantic OceanenFri, 21 Aug 2026 18:04:39 +0000Shipwreck Hunters Discover the Ruins of a British Destroyer That Split in Half During a Tragic Peacetime Accident 118 Years Agohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/shipwreck-hunters-discover-the-ruins-of-a-british-destroyer-that-split-in-half-during-a-tragic-peacetime-accident-118-years-ago-180989379/Minutes after it collided with a 10,000-ton cruiser, the HMS "Tiger" sank to the bottom of the English Channel. Divers and historians have spent the past four years searching for the Royal Navy vesselFri, 21 Aug 2026 18:04:39 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/shipwreck-hunters-discover-the-ruins-of-a-british-destroyer-that-split-in-half-during-a-tragic-peacetime-accident-118-years-ago-180989379/Narwhals Sport Iconic Straight, Spiraled Tusks. Scientists Just Uncovered Some of the Eye-Catching Feature's Structural Secretshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/narwhals-sport-iconic-straight-spiraled-tusks-scientists-just-uncovered-some-of-the-eye-catching-features-structural-secrets-180989368/The Arctic whales are the only known animals with straight tusks, and ones that consistently twist to the left. New research reveals that the inner layer twists to the right and that the opposing spirals provide strength and help the tusks grow straightThu, 20 Aug 2026 15:11:05 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/narwhals-sport-iconic-straight-spiraled-tusks-scientists-just-uncovered-some-of-the-eye-catching-features-structural-secrets-180989368/These Coral Reefs Off West Africa Were Long Presumed Dead. Scientists Just Found Them Alive and Teeming With Lifehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-coral-reefs-off-west-africa-were-long-presumed-dead-scientists-just-found-them-alive-and-teeming-with-life-180989350/Fish surveys in the 1960s detected what experts thought was a dead coral reef barrier off the country of Benin. Decades later, researchers set off in small fishing boats to investigate it using sonar mapping, underwater drone surveys and stationary video recordersTue, 18 Aug 2026 14:34:49 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-coral-reefs-off-west-africa-were-long-presumed-dead-scientists-just-found-them-alive-and-teeming-with-life-180989350/These Shark Look-Alikes Have Long Confounded Fishers and Scientists on the East Coast. Tracking Where They Migrate Could Help Clear the Confusionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/these-shark-look-alikes-have-long-confounded-fishers-and-scientists-on-the-east-coast-tracking-where-they-migrate-could-help-clear-the-confusion-180989210/Researchers are tagging and tracking spinner sharks to map out their geographic distribution, because they've seen that the range of the very similar blacktip shark has shiftedThu, 30 Jul 2026 19:50:14 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/these-shark-look-alikes-have-long-confounded-fishers-and-scientists-on-the-east-coast-tracking-where-they-migrate-could-help-clear-the-confusion-180989210/An Endangered Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Named Pancake Makes a Triumphant Return to the Ocean After Months of Rehabilitationhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-endangered-kemps-ridley-sea-turtle-named-pancake-makes-a-triumphant-return-to-the-ocean-after-months-of-rehabilitation-180989205/The cold-stunned turtle was rescued last fall on Cape Cod and has since made a full recovery. The reptile, whose sex remains unknown, is estimated to be between 2 and 5 years old and weighed 11 pounds at the time of releaseTue, 28 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-endangered-kemps-ridley-sea-turtle-named-pancake-makes-a-triumphant-return-to-the-ocean-after-months-of-rehabilitation-180989205/This 1950s Airplane Disaster Prompted the Flight Safety Demonstrations Passengers Know Today. Searchers Just Found the Wreckage in the Atlantic Oceanhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-1950s-airplane-disaster-prompted-the-flight-safety-demonstrations-passengers-know-today-seachers-just-found-the-wreckage-in-the-atlantic-ocean-180989170/A team of explorers used an autonomous underwater vehicle to locate the remains of the Pan American ‘Clipper Endeavor’ about five miles off the coast of Puerto RicoWed, 22 Jul 2026 15:02:37 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-1950s-airplane-disaster-prompted-the-flight-safety-demonstrations-passengers-know-today-seachers-just-found-the-wreckage-in-the-atlantic-ocean-180989170/The Arctic Ocean May Have Passed a Crucial Tipping Point That Could Harm Food Webs and Worsen Climate Changehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-arctic-ocean-may-have-passed-a-crucial-tipping-point-that-could-harm-food-webs-and-worsen-climate-change-180989083/Sea ice loss seems to have triggered a decline in the nutrient nitrate, affecting the tiny organisms that form the foundations of marine food chains and absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide, according to a new studyWed, 08 Jul 2026 15:36:06 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-arctic-ocean-may-have-passed-a-crucial-tipping-point-that-could-harm-food-webs-and-worsen-climate-change-180989083/