Oceans

Urchins Could Be the Next Victim of Sea Star Wasting Disease

The virus that has struck out Pacific sea star populations could now be affecting their Echinoderm cousins

Rehabilitated sea lion pups head back to the ocean after being released from The Marine Mammal Center in March.

California Sea Lions Are Starving, But Do They Need Our Help?

Instead of just rehabilitating the fuzzy pups, some ecologists say we should be focusing on the underlying troubles of climate change and fish declines

A Cape fur seal digs in to a blue shark.

Fur Seals Caught Preying on Sharks Off South Africa

The seals only consume the viscera, though, which may be why this particular type of predation took ecologists by surprise

A Malaysian boy and girl holding candles during the 60 minute Earth Hour 2012 celebration in Kuala Lumpur, March 31, 2012.

What Climate Change Will Mean for the People of Oceania

On many maps the ocean is colored a uniform, solid blue. But for those who live off the waters, the sea is places, roads, highways

Skiing toward the breaking waves on a slush-covered beach.

How "Slurpee" Waves Formed Along a Nantucket Beach

New England's record cold created the perfect conditions for waves of slush, offering an unusual opportunity to ski on the beach

Screen shot of video "Global ship traffic seen from space - FleetMon Satellite AIS and FleetMon Explorer"

See Shipping Traffic Move Through Straits Around the World

A visualization shows a week’s worth of vessel movement

Meltwater from the Brady Glacier (shown in the foreground) is seen in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. The water in the foreground in the southwest (bottom left) corner of the image is the Gulf of Alaska.

Alaska’s Freshwater Is Draining Into the Sea at an Astounding Rate

Satellite data shows that snow and glacial melt are partially to blame for an annual freshwater output 1.5 times that of Mississippi River

The blue whale is the biggest animal on the planet - and would have massively outsized the ocean's largest species 500 million years ago.

The World’s Sea Creatures Have Gotten Bigger

A new study reveals evolution in the ocean appears to favor larger animals

Hargrove greets Takara at SeaWorld of Texas in 2012.

Why Killer Whales Belong in the Ocean, Not SeaWorld

A former orca trainer makes the case against the theme park

Snails’ Teeth Beats Spider Silk As Nature’s Strongest Material

The discovery makes sense: Mollusks use these teeth to excavate rocks while they feed

What Makes Some Orca Whales Love a Good Belly Rub?

Some pods have been observed rubbing themselves on rocky beaches; scientists are still working to understand why

Starving Sea Lions Are Piling Up on California Beaches

It's the third year of a crisis that's confusing scientists

An aerial view of the New Zealand coast shows marine terraces lifted up by an earthquake.

Scientists Have Imaged the Base of a Tectonic Plate

The discovery of a slippery layer off the coast of New Zealand could help explain plate movement

The Hopkins' Rose nudibranch, or pink sea slug.

What’s Causing California’s Bright Pink Sea Slug Bloom?

They might be fun to look at, but they're not necessarily good news

A 10,000-Year-Old Forest Has Been Discovered, And It's Under Water

Ancient oak trees found on the bottom of the North Sea represent a prehistoric woodland that likely spanned thousands of acres

Here’s Why Sharks Prefer Salt Water

New research shows that sharks sink in fresh water

A diverse array of trilobites ruled the seas for almost 300 million years, until they vanished at the end of the Permian period.

Vinegar-Like Acid Rain May Have Fallen During Earth’s Worst Extinction

Vanilla-flavored rocks hint at a planet scoured by intense acid rain during the Great Dying 252 million years ago

An albino bottlenose dolphin, like this one but without its melanin, was spotted off the coast of Florida in December.

An Albino Dolphin Was Spotted Off the Coast of Florida

It is only the 15th albino dolphin sighting recorded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The world's six known punked out snail species, which have mohawk-like spikes, acidic-dyed psychedelic colors and hardcore shells that are falling apart.

New Deep-Sea Snails Are Nature’s Own Punk Rockers

The spikes on one hardcore species inspired scientists to name it after Joe Strummer of the Clash, who was also an ardent environmentalist

Tuna are a hot commodity in Japan at this time of year — so hot that a sushi chef paid $37,500 for a single fish. Here, dogtooth tuna swim in the Indian Ocean.

The Same Guy Keeps Spending Insane Amounts of Money to Buy Japan’s First Tuna of the Season

This year, he bought it for $37,500—which he considered cheap

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