In some places, the ocean is almost 7 miles deep. Scientists exploring the ocean floor have found strange sea creatures, bizarre geologic formations and records of Earth’s history.
Old man (possible self-portrait) and water studies, c 1508-9.
Wikimedia Commons
Lots of academic scientists collaborate with federal employees and resources on their research projects. And at the moment they can’t. A climatologist explains the bind they’re in.
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current keeps Antarctica cold.
Shutterstock
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.
Successive governments have seen the Great Barrier Reef not just as a scientific wonder, but as a channel to further economic development.
Superjoseph/Shutterstock.com
The $444 million awarded to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation has been criticised as a politically calculated move. But governments have been asking what the reef can do for them ever since colonial times.
Southern bull kelp can drift huge distances before washing ashore.
Ceridwen Fraser
A chance discovery of some kelp that floated for 20,000km before washing up on an Antarctic beach has opened up a new chapter in our understanding of the currents that swirl around the Southern Ocean.
A pelagic snail ensnares food with with a mucous web.
Linda Ianniello https://lindaiphotography.com
Biologists are finding new evidence that these ocean invertebrate grazers don’t just ingest whatever they catch. They can actually be picky eaters – and their choices might influence ocean food webs.
Like big waves? Thanks to surf forecasting, you’ll know when and where to find them.
Shalom Jacobovitz/Wikimedia Commons
Walter Munk might be the most under-appreciated man in surfing, but he is a big deal in ocean science. If you’ve ever checked a surf forecast before paddling out, you have him to thank.
Tampa residents take a rare chance for a stroll on the seabed.
REUTERS/Adrees Latif
Pictures of ocean bays emptied of water as Hurricane Irma moved through the Caribbean and Florida show that storm surges can move away from the coast, as well as onto it.
Salt flows down rivers to the ocean.
Shutterstock/Masonjar
Humpback whales are deterred from their migration routes by the noise of air guns used to survey the ocean floor for oil and gas deposits, a new study has found.
The famous “faceless fish”, which garnered worldwide headlines when it was collected by the expedition.
Rob Zugaro
Surveying the bottom of the ocean turns out to be far from easy. But there was something wonderful about seeing animals we have only read about in old books.
Africa’s scientists are doing remarkable work.
Shutterstock
Oceanographers say they have the “credible new information” authorities need to resume the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
Filipino artists painted an image of MH370 at a high school in the Philippines in 2014 to express solidarity and hope for the passengers and crew of the missing flight.
EPA/Amiel Meneses
One of the environmental legacies of the Obama administration is ocean reserves. Two ocean scientists explain why these are a critical but not sufficient piece of conservation.
Can undersea oil rigs become homes?
US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
In coming decades many oil and gas platforms will have to be retired. Rather than being dismantled, they could be given a new lease of life as artificial reefs, helping industry and the environment.
A satellite image of the 2004 boxing day tsunami striking the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka. Could a similar tsunami hit Australia?
AAP