The submersible Alvin about 8,500 feet down, studying seafloor volcanoes and eruptions.
(c) Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution with thanks to Daniel Fornari – WHOI-MISO Facility (www.whoi.edu/miso) and National Science Foundation
When you study volcanoes at mid-ocean ridges, doing fieldwork means becoming an aquanaut – diving thousands of feet to the ocean floor in the submersible Alvin, trading tight quarters for amazing views.
Snorkeling off the California coast, a high school student found heaps of golf balls on the ocean floor. With a marine scientist, she showed that golf courses were producing tons of plastic pollution.
When the sea level rises to its highest point, we call that high tide. When it falls to its lowest point, that’s called low tide.
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A massive new discovery this summer of miles of corals in deep waters off South Carolina shows how much we have yet to learn about life on the ocean floor.
The Giant Sea Bass at the California Academy of Sciences. Fishes'sense of smell is highly affected by high level of carbon dioxide in the ocean.
Togabi/Wikimedia
Increase of carbon dioxide in the ocean affects the way fish detect predators, mates or food and could threaten not only individual fish but entire populations.
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current keeps Antarctica cold.
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The Antarctic Circumpolar Current provides a barrier to heat that keeps warm subtropical waters away from Antarctica. Yet, there are a few places where the heat gets through.
Surgeonfish on a reef in the Maldives.
Uxbona/Wikimedia
Drastic oxygen losses in the world’s oceans millions of years ago coincided with mass extinctions. Scientists see this as a warning about how climate change could affect oceans today.
Globalised fishing can leave workers vulnerable to exploitation.
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A lack of sustainability, profitability and transparency in the global fishing industry is exacerbating the problem of slave-like working conditions for crew. Here are the warning signs to look out for.
The ocean absorbs about 90 percent of the excess heat produced as climate change warms the earth.
Image Catalog
According to a new study, the oceans have absorbed more heat from climate change than previously thought. This could mean the Earth will warm even faster in the future than scientists have predicted.
A member of a rare group of 410-million-year-old jawless fishes from Australia meets a mate.
along the shoreline (artist’s impression).
Nobumichi Tamura
New research shows shallow, near-land seas similar to Bass Strait were critical in the early days of fish evolution. These are the waters we need to protect now to ensure ongoing biodiversity.
Our children all know the little clownfish Nemo, star of the Pixar film. But why does he have three stripes, rather than one or two? Developmental and evolutionary biology are revealing the answer.
Swordfish only – no bycatch, please.
Joe Fish Flynn/shutterstock
The ocean floor holds unique information about Earth’s history. Scientific ocean drilling, which started 50 years ago, has yielded insights into climate change, geohazards and the key conditions for life.