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Water

The newly discovered carnivorous "death-ball sponge" 

Researchers Discover ‘Death Ball’ Sponge and Dozens of Other Bizarre Deep-Sea Creatures in the Southern Ocean

So far, two expeditions have yielded 30 new species—and researchers say there’s more to come

Charles Oldrieve dreamed of one day walking across the English Channel—and perhaps even the Atlantic Ocean.

Untold Stories of American History

In 1907, This Daring Performer Walked on Water From Cincinnati to New Orleans, Covering Nearly 1,600 Miles in 40 Days

Charles Oldrieve used custom-made wooden shoes to float on the water’s surface and propel himself forward

New research reveals that Earth's Northern Hemisphere is growing darker faster than the Southern Hemisphere is.

Earth Is Getting Dimmer—and the Northern Hemisphere Is Losing Brightness Faster Than Scientists Expected

New research challenges the idea that the hemispheres’ matching brightness is a fundamental property of the planet

Jackie's unusual coloring results from changes to her natural pigmentation process.

Meet Jackie, a 1-in-30-Million Calico Lobster Caught Off the Coast of Massachusetts

Now living at Northeastern University’s Marine Science Center, the striking crustacean has a bright orange shell with black freckles and blue joints

The Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, Claude Monet, oil on canvas, 1908

Claude Monet’s Beautiful Paintings of Venice Are Headlining an Exhibition for the First Time in More Than a Century

The paintings came from the French Impressionist’s time in Italy with his wife, Alice, in 1908

Large whales can get wrapped up in fishing lines, buoys, nets and other gear, which can lead to injuries and death.

U.S. Whale Entanglements Are on the Rise, New Data Shows

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed 95 large whale entanglement cases last year, a 48 percent increase from 2023

During the summer of 2025, a team of divers pulled up 1,051 silver coins known as reales, five gold coins called escudos and other gold artifacts.

Divers Recover More Than $1 Million Worth of Gold and Silver Coins From 310-Year-Old ‘Treasure Fleet’ Shipwrecks

The vessels sank in a violent hurricane off the coast of Florida in July 1715, when they were traveling from Cuba to Spain with an estimated $400 million worth of coins and jewels from the New World

New research suggests that the Salmon River in northwest Alaska is full of toxic metals.

Why Is This Remote and Rugged River in Alaska Turning Orange?

New research suggests the Salmon River is full of toxic metals that are likely harming fish and other aquatic creatures

Diver Andrew Donn swims above one of the Seiner’s trawl doors on July 27, 2025.

This Fishing Vessel Went Missing Without a Trace in 1929. Divers Just Found It Off the Coast of Nantucket

After the captain completed his required daily check-in on January 18, 1929, no one ever saw or heard from the ST “Seiner” again

Amazon data centers sit next to houses in Loudoun County.

A.I. Is on the Rise, and So Is the Environmental Impact of the Data Centers That Drive It

The demand for data centers is growing faster than our ability to mitigate their skyrocketing economic and environmental costs

A historian inspects oysters from a reef on the Nansemond River, in Virginia.

Can Scientists Help Oysters Thrive Again?

Dredging and pollution devastated the once-bountiful reefs. Careful science may help bring them back

A jaguar, not the one documented in the new study, swims in the Pantanal in Brazil.

A Jaguar in Brazil Makes the Longest Recorded Swim by the Species, Traversing at Least 0.79 Miles Through Water

The new record could help conservationists strategize ways to consider feline movements during construction of hydroelectric dams

The ship is still mostly intact on the bottom of Lake Michigan.

This Shipwreck Eluded Searchers for 139 Years. A Group of Historians and Citizen Scientists Found It in Two Hours

The 144-foot-long “F.J. King,” which sank in Lake Michigan in 1886, was known as a “ghost ship” that nobody could locate

According to new research, the Chicago River has become significantly cleaner and healthier in recent decades. 

Fish Are Spawning in the Chicago River, Another Sign the Once-Contaminated Waterway Is Rebounding

A new study suggests at least 24 species of fish are reproducing in the urban river, adding to the evidence that it is getting cleaner and healthier

Some of the barrels off the coast of Los Angeles are surrounded by mysterious white halos in the sediment.

Metal Barrels Dumped Off the Coast of Los Angeles Are Encircled by Mysterious White Halos—and Scientists Think They Finally Know Why

At least some of the barrels contain caustic alkaline waste, which has made the surrounding ecosystems inhospitable to most life forms, a new study suggests

Located nearly 60 feet below the surface, the statue is cleaned every year.

See How Divers Clean This Statue of Jesus Christ Submerged Nearly 60 Feet Below the Surface of the Mediterranean

Located off the coast of northern Italy, “Christ of the Abyss” was installed in 1954 to commemorate lives lost at sea. The statue receives a routine cleaning every year

A leatherback sea turtle hatchling climbs over sargassum on a beach. In a new study, researchers timed sea turtles to see how long it took them to reach the ocean when they had to traverse piles of seaweed.

Seaweed Piles Are Slowing Down Sea Turtle Hatchlings as They Make the Dangerous Trek to the Ocean

In Florida, large mats of sargassum are increasingly washing ashore, creating another obstacle for loggerhead, leatherback and green sea turtles, new research suggests

Fallingwater is located in the Bear Run Nature Reserve in Pennsylvania's Laurel Highlands.

Fallingwater’s Roof Is Leaking. Can This $7 Million Renovation Protect Frank Lloyd Wright’s Masterpiece?

Leaky roofs and windows have long plagued the famous home in Pennsylvania. Experts say the three-year project will address decades of water damage and prevent similar problems from worsening in the future

An artist's interpretation of what early penguins in New Zealand might have looked like

Early Penguins Had Long, Dagger-Like Beaks for Skewering Fish, New Zealand Fossils Reveal

Paleontologists describe four new species of extinct ancestral penguins that help shed light on how the iconic birds evolved after dinosaurs went extinct

The James Carruthers was one of a dozen ships that sank during the "White Hurricane" that swept across the Great Lakes in November 1913.

Shipwreck Hunter Finds Large Freighter That Sank in Lake Huron During the ‘White Hurricane’ 112 Years Ago

The 529-foot-long vessel is submerged 190 feet deep, resting upside down on the American side of the lake

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