Oceans

In 2001, Smithsonian scientists Doug Owsley and Kari Bruwelheide traveled to the Grove in Glenview, Illinois, Robert Kennicott's boyhood home, to open the naturalist's casket and determine the cause of his death.

Smithsonian's Behind-the-Scenes 'Sidedoor' Podcast Returns for Second Season

New episodes explore a 150-year-old cold case, the history of beer, war photography and more

A spiny crab pulled up by the Investigator team

Australian Expedition Dredges Up Crazy Creatures From the Deep Sea

After a month exploring Australia's deepest ocean, researchers found over 300 new species of toothy, blobby and glowing animals

Louie, having one last drink at the bar before heading home.

132-Year-Old Lobster Earns a Pardon from the Pot

Louie, a 22-pound crustacean born during the Cleveland administration, returned to the sea after 20 years living at Peter's Clam Bar

Traditional Polynesian Vessel to Complete Round-the-World Journey

The Hōkūleʻa’s crew did not use any modern navigational devices, instead relying on the stars, waves, and clouds to guide them

Thank tiny phytoplankton for this brilliant bloom.

The Strait That Separates Europe and Asia Turned a Brilliant Turquoise

The Bosphorus and Black Sea are even more beautiful thanks to phytoplankton

Rare Two-Headed Porpoise Found in North Sea

Only nine other cases of conjoined cetacean twins have ever been documented

The American Lobster, 'Homarus americanus,' found on the northern area of the Atlantic coast of America.

Climate Change, and Cod, Are Causing One Heck of a Lobster Boom in Maine

The complex relationships between humans, lobster, and cod are creating boom times--for now

Marine algae blooms like these in the northern Ross Sea are often vast enough to be visible from space.

Who Owns Antarctica's Pristine Oceans?

How humans finally stopped squabbling and protected one of the world's most pristine marine areas

A man dives in the Coral Triangle off Ghizo, Solomon Islands, in 2011.

Three Things to Know About the Coral Triangle, the Ocean's Biodiversity Hot Spot

At more than a billion acres of ocean, the Coral Triangle is one of the world's biggest and most important marine regions

A field of methane craters on the floor of the Barents Sea

Ancient Methane Explosions Rocked the Arctic Ocean at the End of the Last Ice Age

As retreating ice relieved seafloor pressures, trapped methane burst through to the water column, study says

Typhlonus nasus, the Faceless Cusk

"Faceless" Fish Found off the Coast of Australia

The rare creature was dredged up from some 13,000 feet below the surface

See the Gulf of Mexico's Seafloor Like Never Before With This 1.4-Billion-Pixel Map

Made from data collected from 200 proprietary maps from oil and gas companies, the new image has a resolution 16 times greater than the next best map

These Sustainable Sneakers Are Made Using Algae

The shoes’ manufacturers harvest harmful algal blooms and turn the goo into footwear

The new sea turtle tanks have one-way glass to minimize visitor impact on the animals.

A State-of-the-Art Sea Turtle Hospital Welcomes Patients and Visitors in South Carolina

The South Carolina Aquarium invites tourists to visit their reptilian patients, watch surgeries and even conduct mock operations using VR

The doge's barge, called the Bucentaur, returning to Venice after the "wedding" ceremony. This painting is by eighteenth-century Venetian artist Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto.

Venice Has Been Married to the Sea for Over a Thousand Years

Happy anniversary, you crazy kids

A blue whale swims through the Indian Ocean. These massive creatures are the largest animals on Earth.

Why Did Whales Get So Massive?

The answer is a tale of massive proportions

Take a Virtual Swim Through Five Marine Sanctuaries

From sunken ships to schools of fish, the new 360-degree, VR images are breathtaking

Henderson Island, world's garbage can.

This Remote Island Is Covered with 37 Million Pieces of Your Trash

Immaculate no more, the island now looks more like a dump than a pristine paradise

The ammonite that left the mark

Ancient Creature Left a 28-Foot Drag Mark After It Died

An ammonite found in a German quarry left its mark on its lagoon home

White plastic horse, 3. Plamacina retroversta ic. III. Specimen collected from Cobh shoreline, Cove of Cork, Ireland

These Haunting Photographs Call Attention to Plastic Trash Swirling in the Ocean

Award-winning photographer Mandy Barker explores the beauty and tragedy of marine plankton and plastic waste

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