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Pacific Ocean

Scientists Spot Beautiful Optical Illusion at Bottom of the Sea

More than 6,000 feet under the surface of the ocean, the extreme conditions can play tricks on your eyes

Thor Heyerdahl photographed with archaeological artifacts from Easter Island

Norway Will Repatriate Thousands of Artifacts Taken From Easter Island

Thor Heyerdahl Jr. says his late father had promised to return the items after they had been analyzed and detailed in published works

Plastic debris is providing a new vessel for potentially invasive species to cross large distances.

Sea Creatures Still Arriving in the U.S. on Plastic Debris From the Japanese Tsunami Eight Years Ago

Marine biologists don’t know how long different species can survive adrift in the open ocean, and some may become invasive when they reach new shores

Sunflower sea stars in British Columbia, just weeks before wasting disease turned them to mush.

New Research

Why Almost All of the West Coast’s Sunflower Sea Stars Have Wilted Away

A new study suggests most of the keystone predators have died off due to an unknown pathogen and increasing ocean temperatures

Cool Finds

Easter Island Statues May Have Marked Sources of Fresh Water

A spatial analysis of the island’s moai and ahu seem to line up with ancient wells and coastal freshwater seeps

Trending Today

Threatened Bluefin Tuna Sells for Record $3 Million in New Year’s Sale

The 612-pound fish will go to a sushi restaurant, but without intervention the prized species will not be on the plate for much longer

Victor Vescovo entering the Limiting Factor for his record-breaking descent.

Trending Today

Submersible Is First to Reach Bottom of Atlantic Ocean

U.S. equity-firm founder piloted the craft to the bottom of the Puerto Rico Trench, in a bid to reach the deepest spot in each of the world’s oceans

Up to 1,000 octopus moms care for their brood.

The Top Ten Ocean Stories of 2018

From the most ancient animal known to a newly defined ocean zone, the world’s watery places never cease to amaze

Trending Today

Crab Fishermen Sue Energy Companies Over Climate Change

The suit alleges that oil firms are responsible for climate change driven algae blooms, which have delayed and shortened recent crab-harvesting seasons

New Research

We Know How Stressed Whales Are Because Scientists Looked At Their Earwax

A new study looks at stress hormone levels in whale ear wax, showing how hunting and climate change have impacted he giant beasts

Rake marks on humpback flukes may be literal tallies of battles won—like the scars seen on the upper right fluke fin here—but little is known about the losses.

New Research

With Humans Out of the Way, Humpbacks Are Flourishing—But So Are Orcas

Researchers are just now beginning to understand what happens when one whale species attacks another

Princepajaro, a male California sea lion, swims in a pool during treatment for leptospirosis at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, CA. When a leptospirosis outbreak occurs, the Center’s scientists study the disease to learn more about what causes an outbreak and how we can improve treatment for infected animals.

Major Disease Outbreak Strikes California Sea Lions

Leptospirosis afflicts sea lions on a semi-regular cycle, but warming waters and migrating fish could make the marine mammals more susceptible

The labyrinthine network stretches roughly 4.5 miles across the ocean floor

Cool Finds

Researchers Unearth Glass Labyrinth Created by Underwater Volcanic Eruption

The unusual formation is situated nearly three miles below the ocean’s surface—a distance greater than Mount Rainier’s height above sea level

Cool Finds

Never-Before-Seen Colony of 1,000 Brooding Octopuses Found Off California Coast

The deep sea creatures are raising their eggs on the Davidson Seamount in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Tlingit artist Arthur B. Nelson’s Devil Fish Halibut Hook, 2012, is an impressive example of a contemporary wooden halibut hook designed to be a piece of art rather than a functional example of halibut fishing equipment. The carving depicts raven, frog, octopus, and human spirits.

The Traditional Wooden Halibut Hook That’s Still Snagging Fish Off Alaska

An Indigenous method of catching halibut on the northwest coast of North America mixes expert craftsmanship with spirituality—and the fish are biting

The dazzling pink and yellow fish is the only member of its genus known to reside in the Atlantic rather than the Pacific

Cool Finds

Newly Discovered Neon Fish Species Is Named After Greek Goddess of Love

Researchers were so entranced by the pink and yellow fish that they failed to spot a sixgill shark swimming just above their heads

The device is designed to function as an artificial shoreline, drifting with ocean currents and collecting plastic in a 10-foot net-like screen

2,000-Foot-Long Plastic Catcher Released to Aid Cleanup of Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Skeptics argue the device will endanger marine wildlife, exacerbate existing pollution problems

Captain James Cook set out on a voyage across the Pacific 250 years ago, seemingly on a scientific voyage. But he carried secret instructions from the Navy with him as well.

Captain Cook’s 1768 Voyage to the South Pacific Included a Secret Mission

The explorer traveled to Tahiti under the auspices of science 250 years ago, but his secret orders were to continue Britain’s colonial project

Satellite Image of Hurricane Lane

Trending Today

Why Hawaiian Hurricanes Are So Rare

The islands are usually protected by their remoteness and a stable high pressure system, which has gone wonky in the last year

The link between sunscreen and skin protection is watertight. Unfortunately, many common sunscreens may be devastating for the health of coral reefs.

Can We Create Sunscreen That Protects Both Humans and Coral Reefs?

Sunscreen is vital for skin protection. But researchers are finding that even ‘reef-friendly’ versions may pose serious environmental threats

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