OceansLearn more about life in the sea and the challenges facing our oceans.
Why are our oceans getting warmer?May 01, 2023 – The temperatures of the world’s oceans are hitting record highs, with far-reaching consequences for marine life, storm intensity, and sea levels.
Maze: OceansJune 03, 2022 – Try to get back to your dolphin pod by navigating through this coral reef maze. Light your way with jellyfish—but watch out for orcas!
Can tourism positively impact climate change in the Indian Ocean?September 02, 2023 – The Indian Ocean is on the front line of climate change. Can tourism here be part of a more sustainable future?
Where is Malaysian Airlines Flight 370? A simple barnacle could help lead us to the missing plane.August 23, 2023 – By studying the shells of washed up barnacles, scientists have developed new methods for reconstructing the drift of ocean debris that may help narrow the search.
This scientist is on a mission to map the world’s oceansJanuary 05, 2023 – We’ve imaged more of Mars than of our own planet’s seafloor. Ved Chirayath wants to change that.
See the ocean’s glow-in-the-dark world on a fluorescent night diveSeptember 02, 2022 – These kaleidoscopic swims help us better understand and protect our seas. Here’s why—and where—to try it.
Bottlenose DolphinMarch 26, 2014 – Thought to be some of the smartest animals on Earth, bottlenose dolphins send messages to one another in many different ways. They squeak, squawk and use body language—leaping as high as 20 feet in the air, snapping their jaws, slapping their tails on the surface of the water, blowing bubbles and even butting heads. Each dolphin has a special whistle that it creates soon after it is born. This whistle is used for identification, just like a human’s name. Dolphins also produce high frequency clicks, which act as a sonar system called echolocation (ek-oh-low-KAY-shun). When the clicking sounds hit an object in the water, like a fish or rock, they bounce off and come back to the dolphin as echoes. Echolocation tells the dolphins the shape, size, speed, distance, and location of the object. Bottlenose dolphins have a sharp sense of hearing. Scientists believe that the sounds travel through the dolphin's lower jaw to its inner ear and then are transmitted to the brain for analysis. Dolphins grow to be anywhere from 6 to 12 feet long. They shed their outermost layer of skin every two hours. Very social and playful mammals, bottlenose dolphins form friendships that last decades hunting, mating and protecting each other. They like to surf in the waves and wakes of boats and swim through self-made bubble rings. They can swim up to 22 miles an hour. These sea mammals feed on fish, squid and shrimp. A group of dolphins will cooperate to make a mud ring to trap fish. Then, some of the dolphins in the group will wait outside the ring for the fish that try to escape, gulping them up as a snack. Bottlenose dolphins are found in warm water all over the world. They live both in shallow water close to shore and far out in deep dark water. Dolphins face a lot of problems with getting trapped in the garbage humans leave on the beach.
Arctic ice is getting thinner by the day—and sea life is sufferingMarch 15, 2023 – A new study says the structural change has been abrupt, making life harder for everything from tiny algae to polar bears.
Marine heat waves are on the rise. What are these blobs of hot water?September 14, 2022 – Climate change is causing intense warming of Earth’s oceans more often and for longer, posing big risks to the animals and plants that live there.
Mass extinction in oceans can be avoided by curbing fossil fuelsApril 28, 2022 – If not slowed, climate change over the next few centuries could lead to marine losses unlike anything Earth has seen in 252 million years, says a new study.
Could seaweed be the 'fastest and least expensive' tool to fight climate change?June 01, 2023 – A wave of startups say seaweed is a multi-pronged solution to climate change: It can absorb carbon, curb the effects of cattle's methane burps, and feed biofuels—not to mention the world.
Bob Ballard and James Cameron on what we can learn from TitanJune 23, 2023 – The National Geographic Explorers at Large weigh in on the Titan disaster: “It's okay to move fast and break things as long as the thing you're breaking is not a submersible.”
Whale sharkJune 29, 2022 – These enormous fish are found in tropical oceans around the world.
The shark ray is vanishing from our oceans—and being made into jewelryJune 01, 2023 – An overlooked online trade for bracelets and rings made from the bowmouth guitarfish is increasing pressure on the critically endangered animal.
This legendary Polynesian canoe will sail 43,000 miles, from Alaska to TahitiJune 07, 2023 – The crew of the Hōkūleʻa is embarking on an arduous 47-month journey across the Pacific Rim.