Oceans

The bacterium, roughly the shape and size of an eyelash, was first discovered in 2009 in the mangrove swamps of Guadeloupe, an island in the Lesser Antilles. The bacteria appeared as long translucent centimeter-long strings on decaying leaf matter in the water.

World’s Largest Bacterium Discovered in Caribbean Mangrove Swamps

The bacterium is the size of an eyelash and visible to the naked eye

A skeleton of the giant Triassic ichthyosaur Shonisaurus popularis hangs in the Nevada State Museum.

Whale-Sized Marine Reptiles Once Ruled the Seas

Paleontologists are beginning to learn how and why ichthyosaurs evolved into giants

Royal kombu (aka sugar kelp) harvested from the Netherlands’ first organic seaweed farm enriches and flavors the Dutch Weed Burger’s soy-chip-based patty.

Innovation for Good

Is Seaweed the Next Big Alternative to Meat?

From kelp burgers to bacon of the sea, sustainable food entrepreneurs are innovating to charm hungry omnivores

Fish like Epinephelides armatus, also known as breaksea cod, tend to be rated as uglier than fish like Holacanthus ciliaris, or queen angelfish.

Ugly Fish Need Love, Too

New research finds that less attractive reef fish are more likely to be threatened

The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica

Antarctica’s 'Doomsday Glacier' Melting at Fastest Rate in 5,500 Years

Researchers used penguin bones and shells to track ice loss in the Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers

The Earth’s oceans have risen and fallen over the millennia. But they have, on average, been relatively stable over billions of years. The balance of the deep water cycle—the exchange of water between the Earth’s surface and its interior—has an important role to play in maintaining that stability.

How the Earth's Mantle Sends Water Up Toward the Surface

A new model suggests "mantle rain" ensures we will always have a surface ocean

Kororā, the world’s smallest penguin, are native to New Zealand.

Hundreds of Little Blue Penguins Are Turning Up Dead in New Zealand

Rising ocean temperatures are likely causing the flightless birds to starve to death

New research shows how seals use their whiskers to aid them as they hunt. 

Seals Use Their Whiskers to Help Hunt in the Deep Ocean

New video footage shows rhythmic whisker movements that have never been observed before in seals in the wild

After the researchers identified it as a subterranean river and gathered at the site in Antarctica, they drilled down 1640 feet below the ice's surface using a hot water hose to melt the ice.

Hidden Life Found Far Beneath World's Largest Ice Shelf

Hundreds of shrimp-like creatures were found living 1640 feet beneath Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf

Las Salinas in Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge

Puerto Rico

These Salt Flats in Puerto Rico Are Cotton-Candy Pink

The distinct color of Las Salinas comes from a combination of algae, bacteria, salt and water

Blue holes, like the Great Blue Hole in Belize, are vast caverns that descend into the seafloor. Sediment accumulates at the bottom of a blue hole, giving researchers a way to gauge historical hurricane activity.

Blue Holes Show Hurricane Activity in the Bahamas Is at a Centuries-Long Low

Many more powerful storms battered the region in the past

Chilean devil rays swim in the Atlantic Ocean near the Azores. 

What Are Scientists Learning About the Deepest Diving Creatures in the Ocean?

Animals-turned-oceanographers are helping biologists find out what they do when they get to the cold, dark depths

The seagrass Posidonia australis.

World’s Largest Plant Is a Seagrass That Clones Itself

The 4,500-year-old plant lives off the coast of Australia

The House of Slaves on Senegal’s Island of Gorée is one of 284 significant African coastal sites included in a recent assessment of climate risk.

Climate Change Threatens Important African Coastal Sites

Dozens of important cultural, social, and ecological places are already at risk from climate hazards.

A 2015 expedition found two species of sharks living in the hot, acidic water near Kavachi, thus earning it the nickname "Sharkcano."

Trending Today

NASA Snaps Photos of Underwater 'Sharkcano' Erupting

Kavachi, a submarine volcano in the southwest Pacific Ocean, is home to several species of sharks and fish that can withstand the extreme environment

When a group of 360 dolphins visited corals located in the Northern Red Sea, reseachers noticed that calves under one year old would watch adults brush themselves against the coral.

Dolphins May Use Coral and Sponges as Skin Care Items

The mammals rub on invertebrates, possibly to contact substances that might work like antibacterial creams

Whale sharks are the largest fish on Earth.

Cargo Ships Are Killing Whale Sharks

New research shows these gentle giants are often on a collision course with large ocean vessels

Researchers keep finding dolls and doll body parts off the coast of Texas, where ocean currents push debris and garbage onto the beach.

Why Do Creepy Dolls Keep Washing Up on Texas Beaches?

Ocean currents push the unsettling toys—and tons of other trash—onto state shores

Over the past decade, vaquita numbers plummeted from 576 to just ten individuals because of a rise in the illegal totoaba trade.

The Population of Vaquita Porpoises Has Dwindled to Ten, but a Rebound Isn't Out of the Question

If protected from illegal fishing, scientists say the critically endangered species has enough genetic diversity to recover

Marine biologists suspect that the dragonfish can use its tiny fins to detect vibrations and alert them of nearby predators and prey.

Rarely Seen Torpedo-Shaped Dragonfish Spotted Off California's Coast

The copper-colored fish has only been seen four times in more than three decades of deep-sea research

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