Arctic Ocean

Baby beluga whales and adults alike spend the summer in the Churchill River.

Watch Chatty Beluga Families Migrate With These Stunning Live Cams in Canada

Polar Bears International and Explore.org are once again capturing video footage and audio recordings of the social marine mammals as tens of thousands congregate in the Churchill River this summer

Male belugas were more likely than females to change the shape of their melons, or foreheads.

Belugas May Communicate by Changing the Shape of Their Squishy Foreheads

Scientists documented five different melon shapes among the marine mammals living in captivity: push, flat, lift, shake and press

Belugas head to Hudson Bay in the summer in droves to eat, molt and give birth.

Watch Tens of Thousands of Beluga Whales Migrate With These Live Streams

The marine mammals are gathering in Canada's Hudson Bay and Churchill River—and their journey is a reminder of sea ice's importance

Crews carefully lowered the bottles to a depth of 111 feet below the surface.

1,700 Bottles of Sparkling Wine Spent Six Months Beneath the Waters of the Norwegian Sea

The stash was submerged some 111 feet deep in temperatures as cold as 41 degrees Fahrenheit

Analyzing DNA found in the water off Greenland, researchers have found the signs of species on the move.

The Atlantification of the Arctic Ocean is Underway

The discovery of a tiny fish far from its normal range is a poignant reminder of the changes that are already happening

Thinning Arctic sea ice near Pituffik, Greenland, as captured in July 2022 

Arctic Could Be Sea Ice-Free in the Summer by the 2030s

A new study estimates climate change will lead to unprecedented melting in the Arctic a decade earlier than previously projected

Paleontologists discovered Oda's remarkably intact fossilized skeleton in Svalbard in 2008.

Unraveling the Mysteries of Oda the Ichthyosaur

Paleontologists used X-rays to identify the 240-million-year-old creature's flattened and fossilized remains

Thor rests in Scarborough Harbor in England on December 31, 2022.

The Unusual European Journey of Thor the Walrus

It's rare to see one of these massive marine mammals in Western Europe, but Thor spent several months delighting crowds in multiple countries

Polar bears are back in Churchill, Manitoba.

Polar Bears Are Gathering in Canada—and You Can Watch Them Live

Bears return to Churchill, Manitoba, every autumn to await the formation of sea ice on the Hudson Bay

A variegated snailfish (Liparis gibbus)

This Arctic Snailfish Is Loaded With Antifreeze Proteins

But climate change could threaten these cold-adapted fish, scientists say

A polar bear mom and cub wander near the quarry on the outskirts of Churchill. 

As Arctic Temperatures Rise, Polar Bears Are Eating More Garbage

A new paper warns that a growing reliance on trash is leading to more human-bear conflict

A polar bear on glacial ice in southeast Greenland. 

A Clever Population of Polar Bears Survives on Glacial Ice in Greenland

The genetically distinct group of predators uses calved ice to hunt seals when the sea ice has melted

Mapping out where these RNA viruses are found globally can help scientists understand how they interact with organisms driving the planet's ecological processes.

Virologists Identify More Than 5,000 New Viruses in the Ocean

The new study focused on under-researched RNA viruses, which often infect animals and humans

Researchers discovered the wreck of Ernest Shackleton's Endurance, the team announced this week. The ship was last seen by Shackleton's crew in 1915 before it slipped under the icy surface. 

Wreck of Shackleton's 'Endurance' Discovered in Icy Antarctic Depths

Researchers captured stunning photographs of the century-old wreck, still intact almost two miles beneath the waters of the Weddell Sea

Researchers suspect that breeding is a possibility because of how close the narwhal is to the pod of belugas.

Adopted Lone Narwhal Traveling Among Belugas Could Produce Narluga Calves

The mammal, now reaching sexual maturity, could mate soon, giving researchers more insight into the previously elusive hybrid animals

Four different audio recorders placed in different regions of the north-western Arctic collected eight years' worth of acoustic data, providing a sneak peek into the lives of cetaceans.

As Arctic Sea Ice Retreats, Orcas Are on the Move, Spurring Changes in the Food Chain

Acoustic recordings reveal the marine behemoths are moving into once icy areas, which causes competition for resources with other species

Researchers predict the Last Ice Area will survive the longest in a warming world—but how long the ice will last is unclear. Some estimates suggest the ice will be gone entirely by 2100.

The 'Last Ice Area' May Provide a Final Refuge for Arctic Life in a Warming World

The Arctic Ocean region may provide a sanctuary to animals who need the summertime frozen habitat for survival

Hammerhead sharks have are considered critically endangered.

More Than a Third of Shark Species Are Now Threatened With Extinction

Overfishing, habitat loss and climate change are behind the 'desperate' decline

The yet-to-be-named island was likely formed when ice bulldozed seabed mud up above the water's surface during a storm.

Scientists Discover What May Be the World's Northernmost Island

Researchers thought they had set foot on a known island, but island hunters pointed out that reported coordinates revealed a special find

There are many reasons to be worried about the state of the world’s oceans. But some scientists say it’s important to point to successes, in order to motivate people to take further, evidence-based action.

Seven Reasons to Be Optimistic About the World's Oceans

The health of the ocean is under threat, but these good-news stories deserve attention too

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