Rip currents are a leading cause of near-shore drownings, but there are effective ways to survive one. And these phenomena also play important ecological roles that are an emerging research area.
Mass coral bleaching in 2014 left the Coral Reef Monitoring Program monitoring site at Cheeca Rocks off the Florida Keys a blanket of white.
NOAA
Ian Enochs, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Water temperatures in the 90s off Florida in July are alarming, a NOAA coral scientist writes. Scientists in several North American countries have already spotted coral bleaching off their coasts.
The European lobster (Homarus gammarus)
Dave M Hunt Photography/Shutterstock
Dillon Amaya, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
El Niño can trigger intense and widespread periods of extreme ocean warming known as marine heat waves. They can devastate marine life.
Scientists have identified a condition they call plasticosis, caused by ingesting plastic waste, in flesh-footed shearwaters.
Patrick Kavanagh/Wikipedia
Over 100 shark and ray species were recently added to an international treaty, known as the CITES list, to protect them from the threat of unsustainable and illegal trade.
Pam Longobardi collects and documents ocean plastic waste and transforms it into public art and photography. Her work makes statements about consumption, globalism and conservation.
Ranging from 12 to 22 centimetres, these tiny octopus are extremely venomous and found all over Australia. Here’s what to do if you see someone get bitten.
Imagine if you had to go through puberty four or five times, with each bodily change more dramatic than the last. Then you’d have a pretty good understanding of what it’s like to be an eel.
Each year, enough fishing line to circle the Earth 18 times is lost at sea. This not only harms marine life, but also the livelihoods of fishers worldwide.
Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania
As the dead whales decompose, an astonishing and rare chain of events is likely to flow through the marine ecosystem – ultimately leading to an explosion of activity and new life.